I tried a few tunes on one made by Fischer, I think. A cocus cylinder with standard mechanism. Kinda klunky, and pre-Cooper which means that the musical scale was not as good as it could be. I don't think the blow-hole was cut with any relief, so the tonal flexibility wasn't there either. I enjoyed the ease of playing in any key, but some potential for artistic expression was missing. The Bettoney had a lighter touch to the mechanism, and was more enjoyable (it felt similar to a Yamaha). Grenadilla with standard mechanism. The blowhole was cut with more geometric features, and was more responsive. Note: a common problem is the pad seat, regardless of its shape, that can have a hairline crack, spoiling the tone. Sometimes this is a natural surface void in the grain, not exactly a breaking-apart. At the seat, a little superglue can be cured on the spot, then the seat can be recut lightly. This is best done while flute and machine are in position during the initial manufacture, not so easily as a repair. The Abell Flute is a fine piece, rated among the best modern flutes. I also played an old flute made by AG Badger. Cocus wood, tapered bore, split ring keys, Dorus G#. Very light on the touch except that the ring keys (over open holes) did not give me reliable results on fast passages. Some notes had a beautiful tone, with real tonal flexibility. On the short tube (left-hand notes), the pitch was unstable. Certain intervals were badly distorted. I tend to think it was designed for a compromised pitch standard, with room to push the slide in (I did not get a good scale at A=440). I brought this flute to a professional flutist who gave a demonstration on it and another Badger. If I were professionally trained and wanted to work that hard, I would get better results. However, I want my instrument to do more of the work for me, so I can concentrate on other things. I tried a silver Badger with cylindrical bore. Nice feel, but it wasn't the flute for me. I never have tried a Buffet or Lot. Time to learn more French and visit Claire Soubeyran! Years ago, I tried playing Bb dance tunes on the 8-keyed flute. Not the way to go. I'm still working on my own invention, the Boehm Flute in F above C. Good tonal flexibility and response. The range matches the fiddle range, so my flute can play all the tunes. Good projection without being shrill. Walt
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