I’m looking for a good, reasonably-priced polymer, pvc, or plastic flute. In order of preference I’d be interested in a Jon C., Copley, M&E, maybe a Seery, or ??. I’m tending toward a R&R, but would consider other options.
I’ve got a nice Casey Burns that SillyDill helped me locate. (Thanks, Jordan!). Now I’d like to have something I can leave in one piece and pick up when I get a few minutes to play during the day.
Please contact me if you have one for sale or know of one for sale. I’m not in a huge hurry, so if you’ve got something you’d like to sell down the road, that might work, too.
I’ve considered both the M&E Guinness pointed out and the Seery KKrell noted. I’ve got a Dixon one-piece by my desk. It’s is okay but the cylindrical aspect makes fingering awkward.
The M&E is a little more tempting and I’d try a Seery for the right price, but neither calls to me as strongly as a Copley or Jon C.
Of course, it’s not like I’ve played on lots of different flutes. Most of the attraction I’m feeling is based on what I’ve read here on the forum. I’ve been studying old messages for several weeks now.
Dixon also makes conical bored flutes. You should look into these possibly. I haven’t played one, so I cant attest to their quality, but one of these might fit your need.
I see what you’re asking for, yet apparently that includes something which you could pick up and play for a few minutes at a time without having to take apart. Well, let me suggest a Sweetheart Irish flute, http://www.sweetheartflute.com , not the newer Resonance model but the older, and currently available, Irish flute, in cherry wood. Yup, the Irish flute, with its threaded tenon, can take such abuse without complaint, and still be a joy to play!
Any tenon, corked or threaded, could cause cracking and/or deformation of the wood.
However, in regard to your stated requirements, as above, I have a fair amount of experience with thread wrapped Sweetheart flutes, and likely due to the way Sweetheart makes those flutes (see Edit, below), I have never had any troubles with them.
Edit: It seems that Sweetheart uses some sort of wood sealing oil, perhaps tung oil, or something like that, which includes some sort of sealer, to effectively keep water out of the wood. I’ve sometimes kept a Sweetheart Irish flute assembled for weeks at a time, while playing it on a daily basis, and I’ve never had any cracking troubles.
BTW, I have Casey Burns flutes, too. However, unlike the Sweetheart thread wrapped flutes, I never leave my CB flutes assembled when not in use.
Thread lapping will strengthen the tenon, but the thing that helps the most with sockets, are to have a properly fitted ring. It is always a good idea to store the flute disassembled, and swab or blow out any condisation that may accumulate in the bore and socket. The tenon expands when it gets humdified, and will stress the socket.
While I’m not Jon - metal rings on a delrin/polymer flute are purely aethetic in nature. That said, I personally don’t like the look of any flute without some form of rings.
I played Cathy Wild’s Forbes flute last summer at Augusta and was very impressed. FWIW, Kevin Crawford played it as well, and I didn’t know if he was going to give it back or not, . They’re nice flutes, and about as worry-free as you can get, even to the point of having O-rings on the tenons instead of thread or cork.
I’d buy one, but then I’d have to hide it and make up a lie about where the money went, lol.
About the Forbes Delrin flute, I’ll second that. I got one last year, put it together once, and haven’t taken it apart since then, no problem! The flute’s doing just fine, but I know I really should take it apart and give it a good cleaning, and I’m beginning to feel somewhat guilty about that.
Beyond that, if Kevin Crawford could approve of the Forbes flute, then just what could I add to the conversation, eh?
Let me put in a plug for our own Jon C. When playing at a session tonight on my delrin Cochran, another Chiffer was there with his Olwell Pratten and was astonished at the tone of the Cochran. He asked, “How much was that?” Another veteran fluter also, when told my flute was “plastic”, couldn’t believe it.
I’m enjoying all the comments and suggestions, so thanks.
I tried Cathy’s Forbes really briefly last sumer at Augusta. I hadn’t realized that it’s based on Pratten. That could explain my soundless performance! I also had no success with my gaita teacher’s flute. (A gaita is bagpipe used primarily in Asturias and Galicia in northern Spain.) Maybe I need a Pratten so I can overcome this barrier.
Sometimes I feel out of breath playing a Rudall. Mostly that’s because I’ve still not learned how to take a breath as part of the rhythmic structure of a tune. That makes me wonder if I should get a Pratten just to build up my lungs and force myself to take breaths.
. They’re nice flutes, and about as worry-free as you can get, even to the point of having O-rings on the tenons instead of thread or cork.
