I’d like to try a Rudall style flute but would prefer Delrin to wood. Which makers should I consider?
Ask Jon C.
Gary Somers
http://shop.irishflutestore.com/Flutes_c3.htm
m&e?
They are not delrin! Mind you the poly M&E R&R is decent.
ehh… couldn’t remember… knew it was one or the other…
yeah, they’re decent… i have one… had another one before… and a Seery…
once again… dang, they’re all good… get one of each!
be well,
jim
Francois Baubet in Ireland makes Delrin flutes, Rudall style, 350E, if i am not mistaken.
His site is down now (he is building a new one) but he takes orders.
fluteorder@gmail.com
I bought a Garry Somers Delrin medium hole Rudall over the holidays and I love it. The feel is solid, the finish is a silky smooth matte, the tuning slide is well done, and the rings give it a traditional look I prefer. The material is warm to the touch they have a C foot that gives them a long lean look that really shows off the conical shape.
It plays wonderfully for me, as I tend to play a bit sharp the slide is very helpful so I can play in tune with my wife. Given everyones (including my own) preference for wood, I have to admit the flute is a guilty pleasure. The embochure to me quite forgiving and plays well if I’m fresh and have a tight focused embochure, or tired and playing more relaxed. Either style produces a nice tone.
Because its delrin I have total confidence to tote it in my backpack while hiking in the cold, pull the flute out in the drizzle and play some tunes. On my recent trip to ireland we left our wood flutes cowering in the safe at the hotel and took the Somers everywhere.
I shopped for other flutes but at $370 with a tuning slide it was too good a deal to pass up, not to mention Doc stocks them and you can return it if it doesnt work for you. I bought it as a practice flute in the same ilk as my pvc flute but what I got was something so much more.
I second grizzle’s comments on the Garry Somers’ flutes. I just got a large hole pratten model from Doc Jones at the Irish Flute Store (on Doc’s recommendation). I’ve tried them all (and I do mean all) and the Somers’ is far and away the best - great embouchure, easy player, sounds like wood, in tune, responsive, light weight and a big pratten sound.
Paul
Word has it that John Gallagher is using delrin these days too (there was a thread about it recently.) Copley flutes are a bit of a hybrid but IMO are a bit closer to a large hole Rudall than a Pratten and he does delrin.
(Sorry for this thread hijack) Pmcallis, would you say the Somers is better in your opinion than a Forbes or Copley delrin? I will be in the market for a delrin flute as soon as I sell the two I have for sale and Forbes and Copley (and Jon C. if I could gather the extra funds or find one used at a price I could afford) were at the top of my list but if the Somers are that good I may have to put them into consideration given the lower price.
I was thinking Copley as well, but don’t know for Somers.
vincenzo di mauro also making delrin flutes. see http://www.google.hr/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=vicenzo%20di%20mauro&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDgQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvdmflutes.free.fr%2FFrance%2FReperesfrance.html&ei=jG0QT-PCHYXMtAbAz5kf&usg=AFQjCNEABZSljaYvnTGbqUeULoi2nimeWw
marin
Which is one of the attractions for me (they’re Copleys, not copies!)… along with modest pricing, relatively short lead time and Dave’s obvious interest in working up the tweaks required for my awkward left hand.
Dave is making some truly top-class flutes. Our paths cross periodically and sometimes this means I get to play with new toys. 
I like some of the Copley flutes I’ve tried in the last couple of years as well as anything else I’ve played.
I am going to get an opportunity to work with Dave on a new approach to what I would say customization. So, given that, I would think that the original OP would be able to meet their needs. Just my 2 cents.
No, it’s not technically delrin, but they are still very different from, for example, Tony Dixon “polymer” flutes because Mr. Cronnolly started from a solid polymer rod.
I’ve owned one of his polymer flutes and several of his ebonite flutes; i prefer ebonite to delrin for tone and playability. i wish more people were using it…
Really? I find it hard to believe that you can hear a tonal difference between ebonite and delirn. What do you think improves the playability, by making it out of ebonite? I really am curious about this, I can’t see how it would be different. If anything, I would think that delrin would be a better material, as it is more dense. Could it be the way the flute is made?
I think the main reason makers don’t use ebonite, is the smell, when turning it, delrin is bad enough. 
Have to admit (despite being aware of ebonite’s long history of usage for woodwinds) that I’ve never really fancied a rubber flute!
Sure but if it slips out of your hands it will bounce right back into position. 
Very amusing! I happen to have a couple of Tony Dixon’s polymer flutes here, the three piece model. And they were made from solid polymer rods too. Delrin is a polymer, isn’t it? (Oh, and one of them has a delrin head with a tuning slide made by Jon C)
And just for the record I was referring to the PVC flutes by M&E not the ebonite models. Those seem to get confused as being made from delrin most often.
Feadoggie