Chiff and Fipple Forums

First of all, let me apologise is there is a recent thread on this subject. I tried to search, but I was overwhelmed by older threads.

I am interested in getting a nicer Delrin flute to supplement my Casey Burns wooden flute. I want something I can take outdoors, take on camping trips, carry in my scooter for over night trips, etc. I wouldn't dare do this with the Casey Burns. II actually neglected oiling it for a while. I oiled it today, inside and out.) I've since moved to Virginia and there is lots to do outdoors here, but I don't want the C.B. flute to get rained on or anything. I figured a nice Delrin flute might be nice to take on camping trips, road trips, or just to the park to practice. Could y'all suggest some good quality flutes that I might want to think about? If I can avoid something made in China, all the better.

Many thanks!

An initial starting point are those of Dave Copley. For under $400 you can get a very nice instrument. Good intonation, solid construction, from a very reputable maker. His flute catalog is at www.copleyflutes.com/catalog.html Caveat: I have been a happy customer of Mr. Copley but have no other relationship with him or his business.

Best wishes.

Steve

I second the Dave Copley recommendation!!!

Pat

I’ve been playing a Forbes for a couple of months and I like it a lot. It’s easy to get a beastly buzz and growl from it and wow it is loud. Rob Forbes’s wait list is only a couple months. Copley is usually a first recommendation, too, as he was here. Other well recommended delrin flute makers are Thompson, Seery, Baubet. There must be others O forgot. If you want to buy something immediately without a wait list, irishflutestore.com has a Galeon pratten and Mcneelas has a Seery in stock. I was just looking into this in November so I have all the details at the front of my head lol! I have to say that one amazing advantage of delrin is that you can leave it put together and ready to play, and pick it up intermittently throughout the day every day, which is great I think!

All the Delrin/Polypenco flutes I've tried were very heavy, much heavier that the wood flutes I've owned.

Are there makers who do a "thinned" Delrin flute?

I imagine it would need a raised lip-plate, achieving the same blow-hole depth as a wood or thick-walled Delrin flute, to get a similar tone and performance.

Yes there are thin-walled bamboo flutes and PVC pipe flutes and aluminium tubing flutes but I'm talking about a flute that plays like a traditional wood flute.

pancelticpiper wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 5:10 am All the Delrin/Polypenco flutes I've tried were very heavy, much heavier that the wood flutes I've owned.

Says the guy who plays bagpipes!

Which Delrin flutes have you tried? Since you haven’t played flute in….decades?…. I am guessing you are talking about the original M&E and Seery polymer flutes? Things have moved along a bit, check the flute weights thread I started.

My Copley keyless Delrin is 290 grams, less than many keyless Blackwood flutes. The Copley has a short foot which helps significantly - both with weight, as well as aggravation at cramped sessions. If only fiddlers would start using similarly short bows

I’ve had a whole bunch of Delrin flutes and the wall thickness varies by maker. Also, some makers of polymer flutes, for reasons I can’t fathom, use a full metal headjoint liner and tuning slide which unnecessarily adds to the weight.

Bottom line, a well made modern keyless Delrin flute need not be significantly heavier than a Blackwood flute, as long as you don’t start adding heavy tuning slides and a looong foot.

That said, some makers still make their Delrin flutes too darn heavy, so buyers who are concerned about this should look into the specs before choosing.

Loren...my Copley is on the heavier side because it does have a fully lined head joint/tuning slide, foot joint, and 8 keys. In retrospect, I would have asked for an unlined heajoint, which would have helped. I think my 8 key delrin Copley weighs close to 2 ounces more than my 8 key cocus Wylde.

Damian Thompson, who only makes delrin flutes now, can do a thinned headjoint with raised lip plate for chimney depth. I've not played one of his flutes, but I would imagine they're no heavier than a similar blackwood flute.

Eric

Jayhawk wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 12:26 pm Loren...my Copley is on the heavier side because it does have a fully lined head joint/tuning slide, foot joint, and 8 keys. In retrospect, I would have asked for an unlined heajoint, which would have helped. I think my 8 key delrin Copley weighs close to 2 ounces more than my 8 key cocus Wylde.

Damian Thompson, who only makes delrin flutes now, can do a thinned headjoint with raised lip plate for chimney depth. I've not played one of his flutes, but I would imagine they're no heavier than a similar blackwood flute.

Eric

Eric, from a balance perspective, I’d probably actually prefer the metal slide on an 8 key, and possibly even the fully lined headjoint, though I’d really have to get hands on to say for sure.

The Wylde isn’t a good comparison to the Copley because Wylde flutes are comparatively thin and light compared with many 8 key flutes. At least the one original I played was, as are the Grinters, which were modified copies. Also, Cocus is generally lighter than Blackwood, which of course is far and away the most common wood for modern flutes.

Never the less, my point is that Delrin flutes keyed and keyless, can be more or less the same weight as a similar wood flute executed in Blackwood, depending on design choices. This is where I think having a repository of knowledge regarding flute weights would be helpful for buyers. Armed with some knowledge a buyer could spec a given Delrin flute to be lighter by deleting the metal slide or full headjoint liner, as well as requesting a short foot, depending on the number of keys required. No need to suffer an overly heavy polymer flute in this day and age.

Or folks could just hit the gym a few times a week

I’m only a flute beginner, but I’ve been happy with my Anglo concertina purchased from McNeela Music and their customer service. They do have an impressive array of musical instruments, and I like their website content and videos describing the various models of instruments.

They do have simple system polyester flute: https://mcneelamusic.com/wind/lon-dubh ... ish-flute/ and a keyed Delrin: https://mcneelamusic.com/wind/delrin-i ... yed-flute/

Might be worth a look.

Also without rings. Dave C makes one and it looks elegant. I have one and it's lighter than my other keyless flutes (except bamboo).

Over the past 4 years I have tried a bunch of plastic flutes. Sometimes used, sometimes new, but also with the idea of a backpacking flute -

Copley (both embouchure cuts)
Baubet
Seery
Somers
Forbes
Ralph sweet
Tipple
Paddy ward
Damien Thompson

They were all good quality flutes, I just wanted to try a bunch of different ones. Any of them will do, it’s just a matter of what suits your fingers/embouchure/sound/whatever.

kstyrsky@yahoo.com wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 4:12 pm

...They do have simple system polyester flute: ....
Might be worth a look.

I hope those polyester flutes don't have ridiculously wide lapels like those disco flutes in the late '70s had!

I have tried many over time (far beyond my skills ). Best ones w.r.t the tone I came across are Copley and John Gallagher Pratten (of course, a subjective evaluation). They are very different w.r.t the tone, volume, and prices though. But I wouldn't be able to trade one for the other

The Lurking Fear wrote: ↑Fri Apr 05, 2024 12:07 am I hope those polyester flutes don't have ridiculously wide lapels like those disco flutes in the late '70s had!

Haha, yeah!

Polymer. POLYMER!!

There was a time in my life when I was extremely detail oriented. This and many others, unfortunately, was not that time.

Not OP, but this post has definitely helped me settle on Copely flutes. FYI for anyone else interested, he has a current wait time of about 10 weeks. Not too bad considering how popular the demand is.