Psychedelic Pratten

The Chiff & Fipple Irish Flute on-line community. Sideblown for your protection.
User avatar
Geoffrey Ellis
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:15 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Crafting fine quality folk flutes from around the world since 1997, my goal is to create beautiful instruments that have the best possible voice, tuning and response by mixing modern methods with traditional designs.
Contact:

Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Geoffrey Ellis »

I had to share this, not that I think it will inspire very many trad players, but simply because it is ebonite and I love ebonite :-)

A customer in Hong Kong who also loves these flutes and loves ebonite, but didn't want the color black, requested this limited edition ebonite color (I got it from SEM in Germany, and it's called "Candy No.1"). She also didn't want metal rings on the body (but she did want rings), and also wanted a second headjoint without a tuning slide. This is the result.

The question is, could you get away with bringing this to the local session? :-)

Image
Image
User avatar
Nanohedron
Moderatorer
Posts: 38212
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.

Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps.
Location: Lefse country

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Nanohedron »

Far out, man.

First question for me is: How's it going to oxidize?
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Tribal musician
PB+J
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:40 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm a historian and the author of "The Beat Cop:Chicago's Chief O'Neill and the Creation of Irish Music," published by the University of Chicago in 2022. I live in Arlington VA and play the flute sincerely but not well

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by PB+J »

Wow. That's pretty cool looking. I kind of like the swirly ebonite but it also kind of reminds me of bowling balls
User avatar
Geoffrey Ellis
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:15 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Crafting fine quality folk flutes from around the world since 1997, my goal is to create beautiful instruments that have the best possible voice, tuning and response by mixing modern methods with traditional designs.
Contact:

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Geoffrey Ellis »

Nanohedron wrote:Far out, man.

First question for me is: How's it going to oxidize?
I gather from the folks at SEM that the oxidization of ebonite is fairly slow, and I don't know that it effects all colors in the same way. Historically, black ebonite would have a slight "greening" effect, but what happens to these brighter colors I'm not certain. In any case, they say the original color can be restored in a couple of different ways. They recommended a type of liquid polish (often used on cars, apparently, but I've forgotten the name in this moment), and of course the ebonite can be rebuffed with a paste abrasive to restore it. I've also polished it with a jeweler's cloth, which is supposed to work well. That last tip came from a customer who is an avid pen collector and has many ebonite fountain pens.
User avatar
Geoffrey Ellis
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:15 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Crafting fine quality folk flutes from around the world since 1997, my goal is to create beautiful instruments that have the best possible voice, tuning and response by mixing modern methods with traditional designs.
Contact:

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Geoffrey Ellis »

PB+J wrote:Wow. That's pretty cool looking. I kind of like the swirly ebonite but it also kind of reminds me of bowling balls
It really does :-)

But strangely, I found it grew on me after awhile.
jim stone
Posts: 17185
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2001 6:00 pm

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by jim stone »

Soon you'll be haunting bowling alleys. Don't say you weren't warned.
User avatar
Geoffrey Ellis
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:15 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Crafting fine quality folk flutes from around the world since 1997, my goal is to create beautiful instruments that have the best possible voice, tuning and response by mixing modern methods with traditional designs.
Contact:

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Geoffrey Ellis »

jim stone wrote:Soon you'll be haunting bowling alleys. Don't say you weren't warned.
My dad took me bowling as a kid (which I loved) and one of the things I remember were the crazy colored bowling balls. Not sure if they were ebonite at that point, but they looked remarkably similar.
User avatar
Nanohedron
Moderatorer
Posts: 38212
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.

Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps.
Location: Lefse country

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Nanohedron »

Geoffrey Ellis wrote:The question is, could you get away with bringing this to the local session? :-)
Not with me around. :lol:
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Tribal musician
User avatar
Geoffrey Ellis
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:15 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Crafting fine quality folk flutes from around the world since 1997, my goal is to create beautiful instruments that have the best possible voice, tuning and response by mixing modern methods with traditional designs.
Contact:

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Geoffrey Ellis »

Nanohedron wrote:
Geoffrey Ellis wrote:The question is, could you get away with bringing this to the local session? :-)
Not with me around. :lol:
Exactly :-)

A friend saw it and suggested offering it as a regular option (meaning spectacular colors) for players interested in the Pratten flutes. I took the liberty of expressing strong skepticism about the likelihood of an enthusiastic reception! This custom flute is noteworthy because it was requested at all. I don't see anyone pulling this out in the middle of the pub...
User avatar
Nanohedron
Moderatorer
Posts: 38212
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.

Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps.
Location: Lefse country

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Nanohedron »

Geoffrey Ellis wrote:This custom flute is noteworthy because it was requested at all. I don't see anyone pulling this out in the middle of the pub...
If it were a regular occurrence, I would be sorely tempted to put on a pair of sunglasses every time she picked it up to play.

In public application, it's certainly suitable for loosely-regulated Renaissance Fairs or certain stage contexts.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Tribal musician
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Peter Duggan »

Geoffrey Ellis wrote:The question is, could you get away with bringing this to the local session? :-)
It's a flute of technical equivalence to a black or brown one. If it plays right (and I'm sure it does), the answer has to be — or certainly should be — yes!
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
PB+J
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:40 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm a historian and the author of "The Beat Cop:Chicago's Chief O'Neill and the Creation of Irish Music," published by the University of Chicago in 2022. I live in Arlington VA and play the flute sincerely but not well

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by PB+J »

You could sell them with a vintage style two tone bowling shirt and offer to engrave the player's name! I need to think of an ITM nickname I can add in some kind of script font
User avatar
Geoffrey Ellis
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:15 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Crafting fine quality folk flutes from around the world since 1997, my goal is to create beautiful instruments that have the best possible voice, tuning and response by mixing modern methods with traditional designs.
Contact:

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by Geoffrey Ellis »

I like where this is going! Cross-promotional marketing ideas that are well outside of the box!
jim stone
Posts: 17185
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2001 6:00 pm

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by jim stone »

Geoffrey isn't responsible for this color, since the customer requested it. So I am free to confess that I find the colors and configurations stomach churning, in a hypnotic sort of way. The problem
isn't that the flute looks non-traditional. It would be interesting to see other such colors and designs, less repellent to people like myself. Something good sounding and visually attractive would probably be welcome at most sessions, especially if you can say it's made of ebonite, and I'm not much attracted to the sessions that would make it an issue.
awildman
Posts: 612
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:44 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: Washington State

Re: Psychedelic Pratten

Post by awildman »

I think a 3 hole version would sell better. :poke:

I don't care for this particular color, but I would not object to the typical swirl colors - black with red/blue/green etc. Perhaps the absence of black is more off putting than anything else.
Post Reply