Hi, all.
Warning: this will be a longwinded rave. I’m not qualified to write a review.
To put my comments in perspective, I’m an intermediate player of only 14 months. Whistle, too. Played piano for 15 years as a kid and walked away. Played saxophone for 5 years and walked away, but it left me with the subconscious habit of “air fingering” music from the stereo or my head. So, I can read dots and play an imaginary woodwind instrument by ear! Always loved Irish Trad. My wife gave me a whistle last last Christmas and suddenly I had a voice for the music in my head. 2 months later I was asking a friend about starter flutes and he up and lent me his Casey Burns Blackwood Standard. That’s been my flute to date. I play a Boehm flute occasionally for song accompaniment. Like many here, I’m very badly bitten by all this. Occasional small house sessions, lots of duet playing, daily playing during my commute.
Jon C. made me a large-holed Rudall style in Blackwood. It arrived this week. It’s got larger tone holes than my CB, but with a smaller bore and smaller, 2 semicircles embouchure hole. I was surprised at the apparent power of the tone, despite being easier to fill. I have to be careful not to overblow into that squakee nether-octave. Whereas the CB has a husky, dry tone that I can play reedy to the point of sounding like a muted trumpet, Jon’s flute favours a bright, complex tone. It might not be louder, but it really penetrates. It demands a more focused stream than I’m used to, but the range of tone amazes me. Easy, sweet second octave. Punchy Low D. It’s going to be fun cutting my chops to this one.
Intonation seems really good. Jon has lamented the C# on his flutes before (common problem). It seems only a hair flat in the 2nd octave, as does the high B, but those high notes are easy to push up. In most tunes those are notes that we lean on, anyway. It seems really responsive; a friend of mine was able to get a lot of “popping” from ornamentation.
Fit and finish-wise, it’s a beauty. Balances nicely. Partially lined head. Mark IV slide credited to Terry Mcgee. Discrete chatterwork on the endcap. Pattern wire leaf scroll rings; D-profile plain silver around the slide. Tidy solder lines. Jon, please post a picture. His pictures emphasize the rings quite a bit, but in person the overall effect is quite fine. On scrutiny against a friend’s Hammy, the slide doesn’t quite have the vaccuum-fit machining of the Hammy, and the the tenons on Jon’s aren’t reinforced. Chalk that up to price and the difference in experience between Hammy and Jon. I’ll cope.
I’m thrilled with this flute. I scrimped and saved. I made inquiries of other makers of mid-range flutes, and I would probably be writing a similar rave about a CB, Seery, or M&E. But this flute soooo exceeded my expectations. Those among you who are expecting a flute from Jon are in for a treat. I’m already thinking about a Delrin Pratten for travel and beach session, but I’ve had enough musical excitement this year and enough of saving. Maybe next year…
Cheers, Mike
I’ve been playing the new flute this afternoon, and I’m finding that the high B and C# sound well up in tune, and not a shade flat like what I heard before. So, either my ear has been off, or the tuning characteristics of this flute are easily adjusted to.
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