Marcus Hernon Flute - It's a Keeper

Irish Flute
1

Well my little tryst with the Marcus Hernon is over and now it is time to straighten up and face the music. :cry: Its time to end my torrid affair with this flute and I have tried to sanctify her for the next owner (played the hell out of it)! :smiling_imp:

The flute is in as new condition (Made in 2004) and comes in its own solid cherry wood box.





Iā€™ll keep this flute for now and try to grow into it.

Thanks!

Jordan

2

Did the case come with the flute? Both the flute and case look good. I wish I had a case like that for my flutes.

Good luck with the sale!

Jeanie

3

Dear Jeanie,

Yes the case is made by Marcus Hernon especially for his flutes. The case is actually made out of a single piece of cheery wood, sawn in half and the recesses inside milled out with a router or endmill. The case is to say the least SOLID and Beautiful! Marcus used to offer these cases as an extra for about $100, but I believe they are now standard with all of his flutes.

Keep Makin Music!

Jordan

4

I knew I shouldnā€™t have bought an M&Eā€¦
Ok there will be other Flutes.

5

Just curious - are you unhappy with your M.E.R.R. for some reason?

I doubt I will ever part with mine because itā€™s so useful as an impromptu noodling/practice instrument.

6

I have a hard time giving up one of my M&Eā€™s. My rationale goes something like this: ā€œThis one has six keys on it and is his R&R model plays incredibly and can go anywhere with you without a sealed humidified environment. This other M&E is his original model doesnā€™t have any keys so its easier to transport (aside: not like the 6 key is really that much more difficult) and Jon C. made it look all nice for me. I canā€™t let it go, I hear he doesnā€™t make these anymore.ā€

So I keep both. :smiley:

7

Iā€™ve seen a number of people store two mid-section flutes (such as the Hernon above) with the lower mid-section and the foot attached (again, just like the picture above)ā€¦ Is there any harm in keeping a flute this way? It basically means the bottom two sections of the flute are never separated; does this compromise the cork or the joint?

8

So Jordan what are you playing these days?

Doc

9

Hey Doc,

Well I gotta tell ya, trying to keep up with the Jonesā€™s is puttin me in the Poor House! :laughing:

Currently Iā€™ve got the beautiful Mrs. Copley and an austere little Rudall I aquired from Mkchen.

But I guess Iā€™m following in your footsteps: :smiley:

Iā€™ve got a Casey Burns Rudall that is past due.

Just made arrangements for Scotiaā€™s McGee GLP.

And finally I have an All Wood Copley on order.


So the old Flute Fund is in Deficit mode. :frowning:

But perhaps you could help me decide on the wood for the Copley. Dave has generously offered to make it out of Boxwood. Iā€™ve never had a Boxwood flute and I would be devastated if some harm should come to it!

Keep Makin Music!

Jordan

10

Actually the person I bought it from is sending it out today but I would have had just enough if I didnā€™t buy the M&E, but them I would be going crazy over not having a Delrin Flute to take any where.

11

Hi Jordan,

I once had the privilege of playing a Copley with all three of Daveā€™s headjointsā€¦lined, semi-lined and unlined.

I quite liked them all, though I much preferred both the lined and unlined to the semi-lined. I liked either the true honk or the complexity/warmth of the all wood. I donā€™t love compromise when the real thing is available.

At the time Dave was not working in boxwood. At the same time I was falling madly in love with my boxwood Burns so went that direction instead.

Boxwood is no big deal. My Burns warps a bit when it gets dry and straightens out when itā€™s humidified. Plays the same either way. You will likely want to keep it humidified. There are plenty of threads on that that you can read. The short answer is a tupperware and a damp-it and a hydrometer. Shoot for about 50%.

Have fun. Iā€™d love to try that two-semicircle embouchre on the GLP. I have a rounded rectangle and a modified elyiptical. I really need to post a thread on thatā€¦

Cheers,

Doc

12

Jordan,

Very sorry for not responding to your last PM, Iā€™ve fallen quite behind of late :blush: At any rate, Iā€™ll throw my 2 cents in on the wood question, per your request:

Iā€™d say absolutely go for the Boxwood option on the Copley unlined flute, It should be awesome!

BTW, if the Copley you currently have is indeed my old (original) Copley, then it is indeed a fine flute. Iā€™ve owned two Copleys, played several more, and while Iā€™ve liked them all, the original flute I bought from Dave back inā€¦2001 was it?..was the one that I enjoyed the most. Lovely flute indeed.

Now order a Boxwood flute from Dave and let us know how much it rocks when it arrives! :smiley:

Loren

13

If itā€™s threaded thereā€™s no problem. The cork may or may not get compressed,
if itā€™s corked,
but itā€™s controversial whether this really happens, and itā€™s recorkable
if it does. One option is to just slighltly join the sections.

14

Well things didnā€™t work out as planned. But Iā€™m happy! :slight_smile: (So is my wife since Iā€™ll be replacing the household funds I pinched to aquire another flute.) From the onset I intended to keep the Copley, she is just so amiable and flexable and has excellent intonation! Anyone who plays the Copley will be impressed with it, unless of course they are such staunch maker loyalists as to have their flute makerā€™s name written on their underwear.

Iā€™ll confess my intentions with the Hernon were not noble from the begining. I just intended to use her and then through her on the old scrap heap with all the other flutes Iā€™ve gone through. But knowing my time was limited, I played her intensely, leaving the Copley languishing. Well as the Hernon flute grew more familiar with me, she started to sing clearer and stronger and respond faster (funny how that can happen :laughing: ). I have always liked her deep reedy voice (I canā€™t ā€œbarkā€ with her yet, but weā€™ll work on it)!

I offered up the Hernon for sale, not because of any deficiencies with the flute, but because of my own deficiencies. It was easier to play the Copley. But I will aspire to become proficient at playing the Hernon. I do not believe that I will ever be capable of mastering the Hernon. That is a pinnacle that only a select few can ever achieve, her maker being one.

15

enjoy the journeyā€¦grasshopper :wink:

16

Iā€™ve experienced both of those. I never intended my Bleazey to be a permanent flute, and in fact, have bought flutes specifically to replace it. But the thing is so damn nice, and as I become a better player, the Bleazey becomes a better player.

OTOH, try as I might, I never did master the bottom end of my Copley, which was clearly a flute with much more depth than anything I had at the time. I parted with it not because it was inadequate, but because I was inadequate.

17

Tintin wrote:
Iā€™ve seen a number of people store two mid-section flutes (such as the Hernon above) with the lower mid-section and the foot attached (again, just like the picture above)ā€¦ Is there any harm in keeping a flute this way? It basically means the bottom two sections of the flute are never separated; does this compromise the cork or the joint?

JIm Stone:

If itā€™s threaded thereā€™s no problem. The cork may or may not get compressed,
if itā€™s corked,
but itā€™s controversial whether this really happens, and itā€™s recorkable
if it does. One option is to just slighltly join the sections.

I wouldnā€™t leave assembled. I believe it retains a lot of moisture around the socket which is a section vulnerable to cracking. The wood gets too much moisture at this end grain spot. Also if the thread is left moist it stands a chance of swelling. Waxed and greased thread should help a lot. If left assembled for a long time the moisture can form a ā€˜glueā€™ which sticks really hard. When you try to pull the joints apart the thread can come away and bind up in the socket. Iā€™ve had it on an old flute. Tricky!

18

Hey gorjuswrex,

I certainly do not neglect my flutes. :smiley: The Hernon typically resides disassembled in its shrine and gets played quite thoroughly every day. It is essential that the flute and especially the joints be allowed to dry after playing. Besides, flutes with fully lined heads like the Hernon have their own dehumidifiers built right in and the condensate runs down the bore and collects at the joints.

Once the flute has air dried, I would see no harm in keeping it in a case with the joint closed for short periods of time (up to several weeks). But, I would not leave the flute to pine away for years with the joint shut. Doing so could possibly lead to the joint becoming cemented together.

I believe the case for the Hernon is superfluous and primarily for show. I donā€™t use it and have shelved the case in the closet.

Keep Makin Music!

Jordan

19

By all means take it apart and dry the sockets, etc. before putting it
away. However once this is done, I think thereā€™s no harm
in storing threaded tenons joined, especially not the
bottom tenon. I was, by the way, told this by a maker
of flutes with threaded tenons, FWIW.

20

once youā€™ve had a flute or two crack at that joint, it becomes really easy to store the flute disassembled. the joint can continue to swell after you finish playing and swabbing. there are a few factors involved but largely the stability of each individual piece of wood in each individual flute varies. unless you know your flute like the back of your hand, then better to error on the side of caution. it is not like there is any big effort involved to take the joint apart.