Just a note to say I think the Breton Tune in the second video is almost painfully beautiful, especially as performed by TD.
What a wealth of music there is out there!
Thanks for posting.
Nice clip, but I think this one is more germane to this topic:
http://source.pipers.ie/Media.aspx?mediaId=23188&categoryId=877
Just to emphasize the point Gordon made about the perils of drawing conclusions when comparing 2 clips done with different equipment, at a different time and place, with who knows what changes done post recording etc.
Here’s some bits of the same 2 clips with the volume altered and a little EQ. These changes are entirely justified because on listening to the original clips the Seery clip was considerably louder, and had less high frequency content.
https://www.box.com/s/bd8957fcafa837f77604
https://www.box.com/s/0fcb6eb82d1e0326c5b1
It should still be obvious which is which but some people may change their opinion as to which they prefer.
Cheers
Graeme
I still like the Seery better–more focused, hefty tone, less spray of overtones. I much prefer that.
And which is which?
Graeme
Alright, money where mouth is time:
#2
Assuming you’re right about choice #2 being the Seery, your point is still subjectively vague. We get it - you don’t personally care for the Olwell sound, and you find yourself validated in this particular series of vids, where two different flutes are played by Doorley. But when there’s an exception (the same or similar flute played by Skelton), to you, that says more about the tone an individual may draw from a particular flute than it says about the innate or natural tone of the flute itself, or the EQ hoops the recording may or may not have involved.
The fact is, the playing with EQ on these clips - after the original miking, room ambiance, and all other considerations - makes such a dramatic difference in the sound that, again, it says little about the Olwell v. Seery comparison. This is why, through the years, I’ve been very hostile to these sorts of tone comparisons via recordings - even samples on makers’ webpages tell me very little, other than (usually) someone of high caliber agreeing to endorse-by-playing the flute as a sample.
It’s cool not to prefer Olwells - I have similar preferences/biases regarding other well-thought-of makers, pro and con. I just think that confirming yours/my take on a flute’s intrinsic tone, via a YouTube clip, is a highly faulty yardstick. That’s all.
I think you’re all wrong. THIS is the yardstick by which all flute tone should be measured.