Is a Hammy Pratten louder than an Olwell Pratten?
What else has lots of volume?
Depends on the player–perhaps the question would be better phrased, “Who is the loudest D flute player?”
Just as an example, at a workshop Chris Norman could make himself heard above about 8 other players, and he plays a small-holed Rudall copy–a “quiet” flute. (Of course, that’s the nature of a good player playing a good flute–flutes should be capable of a wide dynamic range and shouldn’t be pigeon-holed by the maker or player as either-or.)
Doc Jones has an interesting comment on loudness on his website under “Preowned flutes and whistles” (button on the left), in the writeup on the Ormiston flute. He, like Ms. Wilde, backs McGee Pratten flutes.
Hugh
Hugh,…really. 
Ms. Wilde?
This is not going to help her reputation…
What’s the loudest flute? A Miyazawa heavy-wall sterling silver flute. 
A McChudd Paul Strat Flute, played through a Marshall Stack, set on 11.
Didn’t someone just ask this question like a month ago? Doesn’t someone ask this every month? I’m still trying to determine the relevance of the question, to anyone?
Jim, you’ve owned and played plenty of “loud” flutes. If you still aren’t getting the volume you need for certain situations, you probably need amplification, and perhaps improvement of your ability to produce volume and project, not a “louder” flute. A Hamilton flute is not significantly, if any, louder than your Olwell. Better to spend some time and money on a good instructor who can help you produce better tone and volume, than flute hopping or window shopping I promise you, if you handed your flute to Mr. O’Grada, he’d sound plenty loud on it, and you wouldn’t sound a whit louder on his Cocus Hamilton.
Loren
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.
I’ve heard Chris Norman play his Rudall, Geez!
But I’m just this ordinary guy, ya know.
For me, I get more volume from a Pratten.
I’m getting a good deal of volume out of the Olwell.
Just want to know if something else is louder,
when you take it out of the box.
I read what Doc said about Terry’s flutes.
It’s interesting that Hammy’s aren’t louder
(out of the box, for mere mortals) than
Olwells.
I was curious and also vaguely thinking of the street.
Thanks to all, Jim
I must have one!
One sees why these beasties took over
in 19th century orchestras. Imagine playing Wagner
on a Rudall…
Seriously Jim, there isn’t going to be anything significantly louder than what you’ve got, I’ve played, and more importantly I’ve heard far better players play, Olwells, Hamiltons, Wilkes, Grinters, and on and on side by side.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I think it bears repeating: I had the opportunity to hear Peter Molloy play a couple of different flutes, one after the other, out on the street in front of a pub here in Boston. They were essentially medium holed R&R’s, by what are considered two of the top makers. Nice flutes indeed, but having had a blow on both of them (indoors away from the pub), neither struck me as being cannons.
Well, a couple of friends were playing tunes on these flutes outside between sets at the session, when Peter walks out and starts asking about the flutes and want to have a go. Great, so all of a sudden when he starts playing, they ARE cannons. 
I really thought about that for days afterward, and it totally turned my head around with regards to my thinking about tone production and volume. It was reinforced when I started taking lessons with Shannon who, while no shrinking violet, is not a large woman, but she produces this fantastic cracking tone and volume, seemingly effortlessly. Now I have essentially the same flute that she does, and Olwell Pratten, so when I would take a lesson, recording it, and then listen back to the difference between her tone and mine, pffft, no contest. But guess what? How am I gonna blame it on the flute 
Can’t do it, I’ve got no excuse, other than the fact that I still suck! 
I did find some things (with regards to practice) that have helped, but man, at my stage anyway, it’s like weight lifting: If you don’t really keep up with the work on a daily basis, you go right back to flabby arm, beer belly, pencil neck geek tone. 
So, in all seriousness Jim, maybe an amp and mike are what you need for the street?
Loren
My Casey Burns Pratten. I was at a session that was being recorded once and the person who was mixing it had to get rid of a lot of tracks as my playing was so loud it made the mikes crackle. Two weeks ago I played un-miked and un-amplified with a rock band consisting of Bass, Drums, and Guitar. Although, my Copley Eb Flute is also legendary in these parts for its volume. One time my Sweetheart Resonance was heard from down the hallway in a hotel.
Maybe it has nothing to do with the Flute, but my Pratten is louder than the Sweet (which is based on a Firth, Hall, and Pond). Maybe a Pratten can be played louder, but the big difference is in the player.
I wonder how Casey’s new large holed model fits into the mix…
Yeah, an amp might help, but it’s a bit of a drag, literally,
getting that stuff out there. I was playing my C Susato whistle,
which carried wonderfully, but now there seem to be
problems playing the thing for three or four hours.
The D flute doesn’t carry so well in that place.
Also it’s blazing hot and I feel nervous taking the
Olwell, or anything expensive, into that conflagration.
I’ll find a way.
Anyhow it’s good to know that the Olwell, as raw
material, anyway, is optimal. Certainly seems to be
to me. Lovely lovely flute.
And you’re quite right about the player. John Skelton could break
windows with his, practically.
Yeah, and I’m not saying the Olwell is better than (or louder than) the rest, because there really are a number of equally fine, but different flutes out there, I’m just saying you’re maxed out on the equipment end, so all that left is to amplify the instrument, or improve the player.
That or start playing drums.
Loren
Back when I was doing the comparisons…the Healy w/ a Noy head stuck on it was the loudest…(the Olwell is purty d**m good though…)
Oh…and having been listening to Peter M’s magic warm-up tune any number of times…it goes like this…DDDDDDDDDDD… 
I got to play a Skip H flute in Providence, briefly,
and rather liked it. These seem to be powerful.
All the flautists in Providence played em, of course.
Trust me, it freakin’ HONKS!!! 
Mark
We are living in the 21 century, so there is no need to blow your brains out or spend big bucks for the loudest acoustic instrument if you want more volume for your street performance. To make music, all you need is some sort of signal generator (a flute, for example), a microphone or pickup, an amplifier, and an effects processor with speakers. All of this can be had in a small, battery-driven unit that doesn’t cost much and is easy to carry. Suppose you are busking on the street. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a knob that you could turn to regulate the volume of your music to the ambient conditions at any given time?
Loren makes excellent points and I agree with what he’s said.
I’m guessing Hammy Hamilton could play an old gym sock louder than I could ever play a Hammy flute.
That said, I play a lot of flutes. Granted I don’t play them nearly as well as many on the board, but I play them.
For my playing nothing is ever louder than a Mcgee. I’ve never played an Olwell Pratten (only about six “Nicholsons” and 2 or 3 of his “Rudalls”) but I’ve played 5 or six Hammys, three or four Healys, and many McGees and about everything else.
The first McGee I ever pulled out of a box and tooted (a Rudall Perfected as I recall) my wife’s comment was “Wow, that’s loud”.
But this still begs the question of why.
Is there just something unique about the way my head interacts with a McGee? Or is there something inherently more powerful about them?
Olwells and McGees are, for me, the easiest flutes to play.
I just now played two McGee Prattens and a Healy and the McGees were markedly louder. But, maybe if I spent as much time with the Healy as I have with the McGees it would be a more fair contest. Skip plays his quite loudly.
So, though I’ve added nothing useful, at least I’ve been able to blather a bit. Hmmm, maybe I’ll start selling gym socks.
Why is it that accomplished fluters never obsess about volume? At least not to the extent that punters do.
Isn’t anybody reading what Loren wrote? He’s right on the money, as usual.
Is it the American way, to buy some thing that we hope will compensate for our shortcomings? Instead of negotiating we send in the heavy equipment and lay waste the land.
A better way would be to commit the time and energy needed to play the way we want to and to live the way we want to. Not buying a thing that will make us feel better about ourselves. After we buy that thing there’s the next thing and the thing after that. The good flute begins with the good fluter.
And before I go… busking is not practise. Don’t kid yourself that it is. It makes you a worse player. You gloss over your mistakes and hear what you want to. You overblow to make yourself heard rather than working to refine and focus your embouchure. You skip over the hard parts. You care about the wrong thing: making lucre rather than music. Eamonn Cotter says, Playing jigs and reels is not itself going to make you a better player. You have to take ornaments and phrasing and tone and work on these separately.
A louder flute is not a shortcut. You’ll just be a mediocre loud player.
Thanks. I’ve checked these out. I prefer to stay entirely
acoustic. I’m probably just clumsy, but, as things now stand,
I’m dropping stuff, spilling stuff, chasing dollar bills
that people don’t quite get into the jar, etc.
Probably the solution is to go back to my
G flute or consider a Bb flute again. It’s a whole lot
easier to play a higher pitched flute for several
hours straight. Easier to finger, less air, more
audible.
Also I get a good deal
of volume out of my D flutes, and I think I’m
probably more audible on the street than I realize. Ma femme,
who comes along with me sometimes when I busk (she
refuses to dance the hula, despite my pleading, just
goes shopping), assures
me that I can be heard. I’m just hungry for power, ya know.
Thanks for the responses. My impression is the Olwell Pratten is
the beast from Hell, volume wise. One day I’ll get
to play a Hammy and see how it does.
Also worth pointing out is that real embouchure development (and control) is not achieved in months or a few years. Learning to play the flute really well (so that one can get great tone and dynamic range) takes a long time, longer than some, perhaps, would like. The only shortcut is learning good technique (a teacher can be very valuable in this regard) and practicing lots. Some of my best flute playing was one summer a few years ago when I was gigging regularly and put in around four hours a day practicing (note: not playing, practicing–there’s a huge difference!)