Last I knew Patrick charges $100 more for boxwood. Casey charges $300 for curly boxwood, but not for regular old boxwood. Not sure if he has a surcharge for that or not.
I think an Olwell all-wood boxwood flute is still under $1000. That’s a bargain as far as I’m concerned.
Just from my experience, (a Rambling post if you will)
I had a Lehart 6 key flute (before that a bad Ganley flute) that was sat on and the repaired and then fell a part from the humidity again (glue didn’t hold). I played this flute for three years before the break and three years after (Repaired). WHen it came apart due to high humidity I needed a new flute for my seven night a week gig.
I bought an Olwell keyless boxwood Nicholson all wood. Both were are great flutes. Because I had played the other flute for so long when I got the Olwell I thought SHite what’s all the buzz. It’s nice and easy but not as sharp (cutting focused whatever) or in tune as the Lehart and my mates in the band complained about tuning.
Though I have been playing for while and thought I knew how to play in tune. I needed to rethink my playing for the Olwell flute which I play now. I could have been sweeter on the large holed lehart because I knew it and how it responded> I play the Olwell now because it’s in good nick has smaller hole spacing between the left hand.
My Lehart had an almost diamond shaped embuochre cut. I guess I always blew across the right edge. On my olwell (much easier to fill flute) I still blow across the right edge. I can acheive the tone I want on both flutes now (after a 8 months I have beeen playing for 14 years). THe Olwell boxwwod needs warming up in order to play it as sweetly (second octave clarity, control of dymanmics). I also play an old eight key with small holes several other small holed flutes in other keys. You get the tone you want out of experience.
If a few days after getting the Olwell all boxwood someone asked me about sweetness I would have said not possible this flute needs to be played with gusto compared to my beloved Lehart is a much louder machine. Now I feel I can play the Olwell better ( range of dynamics though I still think the Lehart had better tuning)
Anyway lesson is play on anything you can until you can really decide what you like and can produce in tone?)
Since the conciseness seems to be that small holed and small bore flutes sound sweet, would Peter Noy’s small holed flute that cross fingers easily qualify as a sweet sounding flute that has the added benefit of being almost fully chromatic?
Personally, I think that embouchure cut is the most important factor. Hacking out a boxcar shaped hole is great for a loud inflexible flute, but a round hole forces good technique and has real personality. If I ever get a chance to play an elliptical embouchure, I am sure that I would have a positive experience too.My experience is boxwood always needs to be warmed up – not temperature-wise, but moisture-wise. Box absorbs moisture much more than the rosewoods, especially blackwood and cocobolo. I suspect in the first half hour or so, some pores are closing up and such.
I find my Noy small-holed very sweet-sounding, and also very warm and mellow. It can be pushed pretty hard, too.
Forgive this beginner here, but I have heard people playing and some do sound sort of buzzy, some sound kind of honky, and some sound very smooth and creamy. Is this something the player does or the flute? If the flute, what is usually the characteristic that the flute has? Type of wood, size of holes?
It’s either the one you have at the moment “It’s a go to the grave keeper!!”
Or the next one you “Just have to have!!!”, which you’ve just put that “Go to the grave keeper” up for sale to finance.
Repeat cycle ad nauseum.
Loren