After a fidgety wait for the postal service to wander its slow path my 6-key flute from Eamonn Cotter finally came…
First impressions:
powerful
very light-weight and excellently-balanced
strong bottom end
nice crisp toneholes
beautiful range of tones
Single reservation:
The end of the Cnat key isn't rounded down and is fairly sharp so I'm getting a callous from on my index finger from rolling on to it (pipers grip with the right hand)
My embouchure is having to find a new home, but when I find it the whole flute really sings. Unfortunately my finding it often coincides with the time when I should stop playing since I'm still breaking it in... But if I then pick up the Metzler I've been playing I find I can really blast on it.
I won't say too much about intonation yet, as it's still changing for me as I change my way of playing it.
In case I worry that this is all just new-owner giddiness, a friend who is a brilliant player offered to buy it off me. :smiley:
(Side note: It is impressivly nerve-wracking to know a new flute that you haven't even seen yet, let alone played, is sitting in piles and trucks and warehouses with the post, possibly being trampled by elephants and frozen in the middle of winter. A flute he sent the same day to Texas arrived almost a week before mine made it to Germany. )
Congrats Doirlinn!
I’ll talk to Eamonn this week to check up on the delivery time for mine.
Is it only half an hour a day that you’re ‘allowed’ to play it?? Must be tough
Eamonn suggested breaking it in slowly over a period of a few weeks… The ‘allowance’ is my own. I started with under 10 min and have worked up to half an hour so far. But if I play it again for a few minutes later in the day I don’t worry. He didn’t give any specific dos and don’ts but was happy enough to answer questions.
Any other Cotter owners out there? How have you settled into your flute? Happy with it? Successful care and feeding?
I’ve had mine since last september, and I’m settling into it pretty well - the tone was good straight off, and is really starting to fill out the more I play it - I’m new to wood flutes, so it’ll take time. The only problem I’ve had is with the ‘A’ hole - I’ve got long fingers and it get’s pretty painful if I play for too long. I can’t get the hang of 'piper’s grip, but maybe that would be better? I’ve also dropped it a couple of times (getting over excited at a session or two!)and it has remained unscathed, so it’s built to last!
Did Eamonn give you any recommendations for oiling, etc? It was something I forgot to ask him about and he didn’t offer up anything in particular. (And it looks he’s been away from home long enough for his voice mail box to fill up completely, so I haven’t been able to ask…)
Is your flute keyed, chwiban? I suppose you mean your middle finger on the left hand gets cramped? I only use piper's grip on the right hand, as using it on the left puts keys out of my reach.
Mine’s unkeyed - I’ll upgrade when I can afford it, or if I think I really need it - right now I’m half-holing on the odd tune that needs an e or b flat or g sharp, and more or less getting away with it - f nat. would be handy though… So far I’ve found keyed flutes a bit awkward to play. As for oiling I did’nt think to ask, but I’ve been following the old rule of thumb of oiling once a week for the first month and once a month for a year and all’s o.k. so far. I’m using selmer bore oil on a pull-through rag. As I live in Wales, there’s not such a problem with drying out…
