Interesting looking flute on ebay. Missing a key that would need to be replaced but still tempting.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Hawkes-so ... ctupt=true
Hawkes Siccama
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Re: Hawkes Siccama
That does look interesting. I saw that earlier and got excited, but then I noticed the sounding length of 573 mm, which I thought would make it a high pitched instrument.
Re: Hawkes Siccama
I don't see the sounding length as a very useful measurement since you don't know what tuning slide extension the flute would be played at. More useful is the spacing from C# to D holes or the measurement Terry McGee advocates which is the C# to E flat hole distance. My experience with several Hawkes and Son eight key flutes is that they played well at A440 with the tuning slide extended 20mm or thereabouts.paddler wrote:I saw that earlier and got excited, but then I noticed the sounding length of 573 mm, which I thought would make it a high pitched instrument.
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Re: Hawkes Siccama
You are right Dave! This is going to sound a bit ridiculous, but I went through my collection to measure a few other, hopefully similar, flutes and to my surprise I found that I already have a Hawkes & Son Siccama! That is why I said I saw it earlier. I was thinking of one that I did see earlier, but it was a different one that I actually bought, did some work on, and then forgot about. These things seem to be happening to me more and more recently!
Anyway, I took some measurements from mine, stripped the keys off it (because they need new springs and pads), blocked the holes and played it in front of a tuner. Its sounding length is 573 mm, just like the one on eBay, and it plays well in tune at A=440 hz, well-balanced across the scale, with a tuning slide extension of 17 mm. So, I think that one you pointed out is very likely to be a good one!
Anyway, I took some measurements from mine, stripped the keys off it (because they need new springs and pads), blocked the holes and played it in front of a tuner. Its sounding length is 573 mm, just like the one on eBay, and it plays well in tune at A=440 hz, well-balanced across the scale, with a tuning slide extension of 17 mm. So, I think that one you pointed out is very likely to be a good one!