This is an extraordinarily good Pratten-style flute, IMO, which I got used from Doc Jones
several months ago. It honks nicely, it has good volume, and it has an open strong
Pratten sound. But it also has a real sweetness to it, especially in the second octave,
and it’s wonderfully in tune. It is hard to describe this coherently, but the Cotter has the power and honking quality of a Pratten but also some of the sweetness of a Rudall-style
flute. Where the Olwell tends to be reedy the Cotter tends to sound less complex
and more pure and sweet. It is very responsive, the keys are beautiful and work very well.
The 6-key Cotter is lighter–or at least no heavier–than the Olwell keyless.
I think partly on account of the tuning the Cotter has a left hand stretch that may
be an issue for some people. The space between B and A is considerably longer than on the Olwell and on most other flutes I’ve played, and the A is wider in diameter than on the Olwell. This places the G hole further down the flute, so L 3 is pretty extended (though still curved).
I find it takes some getting used to but I am used to it. The right hand stretch is easier than on the Olwell. I find the Cotter harder to handle than the Olwell (which is pretty easy for me) but easier than a Hammy,
which for me is a bit of handful, though doable.
For some reason the right hand holes are slightly inward (toward the player) compared to the left hand holes. Why this is so I have no idea, but it makes no difference in playing.
There seems to me to be a great integrity to the Cotter–it does what a Pratten is meant to do, it’s simple, it’s straightforward, the craftsmanship in very good and it’s very well in tune. It’s responsive, it has great presence and immediacy. It goes about being a Pratten in a different way from the Olwell, which is more ‘reedy,’ but the two flutes are, soundwise, in the same league–but different. Some days I think the Olwell sounds slightly better, some days I think they’re just different.
There have been some reports of Cotters out of tune or less loud–I don’t know what to make of these reports and maybe others will comment. I don’t know what the wait period is for these or how much they cost new. If my flute is typical, one of these would probably satisfy a rational individual Pratten-wise for the rest of his/her life.
Although I have given away a few flutes, and good ones at that, I tend to hang on to my flutes, rather than sell them. For one thing, it gives me the opportunity to go back and compare them to whatever flute currently has my attention.
I spent about 10 minutes playing a lovely boxwood (I presume) keyless Cotter at Boxwood a couple years back. It was great! Very responsive and easy (in other words, a lot of fun) to play right off the bat. It sounded pretty well in tune to me as well. Other than sound files, Jim, can you send any pics of the flute? How is the key placement?
I think this is what makes me justify my little “collection”
But it’s fun, you know, to go back and revisit some of those old friends sitting in my wooden trunk. I can find something new or different each time I go back, that’s part of the beauty of it, for me.
And also, I like hearing about different flutes. I thought that’s what we’re all about, here.
All this just makes me want to get out my flutes and start playing.
I have a keyless Cotter Eb that I got from the man himself in 1998, or maybe it was 1999. I contacted him around April of that year to order it, mentioned to him that I’d be over in July for the Willie Week but not expecting to get the flute at that time. Surprise, he had it ready by then and even gave it a final check-out run by playing it in the flute recital before handing it over to me the next day. The cost as I recall was around 350 Irish pounds which at the time translated to around US$500.
Eamonn Cotter makes a very nice flute. Not quite as finished and polished on the outside as some other flutes, a bit rustic if you will, but they play beautifully. There’s great value for the money in them.
) you mean 8-keyed, then no, he doesn’t.
