I recently bought a boardmembers Sweetheart 4 key rosewood flute. I was surprised by it’s volume, so I measured it in comparison to the Seery…and here’s what I found (measured with a measuring tape):
Seery: Embouchure 9mmX12mm, Bore at headjoint 19mm, Bore at end of flute 14mm, (holes from RH1 down to LH3) 7.5mm, 9mm, 7.5mm, 7.5mm, 10.5mm, 7mm.
Sweet: Embouchure 10mmX12mm, Bore at headjoint 18.5, Bore at end of flute 14mm, (holes from RH1 down to LH3) 8mm, 8mm, 8mm, 8mm, 11mm, 6mm.
So, apparently either the Seery is smaller bored and holed than many claim, or the Sweet is larger than folks claim. Either way, the volume is remarkably similar. I’m much more accustomed to the Seery, so I can work it better right now. However, I’m sounding much better on the Sweet than I did after 3 days with the Seery. For some reason, I can carry a phrase longer on the Sweet than on the Seery…could it be the short, unvented foot? I definitely prefer the more oval Sweet embouchure over the more squashed Seery (that 1 mm changes the embouchure quite a bit).
Interesting topic Jayhawk. Unfortunately I cannot join in because I don’t have a Sweet D flute and my Seery is a wooden one. I think yours is delrin, n’est pas?
One thing you didn’t tell us is the wall thickness of each flute which cannot be appraised on the basis of bore diameter only. Wall thickness may be crucial for our reckonings. See my topic about it here if you like.
I wish it was a euphamism, but my wife had the urge, after taking down the Christmas decorations after 12th night, to move all our furntiture around “to see how it would look”. I’ll try to get measurements tomorrow when I’m less tired…
Tal - both measure 5mm wall thickness. I measured at several points (embouchure chimney, middle section and end), but I did have to guesstimate a bit because on both flute the silver D rings were in the way.
Eric - I doubt that the Seery has 5mm chimney, I think it’s 4mm or less?
I think that the shallow chimney and the square embouchure cut, makes for a very bright tone, and even though the head is unlined, the tone is much brighter then other flutes that are fully lined but have a deeper chimney.
Do you have calipers the see if the head around the embouchure is around 27 ?
should be interesting,
take care, e.
Eilam - I don’t have calipers. I had to use a tape measure, and the embouchure chimney was dang difficult with undercutting on both flutes…so it could easily be off.
Do you have calipers the see if the head around the embouchure is around 27 ?
should be interesting,
Not sure what you mean by the above??? But if I can measure it with a tape measure, I’ll try, but today is recaulking and re-grouting the tub and tile day…so I can’t guarantee I’ll reply today.
Eric, the outer diameter of the head at the embouchure should be around 27mm, and the bore being 19mm would give a chimney depth of 4mm. I wonder if the sweet flute has a deeper chimney, and there for a thicker head?
take care, e.
