This certainly LOOKS like a nice flute, and the ad clearly says it’s made in the USA. For the money, however, how good can it be? This guy has a couple of his flutes on eBay at the moment.
As we all know from the mass-produced products from Pakistan, looks can be deceiving. Has anyone here ever heard of the HWK (HAND WERKERS KAMMER, BAYERN), who this guy is supposed to be a member of?
He has no feedback as a seller, if that tells you anything. The ‘you get what you pay for’ rule is especially useful in the world of flute-buying, IMO.
If I had to wager I would say no, not Pakistani.
Those flutes look better cosmetically–at least on e bay.
This may be a better flute, but one would be
foolish to buy it.
Whatcha got against purpleheart? My experience is it doesn’t make a half-bad instrument, finishes up really nicely. Not that that says a thing about the maker/seller.
The Handwerks Kammer is the quasi-state run association of which independent craftsmen in Germany must be a member if they want to trade on their own behalf. (i.e. not as employees of a firm). I believe they also coordinate the apprentice/journeyman/master examination system which is still active here in Germany. Each federal state in Germany has its’ own, hence Bayern.
Still doesn’t say anything concrete about his ability to make flutes though. If true though it probably does mean that he made the flute himself.
I think it’s just a metal tenon (on the headjoint side) which fits into the body. So a tenon would normally be threaded, or corked. Probably provides some stability, block some air leakage, and a firm fit, and may also allow some length for tuning.
I bought the bocote flute and will let you know what I think of it. Sillydill, I hope I haven’t caught this disease you’ve got!
The maker is Kevin Jones, an American who was living in Germany but now lives in the US. From the few emails we’ve exchanged, he seems like a decent guy. I’ll invite him to join us here.
He had very good feedback, 100% if I remember correctly, as a seller in Germany using the username “metalsmithe”. Of course, many of his buyers were probably beginners.
The listing wasn’t really on the Canadian eBay. The link was for Canadian eBay because the first poster is in Canada and thus he found it using Canadian eBay.
The flute is quite nice looking and appears to be carefully constructed. Bocote has a striking golden and dark brown grain pattern. The contrasting black palm end cap and bocote body work well together visually. The palm wood has an interesting end texture, too. (Note that the flute on eBay now is made with purple heart/amaranth, not bocote.)
The brushed brass rings and slide look good and the slide is substantial. The male tendon on the head piece, which fits into the body, is solid brass, not wood. Kevin says that he thinks it will hold up to being stored in one piece because of the design of the joint. My understanding is that it’s adapted from Skip Healy’s Ferrule Tube Design.
I’ve never seen bocote before, but it looks like it may not easily take a smooth finish. At any rate, this one has a matte finish on the exterior, which makes it easy to hold on to. I suppose that with the grain pattern and the matte finish it may look to some more like a furniture leg than an instrument.
Inside the wood seems to have a slightly “hairy” textural quality, perhaps from raised grain. It’s a bit rougher than my Casey Burns flute. I don’t know enough to judge, but given what Casey once wrote on the flute forum, this may not matter.
Hairy and matte may be different degrees of roughness, but I have no idea how to judge this. I have to admit, though, that I’m tempted to running some Scotch Brite through the bore.
The finger span (how wide the furthest right and left hand’s finger holes are) is greater than on my Casey Burns, which may be one of his ergonomic models. The finger span is very close to that of the two cylindrical flutes I have: a Dixon one-piece plastic flute and a Steve Cox bamboo flute. It’s about 7 mm on the left hand and about 6.95 mm on the right hand, whereas my Dixon is about 7.2 and 7.0. Kevin Jones said that this consistent with the Prattens and that his design is based on Pratten’s design, along with some influence from a Romantic Era German Flute (ca. 1850) he owns.
The flute is made in two pieces (a regular size head joint and a long body), not three, so it’s too long to fit in a pistol case. I’ll probably cut a piece of PVC pipe and slide on some end caps to make a carrying case. Kevin shipped it assembled.
I’m hesitant to say much about sound quality because I’m a beginner. I’m sure that I’m not the best judge of flutes. Someone who plays Prattens well may have very different judgment. I’ve found it pretty easy to play. I doubt that it’s as loud as my Casey Burns. Nor is it as rich and deep sounding as my Burns. (I’m not sure which model my Casey Burns flute is, but you can see pictures here: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=791565#791565 .)
Obviously, I’m not going to be a great judge of intonation, so I’ll have to let others judge that. But I don’t hear anything unpleasant in it.
For a very inexpensive flute it has a decent sound quality and it’s prettier and easier to play than the Dixon one-piece. So, given the very reasonable price, I think a beginner would be pleased starting off on one.
Art - can you run that baby over to a session with a non-beginner flute player to get their impression? I do appreciate the review, but multiple opinions are always good.
The price is definitely excellent, and it looks nice from the online pictures.
From the looks of the Questions & Answers part of the auction page, it was bought by Kara from New Zealand.
Hopefully this person is a member here. We could as many reviews as we can get to see if these flutes are worth the money. I was very tempted to bid on this.
Hi, I’m new to the site and a beginning player. I bought Kevin’s purple heart flute. When I received it I found the hole span way to far for my hands. i have very small hands and arthritis to boot. I contacted him and he made a new flute for me with the holes off set and closer together. While he didn’t offer to exchange the flutes out, he was very glad to do a little custom work without the expense of such.
I can’t say anything about the quality as I’m a raw beginner and still trying to get the embouchure right. However my teacher said that it is ok for now. In the future of course I will want to get a much better flute. I’ll keep ya all posted.
Ah, the mystery is solved then! Welcome to C&F and congratulations on winning the flute over the rest of us. I liked the timber on that flute and was wondering who the lucky winner was. And I was interested in how the flute played and how it sounded as well. Sorry to hear about how the flute worked out for you though. But it sounds like Kevin is solving your stretch problem. Since you have a teacher, I am sure they will advise you on a good way to play with your arthritis. I have smallish hands and some arthritis as well. I play the flute using a piper’s grip which keeps my fingers flat and wrists fairly straight as well. The piper’s grip has worked well for me. Let us know how the new flute works out.
