After 20 years on strings and keys, I’m now easing my way back into woodwinds via the pennywhistle - ultimate objective is flute.
So now, the world of Irish flutes is infinitely greater than when I sold French-made blackwood ones out of my music store 20 years ago.
It will probably take me around 6 months to be good enough on whistle to be let near a real tube (Also it’ll probably take that long to save enough pennies).
Here’s the question: The sound I want should be like the sound Matt Molloy gets on such tracks as “cherish the ladies” also the same tune studio-version in “Chieftains knock on the door”. There is a certain grunt in this sound as well as a nice crisp “pop” on crans and ornaments. What flutes can do that? Can this be done on a PVC “Cheapie” or should I collect more pennies and go talk to Terry McGee?
My apologies if this has already been answered in another thread - search has not revealed it.
But seriously, I once had a boeme made by boozey&hawkes that had the most incredible range of sound by applying ombature - I now have a yamaha that just don’t got it. So it’s off to misters Olwell and Hamilton I’ll go looking - btw who has recorded with these instruments?
Molloy played with the Bothy Band on a Rudall & Rose. He is now playing a Pratten-perfected Boosey. He also has an Olwell, and I don’t know who made the Eb he plays on the Molloy-Brady-Peoples CD… As peeplj pointed out, the sound is more in the player: with all those flutes, he always sounds like Matt Molloy
Having heard Mr. Molloy’s son Peter play several very differnt flutes (at a distance of 3-4 feet from my face, with no other instruments going at the time), I can tell you that what James has said is quite true - The sound produced is 90% the player’s doing - Peter sounds like he’s playing a giant, honkin’ Pratten, even when the flute in his hands is a relatively small holed R&R.
Sure, someone with less experience will get a big sound more easily on an Olwell or Hammy, but more and more, I’m convinced that in the long run, first impressions of flutes can be quite misleading.
That said, it’s hard to go wrong with a flute any of the generally acknowledged top makers, Olwell, and Hammy being two of them. Still, if there’s anyway you can make it to a session and try a few flutes out first, or even make a trip to one Austrailia’s fine flute makers, to try out several different models, that would be best.
Please check our policy for commercial posts.
One commercial post a month is it? is all you get. Also, it would
sure be helpful if you would actually be informative.
This sort of ‘magic flute’ advertising thing just
turns people here off. Thanks, Jim
