Flat-footed flutes and stopper position
Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:56 am
I want to relate an interesting experience I've just had, in case a) it helps anybody else, and perhaps b) others might be able to test, confirm or expand the experience.
A chap I know (here in Australia) dropped me down his flute for repair. It's a flute by a very well-regarded modern maker, very much a straight copy of a 19th century Rudall & Rose. The presenting problem was that the metal slide in the head had come loose, so I fixed that. But I found I was unhappy with the performance of the flute, so I went looking for other issues. Found one slow-returning key and one slightly leaking pad, so fixed those. Still not happy, but the flute leakage detector could find no further problems. This flute should work good. But low notes in particular were weak, unfocused and, when pushed, burbly.
Tuning sounded a bit weird to me, so I did an RTTA (Real Time Tuning Analysis) using Flutini. It revealed that we had two flutes rolled into one. All the notes from G# down were around 20 cents or more flat, while notes above soared up from A at +27 cents to a dizzying 46 cents sharp on low octave B. Second octave was better behaved, but centered around 20 cents sharp. I measured the C#-D# distance at 256mm. My flutes are circa 245mm. This flute retains the first-half 19th century scaling. Pitch was lower then....
Looking at the low D to middle D octave, it was about 33 cents wide of an octave. I felt this was a possible explanation for the weak and burbly low note response. It could be enough that the harmonics were not reinforcing as the wavefront returned up the flute tube to slap the jet out of the embouchure hole. So, how to flatten the upper note or sharpen the lower note? It's not my flute, so surgery is ruled out. Tempted though.... [Cue fiendish laughter off....] (Sorry, showing my age. Try: )
Keeping in mind that the top end of the flute was dramatically sharp compared to the low end, so I wondered if I could flatten it enough to make a difference, without also flattening it so much as to introduce a bigger problem at the top of the range. All I theoretically needed to do was wind the stopper out a bit. Temporary setback - the stopper proved immovable. Some irresistible force (gently applied!) fixed that. Secondary setback, the stopper screw shaft was jammed in the threaded hole in the cap. Fortunately, I had the right tap and die available to fix that. Finally, I could control the stopper position. I set it at 23mm (29/32") rather than the typical 19mm (3/4").
Wow! Dramatic improvement. What had been weak, fluffy, burbly low notes now seemed pretty focused and clear. Deluding myself, I concluded, perhaps a trifle uncharitably. Nah, you know this guy...
So I set the stopper back to 19mm, using my own cleaning rod to confirm. (I put markers at 15mm, 19mm and 23mm on my rods). Back to weak, fluffy and burbly. I repeated the experiment by resetting to 19 and then 23mm. Confirmed. Still, could just be me. I've had a cold and I haven't been playing at all. Coincidentally and fortuitously, we had a session planned for later that day. Coming back, much empowered by 3 & 1/2 hours hard playing, and found the same.
I then did another Flutini run with the stopper set at 23mm. Bottom notes still around -20, as you'd expect - the stopper position doesn't have much authority down there. But Low D to middle D deviance reduced to 23 cents (compared to 33). Low octave B now just +24 cents instead of +46. Second octave notes tending below 0 rather than circa +20. So the deviance has been significantly reduced.
Next day, the owner came down to pick up the flute. I mischievously set the stopper back to 19mm. I asked him to check it, and he thought it was playing normally. (Whew, I thought, at least I haven't made it any worse!) Burbly, weak, fluffy, I felt.
I got him to play my flute, and he got a much better bottom end, even though unfamiliar with it. He commented on that.
So then I set his flute to 23mm and asked him to play again. Dramatic improvement, perceived by both of us. He took it away, and has commented since via email: "Sooooooo much better." And later: "I have found a dramatic difference in the overall performance of the flute since you carried out the repairs."
Now, is this a fix? No. The tuning is still a bit poor. Interestingly, the owner is aware of this. Two really good concertina players had been giving him a hard time over it! It will be interesting to see if the stopper position tweak ameliorates their scorn.
And the performance still isn't as good as my flutes, as judged by both me and the owner of the flute in question. I think a fix would require re-scaling or at least re-reaming, to pull those really flat bottom notes up within reach. But it has made a pretty dodgy flute workable.
So, what am I hoping to achieve by telling you all this? International notoriety? Nah...
If you are playing a modern-made flute that is playing really well, this is all probably only of academic interest. But you do owe it to yourself to try adjusting the stopper position if you never have. Keep in mind the rules. As the face of the stopper approaches the embouchure hole, the third and higher octaves will be easier to play, but the bottom notes may become weaker. If you increase the stopper to embouchure distance, the upper octaves may get harder to play, and the upper notes may become noticeably flat. But the bottom notes may become stronger. The ideal stopper distance is not 15mm, 19mm, 23mm or any other. It's whatever works best for you.
But if you are playing a period flute, or a close copy of a period flute, and particularly if you struggle with a flat low end, you might have a similar experience. And resetting the stopper may well help you. Worth a few moments messing around to find out, I reckon!
And if you feel you need some technical backup, you'll find an RTTA system that suits your favourite platform starting at:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/RTTA.htm
I'm keen to hear from anyone who can corroborate (or refute!) that experience.
Woah, this has been a long post, but framing it has helped me get my mind around the important issues.
One final thought in passing. I've talked about modern-made flutes. I'm now over 70. When do I stop regarding myself as a "modern" maker?
A chap I know (here in Australia) dropped me down his flute for repair. It's a flute by a very well-regarded modern maker, very much a straight copy of a 19th century Rudall & Rose. The presenting problem was that the metal slide in the head had come loose, so I fixed that. But I found I was unhappy with the performance of the flute, so I went looking for other issues. Found one slow-returning key and one slightly leaking pad, so fixed those. Still not happy, but the flute leakage detector could find no further problems. This flute should work good. But low notes in particular were weak, unfocused and, when pushed, burbly.
Tuning sounded a bit weird to me, so I did an RTTA (Real Time Tuning Analysis) using Flutini. It revealed that we had two flutes rolled into one. All the notes from G# down were around 20 cents or more flat, while notes above soared up from A at +27 cents to a dizzying 46 cents sharp on low octave B. Second octave was better behaved, but centered around 20 cents sharp. I measured the C#-D# distance at 256mm. My flutes are circa 245mm. This flute retains the first-half 19th century scaling. Pitch was lower then....
Looking at the low D to middle D octave, it was about 33 cents wide of an octave. I felt this was a possible explanation for the weak and burbly low note response. It could be enough that the harmonics were not reinforcing as the wavefront returned up the flute tube to slap the jet out of the embouchure hole. So, how to flatten the upper note or sharpen the lower note? It's not my flute, so surgery is ruled out. Tempted though.... [Cue fiendish laughter off....] (Sorry, showing my age. Try: )
Keeping in mind that the top end of the flute was dramatically sharp compared to the low end, so I wondered if I could flatten it enough to make a difference, without also flattening it so much as to introduce a bigger problem at the top of the range. All I theoretically needed to do was wind the stopper out a bit. Temporary setback - the stopper proved immovable. Some irresistible force (gently applied!) fixed that. Secondary setback, the stopper screw shaft was jammed in the threaded hole in the cap. Fortunately, I had the right tap and die available to fix that. Finally, I could control the stopper position. I set it at 23mm (29/32") rather than the typical 19mm (3/4").
Wow! Dramatic improvement. What had been weak, fluffy, burbly low notes now seemed pretty focused and clear. Deluding myself, I concluded, perhaps a trifle uncharitably. Nah, you know this guy...
So I set the stopper back to 19mm, using my own cleaning rod to confirm. (I put markers at 15mm, 19mm and 23mm on my rods). Back to weak, fluffy and burbly. I repeated the experiment by resetting to 19 and then 23mm. Confirmed. Still, could just be me. I've had a cold and I haven't been playing at all. Coincidentally and fortuitously, we had a session planned for later that day. Coming back, much empowered by 3 & 1/2 hours hard playing, and found the same.
I then did another Flutini run with the stopper set at 23mm. Bottom notes still around -20, as you'd expect - the stopper position doesn't have much authority down there. But Low D to middle D deviance reduced to 23 cents (compared to 33). Low octave B now just +24 cents instead of +46. Second octave notes tending below 0 rather than circa +20. So the deviance has been significantly reduced.
Next day, the owner came down to pick up the flute. I mischievously set the stopper back to 19mm. I asked him to check it, and he thought it was playing normally. (Whew, I thought, at least I haven't made it any worse!) Burbly, weak, fluffy, I felt.
I got him to play my flute, and he got a much better bottom end, even though unfamiliar with it. He commented on that.
So then I set his flute to 23mm and asked him to play again. Dramatic improvement, perceived by both of us. He took it away, and has commented since via email: "Sooooooo much better." And later: "I have found a dramatic difference in the overall performance of the flute since you carried out the repairs."
Now, is this a fix? No. The tuning is still a bit poor. Interestingly, the owner is aware of this. Two really good concertina players had been giving him a hard time over it! It will be interesting to see if the stopper position tweak ameliorates their scorn.
And the performance still isn't as good as my flutes, as judged by both me and the owner of the flute in question. I think a fix would require re-scaling or at least re-reaming, to pull those really flat bottom notes up within reach. But it has made a pretty dodgy flute workable.
So, what am I hoping to achieve by telling you all this? International notoriety? Nah...
If you are playing a modern-made flute that is playing really well, this is all probably only of academic interest. But you do owe it to yourself to try adjusting the stopper position if you never have. Keep in mind the rules. As the face of the stopper approaches the embouchure hole, the third and higher octaves will be easier to play, but the bottom notes may become weaker. If you increase the stopper to embouchure distance, the upper octaves may get harder to play, and the upper notes may become noticeably flat. But the bottom notes may become stronger. The ideal stopper distance is not 15mm, 19mm, 23mm or any other. It's whatever works best for you.
But if you are playing a period flute, or a close copy of a period flute, and particularly if you struggle with a flat low end, you might have a similar experience. And resetting the stopper may well help you. Worth a few moments messing around to find out, I reckon!
And if you feel you need some technical backup, you'll find an RTTA system that suits your favourite platform starting at:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/RTTA.htm
I'm keen to hear from anyone who can corroborate (or refute!) that experience.
Woah, this has been a long post, but framing it has helped me get my mind around the important issues.
One final thought in passing. I've talked about modern-made flutes. I'm now over 70. When do I stop regarding myself as a "modern" maker?