Choosing a flute to play in the desert (Utah)

DaveO · Post by **DaveO** » Thu Jan 03, 2002 11:32 am

I'm ready to move on beyond the Dixon Low D duo which I got as my first flute (and whistle) last year. I'm considering the merits of wooden versus polymer flutes here in Utah. The air is extremely dry in Utah, even more arid than in Colorado where I used to live. We also experience rather extreme seasonal weather conditions here, with particularly hot summers (and we have no air conditioner). I'd really love to get a nice wood flute, but I'm not sure how safe it will be in this climate. Some folks on this board have commented on how susceptible wood flutes are to cracking in a dry climate, even when proper care is given to the flutes. Any opinions? Also, should I consider polymer flutes as an alternative? Are any of the polymer flutes (Seery, M&E, Dixon) a reasonable substitute for wood flutes? Thanks for any ideas you have.

Dave

dcopley · Post by **dcopley** » Thu Jan 03, 2002 12:00 pm

Dave,
Just about every part of North America (except maybe Florida and the Pacific Northwest) experiences low enough indoor humidity that wooden flutes need to be humidified. In the Eastern and Central US, the problem is usually in winter - at the moment the humidity is 18% in my house in Ohio. In the Southwest, you would probably want to humidify year-round. It need not be a big hassle - keep the flute in an airtight plastic box, with humidity provided by a damp sponge in a perforated plastic food container. If you decide on a polymer flute, a search through the C&F archives should provide a lot of reviews, and there has also been a recent discussion on the the "woodenflute" list (www.woodenflute.com).

Dave Copley
Loveland, Ohio

BrianW · Post by **BrianW** » Thu Jan 03, 2002 5:57 pm

Hey Dave,

I also live in Utah, SLC, and have taken my bamboo Olwell d to Capitol Reef backpacking on several occasions. Other than the red dust that permeates absolutely everything, it tends to return from my trips unscathed. I keep it in a fly fishing rod tube that has a rubber O-ring seal.

I think I've had the Bamboo Olwell for nearly a year now and as of yet, no sign of cracking. (Highly recommended flute!)

I also have had a Casey Burns keyless in Mopane for almost 2 years, I think. I haven't had any problems with it at all (I don't take that one backpacking). I play it nearly every day and keep it in a case to keep the moisture transfer to a slow seep. I oiled it weekly for the first few months and monthly after that.

By the way, my Casey Burns plays well and has been a great flute for me. While I don't have much experience with flutes from other makers, I find it to have a nice tone and a fairly powerfull lower end.

I also had several wooden whistles in this climate for several years without a problem.

No better place to play a flute than in the high desert!!

RudallRose · Post by **RudallRose** » Fri Jan 04, 2002 1:10 am

if you think of it, dry is great since it's much more stable and easier to control.
so much so that in fact the famous piccolo maker, Roy Seaman, had his shop for years in Arizona.....and fife maker Larry Trout (maker of the original McDonagh model after Seama had it) was in Santa Fe, NM, for ages before retiring to florida.
The key is humidity control and oiling. I keep my flutes in the shop at a constant 60-65% humidity and haven't had an issue, and the flutes all get oiled about every two weeks or so, some less frequently.

DaveO · Post by **DaveO** » Fri Jan 04, 2002 9:56 am

Thanks Dave, Brian, and David, for setting my mind at ease about caring for a wooden flute in Utah. I finally ordered one this morning!

Hey Brian, nice to here from another C&Fer in Utah. I live not too far south of SLC, in Highland.

Dave

AdrienneB · Post by **AdrienneB** » Fri Jan 04, 2002 3:03 pm

I have a maple Sweetheart flute which has done fine with care in the Phoenix, Arizona area. I bought it at The Folk Shop in Tucson almost 2 years ago, so doubtless it had some time to acclimate before I got it. I keep it clean and oiled, and keep mass quantities of moisture from collecting on the inside by swabbing it out after every 30 minutes of playing or so. I don't use a humidifier, but do play the flute most days, and then swab it out, wipe it down, and put it back in its case, and that seems to be working -- at least for maple, which (I've been told) is relatively forgiving as woods go.

My house has evaporative cooling, but not refrigerated air conditioning, and I perform outdoors every weekend in February -- about as far as you can get from a controlled environment.

The flute hasn't cracked so far, but tuning does suffer from changes in the weather if I'm not careful. Since I like this particular flute very much, it is worth the trouble.

That being said, I had a chance to try a polymer M&E flute last summer and it was quite nice, especially for the price -- and probably would be much easier to care for. My second flute will (some day) probably be a polymer M&E, for its tone and its durability.

Adrienne

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Fri Jan 04, 2002 6:59 pm

I've taken to keeping my sealed plastic
flute case inside a plastic bag of
the sort one finds at supermarkets.
I just fold the bag over so that it
is sealed. This seems to keep the
humidity (from the sponge humidifier
inside the case) higher and it lasts longer
without the sponge getting soaked again.
Just came back from a 5 day trip,
and everything was fine.

I've played some polymer flutes
and my impression, as a novice, is
that there is no comparison with
the tone of a good wooden flute.
On the other hand the latter definitely
takes some taking care of. A bit
like having a pet.

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Sat Jan 05, 2002 6:23 am

I have a Casey Burns mopane flute, and liviing here in Windsor Ontario, the humidity swings almost seventy degrees between seasons.

Right now because of electric base board heating in the condo, I use Dampits that I bought from Dave Migoya, and when finish playing and swabbing out, soak the dampit and put the flute back in its case.

This works well.

I use dampits for my wooden whistles and several bodhrans. They're worth the investment.

Mark

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Sat Jan 05, 2002 6:42 am

Woodwind Damp-it's can also be found at most music stores that sell or rent woodwinds, though David's look quite nice as well.

If you have a multi-section flute that you store disassembled, you can buy several small damp-it's, one for each section.

Still using damp-it's alone, inside a flutes bore with nothing humidifying the outside worries me. I've read that one cause of cracks is a differential in the amount of moisture inside the flute vs. outside, meaning: If the instrument is more or less constantly subjected to a humidity of say 80%, but the outside is generally only subjected to 40%, as the wood dries on one side and retains moisture on the other, a stress builds up that can cause cracks. Oiling regularly would seem to mitigate the absorption and evaporations somewhat, but still.....I can't help wondering if storing ones wooden flutes in a humidified box wouldn't be best.

Interesting topic, anyone have links to any scientific data on the subject?

Loren

clark · Post by **clark** » Sat Jan 05, 2002 6:49 am

Where I live it is 70%-80% humidity and 70-80 degrees year round so I don't have to worry on a daily basis. I imagine one can work out constant humidity long term wherever you live. My question, though, is about traveling. I have relatives in Denver and do some traveling on business and worry about protecting my McGee. Getting on the plane at 70%, then flying at a sudden 10%, then arriving at something else? What's a guy to do? I suppose dampits are in my future... Do these go inside the flute or just in the case (not really any room in the form fitted case). If it is ok to place in the flute is there any problem with mold or other damage from too much moisture? I do play every day so I doubt the mold would be problematic. I suppose I could get one of those hard plastic, gasketed, water proof, air proof cases that some photographers use. I would appreciate suggestions from any of you who do some traveling with your flute.

Clark

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Sat Jan 05, 2002 9:48 am

I forgot to say that I do two things depending. I will leave my wooden flute assembled, if I know that I will be playing later that day or night and put a dampit in it and place it in PVC tube with a cap at either end. Or dis-assemble it and place it in a plastic case, I also purchased for Dave. Both seem to work well.

Mark

totst · Post by **totst** » Sat Jan 05, 2002 10:26 am

Still using damp-it's alone, inside a flutes bore with nothing humidifying the outside worries me.

I wouldn't worry. I've read that wooden instruments, whether they be flutes , clarinets, oboes etc. rarely crack with the proper use of Damp-its. One article I read even states that the damp-its work great even if you don't regularly oil the instrument.

Loren,
I'll try and find that scientific data for you. It's somewhere on one of my disks...

Tots

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: totst on 2002-01-05 11:29 ]</font>

Marshall in New Mexico · Thu Feb 21, 2002 2:52 pm

I live in Albuquerque, which is much dryer than Utah for most of the year. However, during the summer, humidity goes up during the rainy season (and also if you have evaporative air cooler like many of us in the West have). The real problem is not the low humidity, but rather it is the wild seasonal fluctuations in humidity. I have split my fiddle once and my cello twice due to changes in humidity. I wanted to make sure the same thing did not happen to me when I bought an Irish flute, especially since a buddy of mine here in Albuquerque had his wooden flute split four times during the first six months after he bought it. I tried an M&E polymer flute and knew that I had found a viable solution, so I bought one from Michael Cronnolly and had it in my hands within two weeks. Sure, it is not wood, but I never have to worry about it splitting. If I forget to swab it out, I don't lose sleep. It is practically indestructable (except for the keys, and they are made from a malliable silver that is easily realigned if I bend a key). So I can treat the instrument like the tough thing that it is; I don't spend my time worrying about whether it is properly cared for. Above and beyond that, the tone is great, it sounds like wood, it plays like wood, and people who enjoy my playing only know that it is a traditional looking and sounding instrument. Neither they nor I care that it is made from a synthetic, non-splitting material.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Marshall in New Mexico on 2002-02-28 10:59 ]</font>

Dave Parkhurst · Post by **Dave Parkhurst** » Sun Feb 24, 2002 10:37 pm

Probably the best way to care for a really nice flute, such as a Rudall & Rose, is to mail it to me and forget about it.... heh heh heh heh

RudallRose · Post by **RudallRose** » Tue Feb 26, 2002 3:27 pm

I'll remember that, Dave, when I'm ready to ship my Rudall somewhere.

Loren: you're right, you can get Damp-Its in most good music stores. However, the inventor of the contraption makes them at special lengths for me just for wood flutes. Otherwise, the standard sized ones are just too long for nearly all the flutes.