Seeking opinions/suggestions on the loudest keyless flutes one can find with maybe a year wait max (may or may not have large bores, not sure).
Jil Lehart
There may be something louder than an Olwell Pratten, but the Olwell Pratten is loud enough.
A Hammy Hamilton or a Pratten model from Olwell or Gallagher would be your best bet. My Lehart is also quite loud, but those three are well-known for volume and are probably louder.
I did not mention those because:
- Hammy isn’t taking orders. Not sure it’s the loudest flute, but does have a unique sound profile that seems to cut through a session.
- Not sure a year (MAX) is sufficient for an Olwell.
- Not sure a year (MAX) is sufficient for a John Gallagher, & Seth Gallagher is not taking orders, to my knowledge (listed as a 3.5-4 year wait for keyed & keyless).
Best bet may be what they can find in the used market. For instance, I have a Seth Gallagher keyless (used) I might offer for sale, as I have acquired a 6-keyed version.
Thanks! I think I can be flexible about the one year max.
Just haven’t tried enough flutes (and hoping to not have to 
) to know which one is the loudest.
I have a standard Lejeune flute that is decent too, but not sure where it sits compared to the Gallagher or Olwell on that metric…
Also my flute skills may be the inhibiting factor on loudness here too, so more opinions always welcome.
I have an (delrin type) M&E in ‘F’ that is quite loud, (to my ears at least).
Others I have that are quieter; Tony Dixon ABS one piece & delrin 3 piece; Damian Thompson 2 piece; all these have pleasing tones & are fairly loud, but the M&E is louder.
I got my new keyless Olwell one year after ordering, almost to the day.
In my opinion loudness should not be a goal in itself. Tone, yes, volume when playing with other people quickly becomes a competition
The Lejeune flute is plenty loud (if you want to be loud). It is as good as any, to include Olwell. My preference is actually Lejeune for volume and tone. It is very satisfying for me to play. Ultimately, satisfaction is what counts. It comes down to personal preference, and so only you can decide.
I was thinking John, and yes, I was more thinking the used market, should have specified. Olwell’s list was about a year for keyless last I checked, not sure about Gallagher’s, but since no budget was given I figured one of those would pop up sometime on the used market within a year. I’ve only heard one John Gallagher Pratten but oh boy was that a cannon, depending on his waiting list that’d probably be my pick for volume alone. His Rudalls are quite nice as well.
Also my flute skills may be the inhibiting factor on loudness here too, so more opinions always welcome.
I’ve been at it for about five years now, and I must say that the more I improve, the louder my flutes get 
This is certainly an oft-debated topic. But it seems the general consensus is that overall volume is one thing, whereas tone is another, and most often it’s the tone that “cuts” through at a noisy session. In my opinion, bright, buzzy, reedy tone is easier to hear than warm, deep, round tone when you’re playing amongst a variety of instruments at a larger session.
I recently received some advice from Isaac Alderson: practice your third octave notes everyday. That’s the quickest way to improve your embouchure and get the most flexibility of tone from your flute. (Isaac plays an Olwell Pratten-style, btw)
Does anyone know what kind of flute Conal O Grada plays? I can’t imagine he has a hard time being heard at a session…
@ John Driscoll I hate to be a ditto head, but ditto this:
I’ve been at it for about five years now, and I must say that the more I improve, the louder my flutes get
Also this:
…practice your third octave notes everyday. That’s the quickest way to improve your embouchure and get the most flexibility of tone from your flute.
My large-holed Rudall by John Gallagher is quite loud, with great tone (dark and resonant). The more I push it, the more it delivers in both tone and volume. However, my own embouchure progress is really the source of the improvement.
Does anyone know what kind of flute Conal O Grada plays? I can’t imagine he has a hard time being heard at a session…
I think a Hammy…
Thanks, great opinions here. I feel I should focus more on the embouchure at this moment but if I feel I have pushed my current flute to the limit (not sure when or how 
I will come back to this post.
Also, to clarify, I am not looking for volume to cut through a session. Just want get a flute I can push very far.
I believe it’s a flute Conal built himself, at Hammy’s workshop (and probably under Hammy’s direction).
I have no idea on the time frame, but I’ve heard a Glenn Watson flute played. It stood up well to Olwell Pratten volume.
I have two Hammies - a 6 key and a custom short foot. Love them both.
They can be powerful and sweet, and they do require some getting used to.
I was in Philly when Conal’s flute cracked into pieces. It was a workshop at the Irish Club somewhere around 2005-ish. He asked everyone to see their flute so he’d have an instrument for the concert that night. I don’t remember who’s he used, but he still had that typical sound he creates.
After that I think he found other makers flutes to play. Like many players, he probably has a drawer full of them.
Does anyone know what kind of flute Conal O Grada plays? I can’t imagine he has a hard time being heard at a session…
I read somewhere that he used to play an antique flute by R&R but with a Fentum head, and now plays a Hammy Hamilton flute which was made in 2011.
I think you can get a look at Ó Grada´s early kit in this older video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrVpGbekbR4
Be patient, at about 34 seconds the cameraman figures out the focus. Loudness, volume, for a flute player is as much on the player as the instrument. But volume really doesn´t translate into musicality, or taste, and doesn´t always contribute to a rewarding session. One of my peeves is getting stuck with some @r$3Hol3 blasting in my ear, getting more and more out of tune.
Bob
I completely agree. Also wrote earlier that I’m not looking for a flute to become the loudest person in a session. Given my skills, I would probably hate that session myself 
. More as an instrument that gives me a high level to get to eventually
We’ve mentioned several flutes that can be pushed to the limit and that take you a long ways–in my case farther than I can go. Some may be somewhat louder than others, but all are loud enough. Unless you want to break windows.