Loren wrote:
Either way, there’s also the issue of methodology: Mr. Wilkes has a reputation for preferring handwork, as opposed to CNC and the like. Both have their advantages, but clearly, if you’re going to do virtually everything by hand, then the work is going to take longer. (Does anyone know for certain if Chris is mostly hand forging his keys these days, or doing primarily cast?)
Andrew writes:
You might tell the Pifflers that Chris does hand forge his keys.
In 40/50 years time cast ones might become crystalline in structure.
If he made flutes for the money he would not put the great amount of
adjustment time into each one to get it to his satisfaction.
The quest for perfection drives him.That does not allow delegation.
Andrew
I suspect Chris Wilkes might be amused to be called underrated…
He does everything himself, forging the keys, making many of the tools he uses he even makes the boxes himself. He also I suspect spends a fair bit of time voicing each flute after it is made - reaming out to strengthen a note I think this is called chambering, this must be a terrifying procedure with the chance of ruining all the work before… It was facinating seeing the process with so many different skills required and quite long gaps between the different machining stages.
All in all not a business for the impatient!
Rob
Just to add my 2 cents worth for two makers! *Note, I’m a curmudgeon who really likes all wood flutes! 
Fred Rose makes what I consider the Biggest Bang for the Buck in a new Irish Flute. They may be austere in appearance, but the one I had produced a very good tone and had exceptional intonation (~$300 U.S.).
Dave Copley makes excellent flutes, with great voicing and intonation, they are powerful yet expressive and colorful to play. His workmanship is also consistently excellent, his joints shut tight, inside the bore as well preventing condensate from collecting in the joint where the endgrains of the wood are exposed. I especially consider his all wood 3-piece model to be grossly underpriced (~$500 U.S. including shipping).
seems to me the name “Martin Doyle” is frequently coupled with the word “underrated” in the flute forum here. can’t speak on his flutes from experience though.
my favorite flute is made by the late Glenn Schultz (RIP); i’ll never part with it. though it must be said, i am a hack flute player.
I’m very fond of my Doyle flute - everyone should have one!
OT here again:
Jon C.,
Since you seem to be in contact with Andrew, please ask him to convey to Mr. Wilkes that Dave Skillen says hello and sends his regards. Chris should, I imagine, remember Mr. Skillen from his visit to the Boston area some years ago.
Loren
Hi,
When I brought up his name it was with the the thought that he was seldom mentioned, not meaning that anyone felt his flutes were underrated.
Loren wrote: Since you seem to be in contact with Andrew, please ask him to convey to Mr. Wilkes that Dave Skillen says hello and sends his regards. Chris should, I imagine, remember Mr. Skillen from his visit to the Boston area some years ago.
He still reads the threads here, I just pass on his sage wisdom…
I’m curious about this one too. He does make some highly sought-after whistles, but I can only find a few posts mentioning the flutes.Like](http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=250822%22%3ELike) this one.
Jon,
Ah, well no doubt then we’re providing him plenty of entertainment, as usual 
Loren
Why not? Phil has been making Flutes for about 20 years, that is why I think he is underrated as a maker. So when someone asks for a Flute in the $500-$700 range, why does it seem that I am the only one mentioning Phil? Now my point in starting this thread was not to brag about my Bleazey Flute, but to ask if anybody else can think of Flutes that are rarely mentioned, but are great whether you have owned one or just tried it out.
I also think Glenn Schultz was better known for his Whsitles, but damn where his Fltues nice. I only had the opportunity to play one once, but it was excellent. It had the tone and the volume it was like the best of both worlds, and that was only with playing it once or twice.
Here’s why you’ll never hear me saying that Phil is “the best Flute maker that rarely gets mentioned here.”
The Bleazey is, as I said before, ‘rustic’.
For a start, the ring on the foot joint is screwed onto the wood and is agriculturally larger than the wood it’s fitted to. It’s held on with epoxy resin. A week after I bought mine, it dropped off. “Just glue it back on” was the advice I received when I 'phoned him.
The bore has a great spiral reamer mark running practically its length. It was out of tune, a fact I didn’t appreciate until I played with other musicians and discovered no amount of fannying with the extremely loose tuning-slide would bring it into tune.
The tuning-slide was loose enough so that enthusiastic playing made the headjoint move out of the playing position.
The cork lapping consists of a strip of automotive gasket material approximatley 1mm thick (if that) cut into a strip and glued to the tenon by rubber contact adhesive. They both split, in spite of greasing every time before assembling. They split six times in the course of a year before I sent the flute back to Phil for servicing…
Now, during the ‘service’, Phil did a lot of work on the flute. He “touched up the embouchure hole”, replaced the cork lapping, brought the flute in tune by working on the tone-holes and undercutting them (apparently, he only recently - last year- developed a tool for undercutting his tone-holes), replaced the headjoint cork and set it in ‘the correct position’ (I hadn’t touched the old one, which was apparently 3mm out of position).
He tightened up the loose tuning-slide by roughing up the brass inner tube and applying grease.
He didn’t touch the bore, the swirly tool-marks are plain as day to see. But for £38 for the service, what d’you expect?
Now, as I said, the Bleazey is a good affordable wooden flute, and it was my first. I still have it. I still give it air from time to time, and I know someone who’ll enjoy it when she’s old enough and her arms are long enough to move off a Tipple G and onto a D flute.
Some people may find it to be the only flute they’ll ever need. I’m not one of them.
It’s a good first wooden flute for someone who can’t afford anything better. But it isn’t “the best” by any stretch of the imagination. I’m sure yours is wonderful. Since it’s at least a year later than mine, you probably have undercut tone-holes, since Phil made the tool to do that early last year (they’re very small tone-holes, as you know, particularly the E).
Here’s another reason why I don’t think Phil Bleazey is “the best Flute maker that rarely gets mentioned here”: I have a Grinter.
I also have an Allan, which cost me a mere £140 more than the Bleazey. The difference in quality and craftsmanship between the Allan and the Bleazey is, quite simply, phenomenal, like comparing a cruise liner to a liberty ship. I know which one I’d prefer to be on when crossing the Atlantic. But you have to wait for an Allan to come along.
Generally speaking, the only folks who recommend a certain flute are those who own them, and as you rightly pointed out, not many people on the board own them. Although from time to time you’ll see people saying something like “I’ve never played one, but the Patrick Kintastic flute gets good reviews around here…” as if that’s supposed to mean anything to a prospective purchaser.
There’s also a body of opinion that suggests it is unwise to purchase a wooden flute not seasoned and made in one’s own climate, but that’s a debate for another thread.
I remember comments by David & Nina Shorey after Nina took on repairs of some modern maker’s flutes. Before this, she had only been working on flutes that were about 150 years old. She found the current workmanship appalling (although they may still have played well).
Kevin Krell
When people review flutes, or pass judgement on a flute-maker – positive or negative – the person making the judgement should let us know how long he/she has been playing. Even so there are plenty of people who have been tooting for twenty years who still don’t play well enough to pass judgement and who still can’t play in tune or get a hard D consistently.
I think most flute makers are pretty fairly valued here. A few makers are way over-valued and over-priced. Martin Doyle is consistently a maker whose flutes are still cheap enough and good enough to be rated best-buys. One of his flutes would be my choice for a first keyless flute.
I’ve been playing flute for over fifteen years.
Michael Copeland’s flutes are very nice, but perhaps the reason you don’t hear much about them is that he wasn’t making flutes at all for quite a few years (over a decade I’m sure, maybe even two decades) after the early days of his career. Instead he became the pioneer of the high-end whistle, which is what he’s best known for. He also had some medical problems that slowed or stopped his whistle production for a year or more a while back. But he’s been cranking out the whistles again for the last several years now, and I hear he’s making flutes again too, so perhaps his name will start to be mentioned in these circles a bit more often.
I think most flute makers are pretty fairly valued here.
I second this. This thread, which is certainly interesting,
has an odd dynamic, because obviously many of us don’t
wish to say bad things here about flutes we don’t
much like..
Yep. More like two decades. I bought one of the last of keyed flutes he made back in the mid-80s before he started his whistle business (I have one of his prototype brass D whistles that has a less finished look than the works of art he makes now.) The flute is top notch so I was always dismayed that he quit that line of work.
That’s good news. His website does say that he is making keyless flutes in the Prowse style (which I guess is what he has always done). And he apparently intends to make keyed flutes again someday. The website says “Keyed Flutes are planned for late 2004”, though, so I don’t know if he is actually doing that now or not.
That shows how nice we are!
But you are right the first flute I bought (at great expense) I had great trouble with, when I got a teacher he played it and said it was not great. But I’d still prefer not to say who made it…
Tom Aebi isn’t mentioned a great deal but I played one of his Bflat flutes and loved it.
Though you must judge this comment on the 2 years 3 months and 12 days I have been playing the flute!
Hello folks,
Based on many comments about Micheal Copeland’s “early period” flutes,
I bought one of the first of his flutes when he resumed building a couple of years back. I’m very glad I did. Highly recommended.
If I’m not mistaken, there may be no waiting period at the moment. Check his website.
Brian
Two dollars short of 1200 bucks. Which is likely why we don’t see so many of the rave reviews the considerably cheaper flutes get. The greater the expense, I would suggest, the rarer the object.
Not sure about the waiting list, though. The website does say:
"Keyless flute made in Blackwood, with Sterling Silver rings. Brass-lined headjoint and tuning slide trimmed in Sterling Silver. Cork tenons. Case included.
A 20% deposit is required when order is placed with balance due upon completion. "
Which suggests a waiting period.
Here’s the website for anyone that doesn’t have it in their bookmarks: http://www.copelandwoodwinds.com/catalog.asp
I had the chance alot of years ago to try Brendan Mc Mahon`s flutes in County Clare. Love strong toned dependable flutes that carry the sound well in a session.
What a gentleman as well. Deserves a mention.