I have been warned against cylindrical bore flutes.
I have, in my long and still not quite finished quest to get a flute of my own been warned of cylindrical bore flutes in favour of the conical bore jobbies.
I popped into hobgoblin today and had a toot on that mid-range polymer flute / low d thing for £200 – and – something pounds. Cylindrical bore, and I must say I found it very easy to play, just requiring a little ‘more air’ for the second 8-ve. I didn’t even notice a flater second 8ve (which acoustically speaking I was sort of expecting). I suppose I would miss the keys, however the cylindrical bore, with its uniform thickness makes half-holing a lot more effective then on the deap-holed conical flute I have on loan.
Now granted I am absolutely no expert. Thus, Is there something I have missed here? Will such a flute will teach me bad habits? Is this like learning to drive on an automatic gearbox? Both styles sound nice…
The Dixon Polymer is a fraction of the cost of some of the other models I have been looking at (though in fairness I was enchanted by the look of the Orminston flutes and they arnt particularly cheap!)
Is this whole conical vs cylindrical debate another one of the communal assumptions based on fairley circumstantial acoustics? Is there more to the difference in designs then a flat second 8ve and easier half-holing? Should i save up and spend a fortune on a lush keyed thing, or get this cheeper, but seemingly just as effective instrument?
I can’t imagine a conical bore polymer flute costing 200 sterling. At that price, it’s likely a Dixon 3 piece, Seery or M&E - all are conical bore not cylindrical. I’m not aware of a single cylindrical bore polymer flute out there that costs more than 50 pounds.
Odds are, you were playing a conical bore flute and that’s why you didn’t find any problems with it.
Let me know if you’ve found a cyclindrical bore polymer flute that is so expensive - otherwise, if it’s one of the makers I’ve listed…buy it if you like it.
I think you’ve more likely been warned against some cylindrical-bore flutes. Some are crap, some are okay, some are pretty good, some are really good. Likewise, some conical-bore flutes are crap (see the sticky toward the top of this board), some are okay, some are good, some are really phenomenal.
Mr.Mt seems surprisingly unwilling to kick me off of here for good so I will respond to the question.
I have never played a cylindrical flute or one that was made of anything other than some kind of wood. Can’t comment on such issues. I do think however that you will sooner rather than later, desire a flute made of wood which will almost certainly be conical. I don’t think you will miss having keys for quite some time if you are playing I.T.M. You will probably not even miss a tuning slide too much even if you are playing a good deal with other musicians. A keyless slideless Copley will only set you back by about another 100 pounds and that total price will also include delivery give or take. Double your money and you get the same flute with tuning slide. For a lower priced flute I think it’s quality is probably hard to beat. I would say it is suitable for all levels of players. Mine is constantly amazing me with it’s capabilities. The more I get to know it the more it rewards me. I will probably be playing this flute for many years to come.
If Hobgoblin is anything like it was twenty or so years ago they are probably gouging you with their prices. Whatever you decide, you might want to think about buying direct from a maker or going through the Doc Jones’ online store. I would seriously compare prices at least.
Thanks.
Nate
Thanks guys, you have given me lots to think about as usual. Even though i know its conical now, your ‘you get what you pay for’ advice has stopped me in my tracks again. I suppose i just need to watch the second hand market like a hawlk or devise some form of unholey pact with my parents, and im not sure that technique works for twenty-somthings
looks like ill be going back to rattling the penny jar for the meanwhile then!
anyone fancey buying me a 3 keyed ormiston?
Actually yeah, i belive B9 energy used to keep a big plantation up whitehead way in greenhouses when they were working on biomass for power generation (back in the nintees before it was called bio-fuels and sold to the public) i believe they scrapped it for flax seed as thats easier to grow on the island. Im not sure how their doing theese days, im pritty sure they still own most of the wind turbines in the north.
anyway, this off-topic ramble was brought to you by my dad who told me about it years ago.
edit oh look their still going: http://www.b9energy.co.uk/ looks like they have canned the biomas reserch then shrug
