Chiff and Fipple Forums

G’day y’all,

I am a newbie to these forums. My name is Ginnie, and I am an Aussie transplant living in Missouri, USA. Some might say I have a musical instrument habit...I’ve played Boehm flute and piano for decades, and a few years ago added a 26 string Blevins lever harp. There may also be some whistles and recorders lurking about my person... When we lived in Alabama, I played in a group that did Celtic stuff. Unfortunately no group here, but I occasionally get to StLouis to play with a member of that Alabama group.

Anyhoo...I am looking to start playing Irish flute. I was thinking pretty hard about a wood folk flute from Casey Burns, but had some concerns about taking it with me when traveling. I don’t want customs hassles with an exotic wood instrument, and I also have read about issues with cracks and such with all wood instruments generally. So I concluded that Delrin is probably the way to go for me.

I’ve replied to a thread here from someone who is selling a Copley Delrin, so that might work. Is there a thread already somewhere about Delrin flutes, eg brands that are good vs not so good, etc? Any recommendations for a newbie?

There are a lot of really good delrin flutes out there. And a wide range of prices, too.

I have a Shannon and an M&E. Love them both. I play the Shannon most often. It's tone is clear and strong. Intonation is great. Easy blower. It's a great flute, IMHO.

The M&E is great. Bit darker tone. Great response. Loud. Not quite as clear as the Shannon to my ear. Heavier than the Shannon.

Anyway, there a lot of great flutes. I wish you luck in your search.

Thanks, Jim. I bought a used M&E on EBay that ended yesterday. Glad to hear you’re happy with yours. Looking forward to playing it.

All the best with your M&E, mine's heavy as well.

For future reference, there is Tony Dixon & Damian Thompson too, I have one from each, they aren't so heavy.

About the folk flute. Casey's boxwood folk flute (he does lovely things with boxwood) isn't covered by CITES. Boxwood isn't protected. Also the CITES regulations appear to be expiring in two or three months for any wood used for instruments. Wooden flutes seldom crack and when they do the metal lining in the headjoint is often the culprit. The wood contracts in dry air, the metal doesn't. The folk flute is all wood, so the prospect of its cracking, with the minimal measures for humidifying, are slight. As to minimal measures, putting the flute in a plastic bag with a damp cloth will do it. Your concerns about wooden flutes probably don't apply here.

That’s really good to know, Jim. Maybe down the road I might feel the need to trade the M&E in(though hopefully not for a while).

Australian quarantine/customs are quite fierce, generally. I wouldn’t want to leave it to chance, and find that I got an airport officer on a bad day who felt like a flute bonfire with lunch. I’ve had things confiscated that did not pose any health risk to the Australian public (and were processed to a level where pathogens were highly unlikely). They just take it all very, very seriously. It’s just easier to avoid the issue altogether by going the polymer route.

After waiting many years, The CITES regulations concerning rosewood (includes African Blackwood) for musical instruments have been lifted, just a couple of weeks ago. The resolution has been ratified and will come into force in about 90 days. CITES had finally realised that the tiny quantity of wood used by instrument makers is not what is threatening these species.

This is great news for instrument makers and players. No more customs issues for flutes in Blackwood and so on.

All the best from Melbourne, Australia!