Has anybody tried one of these? Any thoughts on the beast. I currently play one of his rosewood keyless, am fond of it, and have had good feedback on the sound. However, there are time (eg G#) when keys would be useful. I am aware that his flutes have a reputation of being variable. In fact, when I bought mine, I tried a few others and was not moved to replace my Tipple. Then I tried the one I have and couldn’t get my credit card out fast enough. I have been watching this forum and have not seen them discussed. Thing is, he’s in driving distance of northern NJ, and I would really like to try before I buy, and I don’t think I’m ready to commission the likes of a Gallegher, Olwell etc.
I wish I could drive up to Ralph’s shop! He also usually has a number of restored antiques on hand, too, that you could try and compare to his own flutes. I’ve not seen comments on his highest end flutes (the 6 & 8 key models), but you have nothing to lose by going to try them. And, don’t forget to try his 4 key models, I’ve heard there are some gems among them, too. 
Personally, I wonder if the keyed flutes are made with more care than the keyless. If your going to put the extra time into block mounted keys, and the german silver work, too, it seems only logical these flutes would get that extra TLC that makes a flute special.
Eric
My understanding is that overall workmanship can be variable, but that tone and playability are consistently good. Most objections to Sweet’s flutes, then, seem to be based on more cosmetic considerations. Now, bear in mind that I’ve only tried one some years back, a keyless, and although I didn’t care for the single body construction characteristic of Sweet’s keyless flutes, I was quite pleased with the tone and volume. I don’t recall if it had a tuning slide. I know of a recording artist who tried one -an eight-key stick, if I recall aright- to let a prospective buyer know if it would be a good flute, and he gave a thumbs up. I also know another such who, although she doesn’t play them, thinks very highly of them.
Give Ralph a holler. I believe he’ll let you try one, as the fellow trying out the keyed one I mentioned above told me that Ralph had sent it to him to try. If that’s right, he’s probably a pretty nice guy. If he offers a short waiting time (such as a year or two), you could do worse, I think.
If you’re thinking of coughing up that much dough have you looked at Domininc Allen’s sticks? www.woodflutes.co.uk is his website - I have an eight keyed pratten style tune basher and love it - can’t reccommend it highly enough - some people don’t like the more modern style keywork but it does the job I can tell you