Greetings from a fellow mandolin player, who has been transitioning to flute in the past few years (while not giving up mandolin)!Bcoopmando wrote:I am a musician able to read music well and improvise in Jazz. I am just hesitant to jump into an expensive instrument. I guess I could resell it. But some suggest wood if it just doesn’t do it for me! I feel that seems to be an unscientific bias searching through this forum!
I am used to high quality string instruments with no polymers as yet!!
There is nothing scientific about the wood vs. synthetic question, other than the slight additional care requirements of a wooden flute, namely humidity control and swabbing out after playing. For some folks it's a question of whether they want to deal with that additional care, or treat a flute as basically indestructible. For many of us, like me, it's purely aesthetics.
I've worked my way up into very fine musical instruments over the years, all made of wood: mostly guitars and more recently mandolin and octave mandolin. High-end stuff. When I decided to attempt learning "Irish" flute, I just couldn't bring myself to start on a synthetic one. I like the look of wood and the way it feels under my fingers.
So my first flute purchase was an expensive one -- a blackwood keyless Windward flute, purchased new (around $1,600 at the time, they're a lot more expensive now). When I decided I wanted keys, I bought a secondhand Aebi 8-keyed flute in Cocus wood, a nearly "unobtainium" material these days, that I absolutely love. A big part of it is how well it plays, but I also enjoy the color of the wood, the feel under my fingers, and the historical association with wooden 19th Century instruments.
So wood vs. synthetic, used vs. new, it's all your decision. You can get a good starting flute under $500 in Delrin. If you don't want to spend much for an entry level wooden flute I can recommend the Casey Burns folk flute. A friend has one and she likes it. If you have more money to spend, don't hesitate to get one of the better-known "name" brands in a wooden flute. That's what I did, and even though I eventually sold the Windward because the Aebi was a better fit for my embouchure, I'm not sorry I took that path. Good luck on the journey!
