The Copley & Boegli Delrin Flute; a Novice's View

Irish Flute
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I would like to share my observations on the new Copley & Boegli Delrin flute. I am not an expert on the Irish flute, but do consider myself to be an avid novice. Over the past 35 years, I have performed professionally on highland pipes, guitars, Boehm flutes (in a rock context), and mandolin. Doc Jones was kind enough to send me this flute to have a look. For comparison, I will reference my Copley & Boegli Session flute with lined head, slide and long foot.

The Copley & Boegli Delrin flute shipped in a hard plastic pistol case and included an attractive tan corduroy roll bag with a compartment for each of the three components: head joint and two piece body.

The head joint has a well done logo of the maker’s name and appears to be laser etched. The head joint has a satin finish with a subdued gloss and looks much like blackwood.

The embouchure hole on my Session flute is shaped like two semi-circles; while the Delrin embouchure hole is slightly shorter and is shaped more like a rounded rectangle.

The two piece body has a different finish than the semi gloss head joint, and appears to have been bead blasted. This gives a contrasting matte finish that feels somewhat tacky and provides a very good purchase on the flute.

Hole spacing and hole size are virtually identical to the Session; however, I do not have gauges to confirm this. I find the spacing and hole size to be very comfortable and would not think it would be a challenge to many; much easier than say an Overton low D whistle and the like.

Overall length of the Delrin is 23 inches versus 26 1/4 for the Session; keeping in mind that the Session has a long foot . The Delrin’s weight is a little less than the Session. I have no means to weigh them but the blackwood Session has a little more heft of say 2-3 ounces. I feel that the longer Session wins in the balance department, but this could be the “comfortable old shoe” bit. When I balanced them on a fulcrum, they balanced in pretty much the same spot; about 1/2 inch above the top (B) hole; that is with the Delrin body tenon pulled out about 1/4 inch.

When I assembled the Delrin, I estimated that about a 1/4 gap between the body and the head joint would be about right for A 440. I have a high end Korg tuner and it showed it to be spot on. Of course we all know the variables. I will say that today it was spot on. Also, it’s nice to have a two piece body so that you can rotate the right hand body to suit your taste. And I will add that the fit and finish is up to the usual high standards of the maker; a very precise build.

The playing characteristics I find to be very appealing. Embrochure; this would be a wonderful “first flute”; getting a good tone is no challenge and it’s obvious that Mr. Copley is a master at cutting a great embouchure. I have a fairly focussed air stream; however, I don’t have to try very hard to lose focus; and still found the embrochure to be very forgiving.

The big question: will it play dark, edgy and reedy? It’s all there. For example, if I sound a low D and hover just where one might slide up an octave, you pick up the reedy edgy, dark thing. That sweet spot is right there; very predictable and not difficult to maintain. I believe that this embouchure, which leans towards a rounded rectangle shape provides a wider sweet spot. If you don’t want to produce the edgy tone you can lean back a little and produce a warm and open tone and pick up some sweetness in the second octave.

Tuning sounds fine to me. I can play through 2 1/2 octaves without losing it; just being honest folks. I have no reason to doubt a more experienced player could verify that it stays in tune through the top of it’s range. Intonation is very good in that the sound levels between octaves are well balanced. Articulation rates high with me; however, I am no speed demon; but again, I do believe that a more experienced player would find that it will handle anything one throws at it.

Volume is on par with my Session; which means Pratten loud if that’s what you want or you can dial it down and play softly. I think the Delrin rates high in all the criteria that matters musically.

This is an easy to like flute. In my opinion, for about $350 you are getting a professional level instrument that will hold it’s own. It does not offer any frills, but presents a rather a pure “getting down to business image”. As mentioned earlier, this would make a very good first flute because it’s easy to play and produce excellent tones. I also think it would serve as a great backup flute for the pro and anyone would wants a basically zero maintenance flute which is impervious to harsh environments.

If you are still with me, thanks for wading through all this. I will be glad to answer any questions you might have. Doc Jones has some photos of the flute on his site: http://www.irishflutestore.com/newsite/products.php?c1=55&c2=65 . Cheers, Cyril.

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Nice review, Cyril, and thanks for your impressions! It definitely sounds like a nice new addition in Delrin flutes and Dave Copley has done a good job on it.

So, does it meet all your needs for a Delrin flute that will you be hanging on to it, or will you possibly get a Forbes instead?

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I’d just been pondering the Copley & Boegli Delrin, so thanks for the timely posting of your extensive comments!

I don’t suppose by any chance you’ve also had the chance to play one of the Forbes delrins? I’ve been wondering how the two compare…

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Hi Barry,

Thank you for the kind words. I would love to have a look at the Forbes and the Seery. Have you tried either?

I haven’t made a decision. The Copley is a strong, responsive, well voiced flute. It has the edgy, dark, and reedy tone down cold. Plus, it’s a great buy. Decisions, decisions …

Michael, I’ve only seen a photo of the Forbes. I do like the addition of the rings, but I’m not sure if they are worth $50 if one is looking for the best buy. The Copley sound is going to be hard to beat.

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You’re welcome, Cyril, it was nicely written!

I’ve only tried the Seerys-4 of them, in fact. 2 were excellent, 2 were not to my liking. They have a strong Pratten tone-open and deep in tone. The stretch was very long on the bottom D hole, and the holes were fairly large, but not the largest I’ve played. And the embouchure while not difficult, still required some effort-not an easy player anyway. I traded mine on the Ward Delrin, since it had an easier embouchure, and and easier hand stetch, and I liked it overall a lot better. But the hole sizes seemed about the same between the Ward and Seery.

Your Copley seems to have smaller holes, and probably a little smaller bore than the Seery or Forbes. The Forbes has a more “engineered” tuning slide, even though it is a simple design. And the finish seems to be just a little shinier and the design less utilitarian on the Forbes-whether that’s good or bad, depends on how you like it. Also, the more squarish embouchure hole of the Copley makes it a little easier to play in comparison-as you said, a larger sweet spot.

I’ve listened to a clip or two of the Forbes, and it’s very responsive, and also has a strong deep tone, but I can’t say how much different it is from the Copley, but I imagine it is more open and possibly a little louder also, but I haven’t heard any clips of the Copley yet.

There are certainly a lot of happy Forbes players about, who seem to really think they are easier to hear in sessions than the Seery. That may be the deciding factor for some people who are mainly session players.

Maybe someone who has played both Forbes and Copley will comment.

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Just to comment, I have enjoyed reading this thread. Only one of my current flutes is of a hard polymer, perhaps Delrin, and it’s a small holed, Baroque one-key flute. Anyway, for some while I’ve been taking notes on Delrin type flutes, knowing that it is a very worthwhile flute material, and this thread has me close to reaching for my wallet.

Thanks for all of your comments!