flute tweaking, is it a cr*p flute or not issue?

[bramble]

Hey all

Wel this might go better in the Pakistani flutes section, please feel free to move if so ...

I got hold of my flute from ebay, and can't decide whether it falls into the pakistani nightmare scenario or not. Basically it's blackwoody but has all the brass shenanegins of the pakistani flutes. But, I compared it to a friends rosewood pakistani one which truly is horrendous and mine actually works well...

Mine looks similar but has a brass tuning slide, plays in tune in 3 octaves and has a nice tone. My only issue is that it is quite breathy and can be tiring as i seem to use a lot of diaphragm making it sound rich. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for a begineer as they'd never get a note!

I've tried a couple of other flutes and found them much easier to play (i'm not a total beginner so ...). A chap here who makes flutes looked at it and immediately said 'pakistani' but then played it and thought it was a standard sort of starter wood flute.

The holes are small so it could be that I'm just trying to make it louder than it really wants to be...

So I don't really care if it is pakistani or not, if it makes a sound i like i'm not fussed ... but do any of you have an opinion as to whether it would be... considering it's actually playable.

My main quesiton is, can I do anything about the breathyness of it, could it be tweaked? would it be worth it? Can I mess with it, or get a flute maker to tweak it to make it sound cleaner / louder???

I spend a lot of time trying to work out the embouchure, pressure etc compared with other flutes I have.

Well I also have a Dixon so I can practice on that; in the meantime I'll save up for something gorgeous.

Opinions please! Let the crap flute bashing begin!

[Denny]

sometimes you get lucky

I once spent an afternoon searching different vendors at a arts festival here. I must have tried over 200 cheap bamboo flutes. I finally found one that was in tune with itself.

I might be possible to fix the embouchure or at least improve it.
Find someone the cuts embouchures that you like.

[bramble]

Thanks Denny,

I think it is one of the better ones.

Could a different cut embouchure make a huge difference to it? The head is lined so I don't know how easy it would be. Alternative I could try to fit a different head joint, probably better off just saving up for a decent instrument though.

Any flute makes with experience of this kind of butchery out there?

[Jon C.]

Thanks Denny,

I think it is one of the better ones.

Could a different cut embouchure make a huge difference to it? The head is lined so I don't know how easy it would be. Alternative I could try to fit a different head joint, probably better off just saving up for a decent instrument though.

Any flute makes with experience of this kind of butchery out there?

Hi,
I have worked on these in the past, usually they are beyond repair. A better embouchure cut may help some. Be careful of trying to fit another head on it, as the slide can get stuck! Then you will be "up the creak, without a paddle".

[Flutered]

I think I'd first hand the flute to someone you consider a good player, who plays like you want to sound. Then see what they get on it - more than likely, they'll sound grand in which case you'll need to conclude that it's yourself that needs to adjust. There are lots of little variables and I think it takes a lot of experience for someone to say 'this flute is fine' or 'this one is not worth the trouble'.

[bramble]

Hmm, the guy who had a look knows his onions and said the flute is 'OK' not dreadful, not great. So I think tweaking it might not be the best option as it might get worse!
I'll just have to keep my eyes on the FS notices.
Thanks all

[Nelson]

Jon C., if the flute discussed is blackwood, if the joints fit well, why could it not be rebored with a taper that you know works and an embachure that you know works, and holes adjusted and have a very good flute? In other words, consider it as a blank. Micheal Cronnelly used to modify Pakastanie blanks sent to him, saving him preliminary work.
If it weren't for time, we would have to do everything at once.

[Aanvil]

Might be there isn't enough wood in the bore to re-bore, the holes may be in a drastically different place, the emb. might be so out of wack its not tweekable.

Lots of reasons why it might not be worth the effort.