Conical bore wrote:
MadmanWithaWhistle wrote:
Ahh, F flutes are delightful! I would only get a synthetic keyed flute, if the time comes where I reliably need one.
Why only a synthetic for a keyed flute? Wouldn't your choices be much wider for keyed wooden flutes, both new and used? Is it mainly the zero maintenance factor? Just curious.
I'm one of those "I want my fingers to touch wood" players, maybe because I've played only wooden musical instruments of various types all my life. But I do appreciate some of the merits of synthetic materials.
My feelings about this are complicated. Tradition and innovation are both equally great! I do a lot of woodworking and the craft and lore of woodworking is wonderful. I've made several guitars out of local hardwoods and I really like the connection between the object and the place it comes from.
I just worry about the sustainability of tropical hardwoods. It's hard to get reliable information, and separate hype from reality, but wood is always being sold as "rare" or "hard to find," and if you go to luthier supply sites they are always offering you some new exotic alternative to ebony or rosewood, and you just think "how long before those other woods are gone too?" Flutemaking is obviously a tiny tiny part of global demand, but it's part of it.
Also maintenance. I've been spending a fair amount of time looking at the "irish flute" market, and on any old flute for sale you almost invariably see the phrase "repaired crack." Sooner or later, it seems, my expensive tropical hardwood flute is going to crack. I guess you could argue "so what? just fix it!" and that's a fair point. But there's a real pleasure in a flute that you just leave assembled and pick up and play and never worry about.
On the other hand I'm always wondering if the inexpensive delrin flute would be better if the maker spent more time an attention on the final adjustments and small details