Casey Burns wrote:
I am making the point and sticking my head out that his flutes are hard to dial in because he gets much less practice in the tuning and voicing aspects. No question about it!
These might work for players who practice hard or who have dialed in their embouchures to fit the flutes. But for most of us with flabbier less-dialable embouchures and the sloth lifestyle that keeps us from practicing find that these flutes are just simply difficult. But there are other flute made by other makers that always work.
My wife has two guitars. One has a low action, and is a joy to play. The other has a higher action, and demands more of the player. You can get a high action because the guitar maker is inexperienced, and doesn't have the skill to make a consistently low action. In this case, though, it was a skilled maker who chose to make a higher action for skilled players who
needed that high action to do things that they cannot do with a low action, no matter how finely crafted.
Back to the original question ... The consensus seems to be that not everyone can get the best out of a Wilkes flute right away. Is the "knack" required for a Wilkes flute simply having a powerful enough embouchure, is it getting to know what the flute needs, or is something else involved?
To this I would add ... Once you do get the knack, are there things you can do with a Wilkes flute that you cannot do with a more forgiving instrument?