Chiff and Fipple Forums

Do yourself a favor and get a couple of lessons before you develop bad habits that will last a lifetime.




Rob

Patrick Olwell has told me it's okay to store the flute with the bottom two pieces together, provided you pull them apart just a bit (1/16th to 1/8th of an inch) instead of keeping them flush. He even told me why it's important to have that separation, but I forget. My recollection of Patrick's exp...

It was refined and polite, more pretty sounding than brash. The embouchure hole wasn't what I was used to at the time, so I don't think we were best suited for one another.



Rob

Once upon a time I had the chance to play either that exact Monzani or its identical twin. What a posh piece of kit it was, too, like playing a Doric column draped with Lalique trinkets.



Rob

You know, people do actually come here to learn something. You call it nitpicking; I call it putting accurate information out there.

The bellows do look nice, true.


Rob

Looks like Tulip Poplar to me. I have dozens of board feet just like it in my wood stash. Green with dark mineral staining is pretty diagnostic. Quote from Wikipedia: The soft, fine-grained wood of tulip trees is known as "poplar" (short for "yellow poplar") in the U.S., but mark...

They do with a proper headjoint (some Monzanis have itty-bitty embouchure holes).

Now, who do we know who has recreated one of those?





Rob

Do you ever try to clear the condensation? When I feel things are getting "cloudy" down in the bore (and sonically), I cover all the fingerholes, cover the embouchure hole with my mouth, and blow sharply down the bore. Hard, mind. It should sound like a little elephant trumpeting. Try it a...

Loren, as I am looking for something similar in blackwood, perhaps we should join forces, to wit:

If I find anything hypo-allergenic in Bb, I will alert you post-haste. If you find an "allergenic" Bb, give me a shout.

Deal?

Rob

I like to use the long F ascending and the short F descending. Going from Fnat to E, I "pop" my ring finger off the key to land smartly on the E hole.


Rob

You know, if wood could make a difference, it would be a difference you would only hear if you really got the flute excited and buzzing. We need to be honest with ourselves about whether we're getting the most out of whatever flute we're trying to make a tone on before obsessing about the minute dif...

For the record, while I hope to turn up an Olwell I am open to considering other fine Bbs, so do let me know if there's an Aebi under the bed, so to speak.


Rob

Hi all,

I recently sold my Wilkes keyed Bb flute to fund some home improvements. Ouch, but that's life.

I would like to find an Olwell Bb, preferably in blackwood with rings.

Cheers,

Rob

Flute is sold.


Rob

Hi all, I am offering for sale my Chris Wilkes Bb flute in blackwood. It features either 5 or 6 keys, depending on how you count, with keys present for what on a D flute would be Eb, long and short F, G#, and Bb with an extra lever for right-hand actuation. The head is fully lined, with both a tunin...