So, top to bottom:
1. No name ebay Irish Flute of uncertain wood
2. Tony Dixon flute/low D whistle combo
3. M&E keyless
4. Walt Sweet "Shannon" flute
Note I tried to record some sound clips of these but really I'm too terrible. I can get the fingerings at speed, but breath is short. I get moments of an actual good sound--reedy, dark, focused--and then it's huff and puff and fail to blow the house down. Everyday I get a little more consistent, and with better phrasing, but the tone is just way too airy. Not there yet
No name ebay flute of uncertain wood. Bought for my daughter, who plays sax, before a family trip to ireland. It's terrible--weak and quiet and unpleasant to play. It does sound like an "irish flute," that is, it has that reedy quality, or can be made to. It's an uphill battle though. Do not buy. NEXT!
Tony Dixon Flute/whistle combo. With the Flute head. It's very light. It has a very large embouchure hole. It's not very loud, and it's hard to get that reedy irish flute sound--it wants to sound more like a Boehm flute, or a whistle. It's surprisingly hard to finger the right hand notes, like closing the low D. Not a pleasure to play. Do not buy. NEXT!!
C. M&E keyless. Bought direct from M&E website for a very reasonable amount. OK here things get very interesting. This flute is delrin--I like the idea of delrin because I'm fairly careless with instruments and don't like to fuss much. The flute comes as five pieces, with a brass tuning slide and two vents in the foot. It has steel rings and there is some sort of coating on the flute, a glossy black lacquer of some sort, which is not very durable. I know it's a tinted finish because in a couple places it was on the steel rings. In a week of daily playing it's worn off around the embouchure hole as you can see in the photo, and it's come off in places on the body as well. As mentioned I'm not especially careful with it, but I kind of wonder why bother to put such a non-durable finish on it. It's long and relatively heavy. The finger holes have very sharp edges--not painfully sharp, just very defined. It has a brass-lined headjoint and a brass tuning slide.
It's really a pleasure to play. I would not say it's easy (see below) but it's very responsive to slight changes in embouchure and I felt like I improved substantially from playing it, if that makes sense. Also it feels good in the hands--it vibrates nicely. You can feel the air under your fingers. You can get a very "hard" sound, very direct and focused, although I tend to have a hard time keeping it because I'm a novice.
D. Walt Sweet Shannon. This was the flute I started seriously trying to learn on. It's interesting-it's a three piece Delrin flute with a tuning slide. No rings. Unlined headjoint. It's made out of a different grade of Delrin, or maybe a different material altogether, than the M&E. It's lighter and feels softer, like you could gouge it with a fingernail if you tried hard (I haven't tried). it's finished with a very subtle pattern of even lathe tool marks so it's very easy to hold. It looks great but not traditional. The finger holes have a much softer edge and as a result the feel is different--I get less of a sense of the air coming out and also I'm more likely to miss the hole. But the holes have clearly been individually modified, and it plays well in tune, better than the M&E.
It's very easy to play, with a loud sound and a honkin' loud low D. At first the loud low D bothered me, because the "E" was noticeably quieter. I've gotten used to it though. The C natural is much better on this than on the M&E, much less "veiled" sounding. It was very inexpensive.
So I like the M&E a little better, even though the Shannon is easier to play and more in tune. The M&E sounds a little more like the sound in my head. And the way it feels is maybe a little better: better feedback to the player? The harder material feels better and vibrates better. The Shannon has a "softer," broader sound, but very pleasing and still well in the ballpark of an irish flute
The M&E and the Shannon are both great--I don't feel like either one is holding me back in any way; neither one presents any problems that aren't my fault. The harder material of the M&E is interesting and I think gives it a better tactile response. It's going to take more work to keep it in tune, but it sounds more like what I want to sound like.
Hope some other beginner finds this useful!
