Just received my keyless D from Bryan on Saturday. I can say without hesitation that the 11 month wait was well worth the final outcome. A few folks have posted here in the past about the superb quality and sound of Bryan’s flutes. I had high expectations, but I must admit I was blown away when I opened the case and assembled it. The workmanship is stunningly clean and precise. As far and accoustic qualities the volume dynamics are quite good. I had numerous conversations with Bryan about what I was wanting, a classic R&R with a warm, focused, refined, rich tone that could scale up volume wise for group playing but that could mellow down for quiet evening play at home. I don’t exactly know how he may have deviated on this one from his previous works, but he indicated a couple of times that he was particulary excited about this one and that it was gaining serious interest among a few players at his local session. I’ve logged limited time playing it so far, but after only about 15 minutes into my first go at it I stopped, amazed, and put it down. It was that good, and I could hardly contain myself. I’ve never played a Grinter, but I have played an Olwell and a Murray flute for about a month apiece in a swap, and I can say that this Bryne is definitley in that elite class.
As far as dealing with Bryan goes, I cannot say enough good things about him. He returned phone calls prompty, had a perfect memory of our past conversations and the details I gave him on what I wanted. The guy is really thoughtful. The flute came accompanied by a four page handwritten letter covering the break-in period, thread maintenance, oiling, tuning, etc…all of which we discussed several times on the phone.
I’ll post pics and a review when time permits. For now its back to playing.
Peace and all the best,
Matt
