Just be careful which McMahon’s flute you buy. A friend of mine used to have a Brendan McMahon flute and although I never played it myself, he got great music out of it. Likewise a second friend of mine who I’ve not seen lately also did great stuff with her Brendan McMahon flute. But back in 1998 or 1999 when I was at the Willie Week, a lady staying at my lodging who was not yet a flute player asked me to come with her to the shop of Brendan McMahon’s son (Donal I think, but don’t quote me on that) to help her evaluate one of the flutes Donal had made, as she was thinking of buying it. I was not very impressed with it. (But what did I know, David would ask? I’d only been playing 7 or 8 years myself at that time.) McMahon Og’s shop was then in the basement of a house on the edge of Milltown Malbay down the Lahinch road, but in subsequent visits to Milltown I noticed his shingle was no longer hanging there. Perhaps he moved his shop, or maybe he got out of the flute-making trade. I’ve never run across one of his flutes since.
Maybe the two or three flutes of his that I’ve tried over the years weren’t his best work, but they certainly were unremarkable. They weren’t bad, but I would hardly call them underrated. I think there’s a reason he was better known for his whistles.
well, i’m an unremarkable player, maybe that’s why it suits me so well 
Frequency of mention on C&F has little to with how good a maker’s work is. It has much more to do with how may people have a flute by a particular maker, which has lots to do with price and waiting lists.
And re: Copeland flutes, this from the website:
Keyless Blackwood Flutes are ready to ship and can be ordered on-line! No waiting, instant gratification.
I think Doc Jones has 'em, too.
I certainly must be careful that none of my early flutes get out on the market. Perhaps I should burn them.
I recently played one of the early flutes by a maker who now has a ten-year waiting list. The 6th hole was in an “anti-ergonomic” position, farther away from the hand than the other holes. That surely wasn’t workmanship to be proud of. But it was a wonderful instrument to play and hear, and the world would be poorer without it.
Seriously, I would hope that the flute any builder makes this year is in some sense better than ones she or he made last year. The difference will be greater for newer makers.
– Don
I suspect it takes quite a bit longer for a flute maker to become well known than a whistle maker, too.
When a new maker is mentioned on the whistle board, there are usually a few curious enough to give him a try - after all, even an “expensive” whistle normally costs considerably less than a decent entry-level flute. And most whistle players I know have lots of whistles.
Given the higher cost, the longer wait for delivery, and the longer time to learn the quirks of a new flute, there’s likely to be much smaller pool of people able to meaningfully comment.
I also agree that you need experience to evaluate a flute - much more so than a whistle. I’ve only been playing a few months, and I’m far from being able to give a decent in-depth review of my own flute (Casey Burns FF) - much less to compare it to the few by other makers that I’ve, perhaps, held long enough to play a few phrases.
I get the sense that with a decade of experience you can be an “old, established” whistle maker - or a “new, up-and-coming” flute maker. Am I far off, here?
Mmmm, I beg to differ on whether a tonehole placement that some might call “anti-ergonomic” nowadays deserves such a broad slap.
Please remember the history of the wooden flute and context/tradition of its crafting, everyone. If the flute you played happened to be a faithful reproduction of a Pratten from a certain period, there’s a good chance the tonehole was PRECISELY where it was supposed to be according to the standards of the time.
If a maker chooses to “update” and “improve” on a design (which is indeed just another part of the tradition – how often is someone not trying make a better sounding/playing/looking/priced/whatever flute?), that’s great, too – but the flute is no longer a faithful reproduction, at least not in that respect.
Thank you. 
I would hope that the flute any builder makes this year is in some sense better than ones she or he made last year.
This is kind of silly. … any builder… Is the author an adman or a mass-marketer? Waiting to tout the new model?
The best flute-makers are at the top of their game. A flute by Olwell or Wilkes won’t show any really dramatic changes in years to come. They make flutes as good as you could ever hope to own. A flute made by these makers five years ago is as good as any they might make today. A Rudall from 1870 isn’t better than a Rudall from 1830. It just does different things. Unlike the automobile, a flute is pretty simple. It isn’t more knowledge that most flute-makers need but more care in the making.
One of the above makers might decide to adjust the embouchure hole or alter some of the bore dimensions, but this won’t always be an improvement. The truth is that to be a better flute-maker – like being a better player – you have to spend more time at the doing and less on the flute forum.
But what do I know…
Ergonomics is merely one of many factors to consider when placing toneholes. Volume, intonation, octave balance, tone, and I’m sure a bunch of other issues come into play.
The sixth hole is often farther down the tue because it’s in an “accoustically better” position, whatever that means. Terry’s site has some interesting info about this regarding siccama keys.
Moreover, ergonomics is an intensely individual thing and depends on grip style, hand size, and experience on prior instruments. So, what is unergonomic to you might be very comfortable for someone else. I can’t play many of the so-called “ergonomic” flutes out there because of all the factos listed above.
The overall point being that I seriously, seriously doubt the hole placement on that particular flute was determined by “poor workmanship.”
Wow, who knew that flute makers were all born with the innate knowledge and skills to build perfect flutes from the get go and never faced any learning curve?
I think SoTX is being done a bit of a disservice here. I’ve never met any skilled artisan who ever said they created perfect work right from the start. Why wouldn’t a top makers flutes from the first year or two be inferior to the current ones?
Eric
My point was that ergonomics is largely subjective, and that poor workmanship is NOT a sufficient explanation of why one person prefers a tone-hole in a cetain location over another. Now, if the flute had other problems like naff intonation or fuzzy tone or cracks or whatever, the claim of “poor workmanship” might be more defensible.
By all means craftsmen go through learning curves - but I don;t think the evidence presented here holds up.
I wonder how the threads would have read had Rudall, Rose, Hudson, Prowse, Binyon, Clementi, Pratten, Goulding, Nicholson, etc. and their customers had C&F in their days?
My Flute has had none of these problems. In fact my Bleazey is the only one of my Flutes (or my Bagpipes) that a ring has NOT fallen off of. The tuning joint on mine is perfect not too loose and not too tight. I do lots of cheap Whsitle tweaking which tuning is a big part of, so over time I have developed a good ear for intonation problems, and the Bleazey does not have any. The only swirling in the bore is a natural occurance of Ironwood, in fact it is smoother than the bore on my Hoza F Flute. I did notice that the tennons were very tight, first thing I did was sand down the “cork,” which is probably why yours cracked somany times. Yes, the holes are undercut and are small (it is impossible to play an Eb). It seems like over the last year (I got mine in December) that his Flute making has improved a lot.
That’s a good point about ergonomic placement vs. poor/less than perfect workmanship. I was actually responding to David’s post which came across to me sounding as if top makers made perfect flutes from day 1.
Cathy - You’re probably not aware of this fact, but those makers you cite all cut their teeth learning the flute making trade at Mid-East Manufacturing (who at that time made anonymous flutes for the “Nach Meyer Corp.”).
Overall, I blame Dale for giving us a comfy place to bare our often wrong thoughts in public.
Eric
David’s post which came across to me sounding as if top makers made perfect flutes from day 1.
What could I have said that gave you that idea? Both of the makers I mentioned spent years measuring instruments and learning to use the tools of their trade. What I did say is that each has reached a level of perfection that is not easily improved on.
I agree with you fully that the top makers have reached a level of achievement that is not easily improved upon.
I think I may have misinterpreted your post - one of the dangers of the written word. Was it only the use of the word “builder” to which you were objecting or the concept that a maker would continually strive to produce a better instrument? If it’s just builder, we’re probably in agreement, but if it’s the improvement issue, I still disagree.
I would hope an instrument made today would be, in the maker’s opinion, better than one made five years ago. That doesn’t mean the older flute isn’t wonderful and fully capable in it’s own way. However, the artisan’s I’ve met (be they woodworkers, brewers, etc.) are always striving for that one perfect creation which is what I think keeps them at the top of their game and keeps them doing what they love even if it’s not making them rich.
Eric
I can understand why people are coming down on both sides of both Phil Bleazey’s and Glenn Schultz’s work. Gary is not the first person I’ve heard of having a bad time with one of Phil’s flutes. I’ve owned two of his whistles, one of which is a “take it to the grave with me” whistle, the other of which I sold for a pretty modest price. It wasn’t an awful whistle, just very different from my other one. He has a reputation for somewhat inconsistent quality, but when he turns out a good product, it’s really good. My flute is three or four years old; it doesn’t have undercut tone holes. That was one of the first things a well-known flutemaker said when I showed it to him, but after hearing me play, he said I wouldn’t miss the undercutting because I don’t go for a big sound. He showed me how to undercut if I get to the point where the octaves aren’t working right.
I had Glenn send me two flutes when I was looking for one. The one I kept is a fantastic flute, although I still find it a beast to play. The one I sent back, well, it wasn’t that great. Something about the embouchure cut just wasn’t quite right. But then, Glenn always let one send a flute or whistle back before paying a dime.
David Levine wrote:
“The truth is that to be a better flute-maker – like being a better player – you have to spend more time at the doing and less on the flute forum.”
I agree; if I’d spent any significant amount of time replying to all of your posts I disagree with, I’d still he learning how to properly cork a tenon!
“But what do I know…”
Ahh, and we do agree from time to time 
Loren
Far be it from me…AHEM!..to mildly correct this:
I wonder how the threads would have read had Rudall, Rose, Hudson, Prowse, Binyon, Clementi, Pratten, Goulding, Nicholson, etc. and their customers had C&F in their days?
Mr. Pratten and Mr. Nicholson did not make flutes.
Nor, for that matter, did Mr. Rudall.
I do suspect, however, they did indeed have “customers.”
But other than Mr. Rudall…who physically had a shop…
it’s likely those customers were only students of theirs who purchased the flutes of their instructor’s “design.” This was the case, too, of Mr. Rudall when he was an instructor and Mr. Willis made flutes for him.
By the way…Mr. Rudall studied under Mr. Nicholson (who was the Junior, by the way…daddy was the one who came up with the large-tone-holes idea first.)
class dismissed
Uh, nothing personal, but in self defense …
If I’d meant “makers (like) Rudall, Rose, etc…” I would have written it that way.
However, I’ll accept that I committed a sin of omission. In my haste to draw an (admittedly loose) analogy to our present C&F makeup of players/teachers/makers/customers/students/general flute fans, I probably should have written "players/teachers/makers/customers/students/general flute fans (like) Rudall, Rose, etc."
Sorry about that.