I am happy to announce that besides wooden whistles, I am also offering 3 and 4 piece af. blackwood flutes for the introductory price of $250.
Visit my primitive website (soon to be updated) at…
God Bless,
David
Hey, Davey:
Congratulations on making the switch to full-time instrument-maker. Hope to hear good things about all your instruments. I know some folks are reluctant to blow their own horns on commercial threads, but I hope a couple specific questions might give you leave to give us some additional info. So:
Any additional info on your flutes? That is, are they patterned after a particular model (R&R, Pratten, etc), or are they your own design? Any feedback from other players? And any good close-up shots? I’m interested in seeing, for instance, a good shot of the headjoint and embouchure cut, if you’ve got the pics . . .
Best of luck in your new full-time venture, of course!
Sounds great Davey. I’d like to hear more too. I’ve just started flute but I’m pretty sure I want to take it seriously. (I play over a dozen instruments already so I do know what that means.) I’d like to get a wooden instrument that I’ll be very happy with as a serious instrument but which won’t be too much trouble for a beginner who’s prepared to put the practice in. Now, you are offering what seems to be a professional style model for what Casey Burns would ask for a beginner’s model. I find that very tempting since, even though I will take this seriously, I don’t feel keen on dropping $1000 right now on an instrument I can’t yet play.
Of course, half the folks are telling me to wait until I’ve got a developed embouchure before I venture beyond student models and the other half are telling me to go for a good wooden model straight away. Buying something good straight away would be my advice on most instruments to someone I knew would be serious, but flutes are a bit different.
Anyway, ramble over. I’d love some more information. Perhaps I can have my cake and eat it too for once in my life.
Yes, please tell us more if you will.
I have not tried his flute, But Davey’s whistles play very much like concert model O’Riordans, only not quite as loud…which is actually nicer, in my opinion.
Oh shucks. I was hoping you could tell us about it Jessie.
I’ll presume that Dave won’t mind me putting in a few words here.
Dave’s stated aims in flutemaking are all about cleanness and purity of tone. If your thing is more toward reedy/dirty timbres, Pratten- or Rudall and Rose-type designs, etc. are probably what you might want. At this time, his preference is for making unlined headjoints, and the embouchure technique is of course different than on the more “Irish”-oriented sticks. A nice, sweet tone for his first efforts, and a good volume and clarity can be got out of them.
Can you elaborate on this a bit more? If this flute isn’t “Irish-oriented,” then what is it? How, in your opinion, does the embouchure technique differ, and how might this affect one’s ability to play other flutes if one learns on a Greenwood? Is this due to the unlined headjoint, or other aspects of the design? Aren’t most of the other flutes in this price range (Burns student, all the PVCs, etc.) unlined?
Wow, there certainly are a lot of decent flutes on the market right now at about $250 - this has to be a good thing.
Thanks,
Tim
I’ll try to answer as best I can, as I have to wrap things up at work…may have to continue later. I think that my description of its tone should explain what I was referring to, especially in that reediness and easy “bark” are frequently a sought-after quality among trad players that I am acquainted with. There may be exceptions to this, but tonal purity as an overall feature is less popular with trad players in my experience. Ultimately, then, its orientation would depend on the player, I think. I recall a number of posts from flute players who have expressed a preference for pure-toned flutes.
How, in your opinion, does the embouchure technique differ, and how might this affect one’s ability to play other flutes if one learns on a Greenwood?
I would have to try the flute more to really get a grip in the differences, but they are there. I’m habituated to playing R&R-type embouchure cuts, now, and Davey was able to get a good tone out of it whereas I had some difficulty at it, but was getting a better feel for it. This was during a visit, and I had only an hour or so to try, and this was at intervals as we had other business to tackle.
Is this due to the unlined headjoint, or other aspects of the design? Aren’t most of the other flutes in this price range (Burns student, all the PVCs, etc.) unlined?
Lining doesn’t make all that much difference, I think; the cut of the embouchure and its chimmney depth determine these things more, in my limited experience. As to the other makers, I don’t know what they do.
Best,
N
Thanks. No matter how we try to describe our experiences, there’s just no substitute for having an instrument in your hands, is there? Those of us who are relatively inexperienced do appreciate the descriptions, though.
Best,
Tim