Hi all,
First off, I just wanted to thank the Chiff n’ Fipple community. What a great group of folks. In the past weeks/months, I have:
1 - Sold a bunch of whistles and flutes to some really great folks around the world
2 - Gotten great feedback from several members about the merits and risks of an older flute (in this case, a Keith Prowse not to be confused with a Thomas Prowse)
3 - Come across Jon Cornia, a great flute-repairman from Southern California. He was great to work with and I wouldn’t have found him without this forum.
Thanks in particular to “Paddler”, who gave me some insight into the Keith Prowse flutes, to “Jemtheflute” for guidance on older flutes’ sounding lengths, and to the Moderators who kindly helped me managing the posts.
Secondly, check out the Keith Prowse. Bought it off e-bay, sent it off to Jon Cornia to assess. He built me a new head, as someone had gone at the original embouchure hole with some kind of crude tool. He also worked on the keys and pads. Now, here it is:
After working the embouchure hole and new pads, we sent it back and forth a few times to tune holes. Jon increased the hole size for the C#, which I believe was intended to be played with the C key vented, so it played flat without the venting. Expanding that hole didn’t seem to affect the middle D, but it did improve the cross-fingered C natural a lot. It still sits a bit flat, but probably close enough.
The F# was also pretty flat. I’ve slowly worked at expanding the hole, mostly by undercutting a bit on the north side. I feel I’ve pushed the F# as close to in tune as possible without throwing the G above it sharp.
Below are some sound samples, played through a C100 mic straight into Garage Band, completely dry with no modifications. You can hear the flatish C-natural in the second one when I work through the scale, but it doesn’t seem to be glaring during tunes.
Jigs: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxxd2Cr230DyYlNwQXY5d0lqbVk
Note samples plus reel: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxxd2Cr230DyRjRERkNaaTN5U3c
Comparing Prowse to Olwell: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxxd2Cr230DyT2tzSGFpTkM4R1k
Jigs with a quick guitar track added, all “dry”: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxxd2Cr230DyN2lFekVYUHVCVVU
I would describe the tone as more “buttery” than my boxwood and blackwood flutes but still with some reediness, particularly in the first octave and especially on the low D and E notes. It’s fairly responsive, but I still don’t have the efficiency quite down. Really digging the quirkiness and character that the flute has. It’s harder to play (and less immediately responsive) than the Olwell, for example, but somehow I enjoy it more when I get it rolling just right.
Once again, big thanks to Jon, who’s work really made all the difference, particularly the head. I highly recommend him if you’re looking to do some work.
Best,
Vince
