I’m looking for a balls-to-the-wall, loud, chiffy, grtty sounding tune cannon, something with enough volume to compete with a session where there’s multiple fiddle players and three or four copeland whistles. what are your recommendations? I’d like to stay under $1000 if possible
In that price range, Hamilton and Copley come to mind. Those are great flutes in any price range, by the way.
I had a Copley, and I loved it, wouldn’t have parted with it if I hadn’t needed the money to pay for my Olwell when that was ready.
I still regret not being able to purchase the Hamilton that Michael Eskin ended up with, and then sold. So I guess I missed two opportunities 
I had played the flute before Michael got it and was seriously impressed.
Loren
wow, the copley sounds like exactly what I’m looking for, now I just can’t decide between blackwood and rosewood, that rosewood has more bark to it but I like the look of blackwood
I have a Copley and would recommend it without hesitation. Fantastic flute.
I’ve not played a Hamilton but the folks who I know that do have one highly recommend them.
Eddie
BTW, how long is the waiting list on a keyless copley?
And I’ll come down on the side of a Hamilton. I’ve had chances to hear mine played by other flute players, and the tone just somehow cuts across the session differently from many other flutes.
Kevin Krell
You’ll have to contact Dave and ask him directly, unless he sees your post here first.
Regarding what Kevin said, I agree: Hammy’s flutes do seem to have a tone all their own - they are very masculine sounding (and looking) flutes, rougher and louder than the Copley, which has plenty of volume. I’d say the Copley is more versatile in terms of sound/tone, and the Hamilton more Cannon. My opinion anyway.
Loren
That’s funny, ‘Masculine’ is exactly how another player I know describes Hammy’s flutes.
Do you swagger more when you have one and do the chick come a-runnin’? Oh yeah, the laides like the Hammy.
Eddie
Yes, and yes 
Now you can understand why I still kick myself for not getting that flute?
Loren
Ha! Hammy ought to hire the guys who do lite beer commericals to make a few for him. Then again, sometimes a flute is just a flute.
When I was doing the research to buy my flute, it came down between the Hammy and the Copley. It was close, and I think I would have been happy either way, but I certainly enjoy the Copley a great deal.
Eddie
Yup, really no way one could go wrong with either, imo.
Just saw Dave Copley. The waiting list is six
months. I think his flutes are extraordinarily
good, and they have strong volume, too.
I think you will find blackwood best.
My wife and I just drove to Cincinnatti
and spent several hours visiting
Dave and his family. I’m getting a
keyed flute and Dave wanted to be
sure the keys would fit my hands.
I now know 1000 percent more about
flute making, having seen his workshop.
The flutes he’s making are beautiful,
the silverwork on the keys is gorgeous
and they are super functional
(he has a new C foot, by the way).
I often play my Copley in a room full
of guitars, banjos, mandolins and fiddles,
and my chief concern is not to blow them
away. I’m no expert, but it would be
hard to go wrong with these flutes.
Best
Hi!
As some of you already know, I weigh in heavily on the side of the Copley. It can do anything I ask of it, without limit.
Recently acquired a Hammy Eflat flute, and I like it a lot too, but the emboucher isn’t as easy for me. I’ll have to work on it some. However, when it’s right, it’s wailin’
FWIW
Mary
Geez, Deirdre Havlin plays a Hammy (or two, I think I’ve heard her play in Eb), never thought of her as particularly masculine. I am a big fan of androgyny, though. 
I’ll have to add my name to the Hamilton camp here. I had a chance to meet Hammy this past weekend and when he hits the bottom D you’d swear the flute was going to split in two. Just about all the flute players in my neck of the woods either has a Hamilton or has had Hammy restore/repair their flute.
All the best,
Wes
hmm, so far only 2 flute makers mentioned in this thread…
When ordering my flute last year, I wanted to order from a European maker, both because of import taxes and in case of problems with the flute.
I ordered a 6-keyed from Eamonn Cotter.
They are very powerful flutes indeed. Loud is not a term i would use for a flute, since it is the way it is played that makes the sound. But these flutes can definitely be pushed.
Harry Bradley plays a Cotter Eb on his first CD.
His keyless flutes are definitely under $1000 with a wait under a year.
BTW a session with multiple (copeland) whistles does not sound pretty 
Pixyy,
The McGee roving ambassador flute we played was also what I would call a “tune cannon”, being easy to play with plenty of volume (at the expense, perhaps, of not being as versatile and well-rounded in its sound). That being said, I sincerely believe the player himself is the most important factor in making a flute cannon-like.
Jens
Cotter’s flutes fit the bill as well; great flute at a great price.
Most flutes aimed at modern Irish music, really, fit this bill, IMO. Volume, in an of itself, is over-rated and by and large comes from the player, not the flute. Healy flutes are quite loud, but I’ve heard newbies wheeze into them at a whisper, unable to make it really honk. I’ve heard Rudall-style flutes ride well above some Prattens, but, again, I have to give credit to the player. I played a German flute for years before I got a Hamilton, small holes and bore, and played it against pipes and fiddles and it rose to the challenge.
That said, the Hamilton is capable of going even louder, and probably matches the original request as much or more than any other I can think of. I disagree that it’s less versatile. But the constant desire and holy grail of and for “session cannons” ignores the truth, which is that 90 percent of the volume, that low end blast, comes from the embouchure and the player. A hard (D) truth that most newbies don’t want to hear.
Another point is that what is audible over major volume is relative; a clean, clear note is easier to make out over, say, accordians, than a fat, gritty and deep one, so a good growly Pratten is not necessarily going to “Pop” over other loud-volume bass notes. And if you throw in enough pipers, accordians, etc., no flute will be heard, sans mics, in any case.
Flutes made for Irish music are generally after the same thing; good low D, a fair amount of volume, and a specific range of “Irish” tone. Any flute made by a maker of good reputation will supply you with the tool for good session play. The rest, as they say, is up to you.
Gordon
I’m not too worried about not being able to make good flute honk, I’ve been playing on an old mollenhauer for a couple years now and I can get a fair bit of volume out of it but it can only be pushed so far. I’ve had the chance to play on some other flutes lately (a sweet, a healey and some unknown pratten) and was easily able to get them to play at least double the volume of my mollenhauer.
Yeah, Skip’s flutes are right up there for volume too, and well made, used to have one, can’t imagine how they slipped my mind. Healy flutes are perhaps a bit less “trad” looking and sounding than some of the others, but I give Skip credit for going his own way and slavishly cranking out another Pratten or Rudall copy.
Loren