Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

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tradlad123
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Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by tradlad123 »

Love the sweet sound of this flute, and want to know if it's a particular maker, kind or just 100% the player :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pg3zDdGOhE

Thanks!
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by kkrell »

Rudall & Rose 2259 - cocuswood, ivory head joint cap, ivory foot joint cap, ivory rings, small holes, silver keys, saltspoon Eb key, pewter C# and C keys with bushed holes instead of metal strike plates

https://m.facebook.com/groups/Flute.His ... 4967/?_rdr
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tradlad123
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by tradlad123 »

Great, thanks! I think I will try to give an R&R style flute a spin sometime :) great tone
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by kkrell »

tradlad123 wrote:Great, thanks! I think I will try to give an R&R style flute a spin sometime :) great tone
Not R&R style. True R&R, and cocus to boot.
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by tradlad123 »

Understood :) I was thinking of the closest I can get to it practically (availability and finances both)
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by busterbill »

tradlad123 wrote:Understood :) I was thinking of the closest I can get to it practically (availability and finances both)

Yes. Those are important factors. There was been a bit of a rage for Pratten style flutes with a great big "burrrr" in the past 30 years or so but many of the great makers such as Chris Wilkes and Michael Grinter focused heavily on R&R style instruments as well. Kevin Crawford's choice of the R&R style Grinter has gone a long way to reminding folks of what amazing flutes they are.

Neither of those modern makers come cheap, M.Grinter has passed on, and Chris Wilkes has a waiting list with no end, but there are others like Geert LeJeunne who are still focusing on that style. Aebi is another maker. Baubet springs to mind. I am a huge fan of cocus which has a particular sound of its own as well. But it is hard to find and some are allergic to it.
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by paddler »

If you are trying to find a flute that has similar characteristics to the one in the video you probably need to go further
than to just look for a R&R style flute. The reason I say this is because the full range of serial numbers for R&R flutes
covers the best part of a century of production, during which all kinds of design changes occurred in terms of tone
hole sizes, bore profiles, overall length, sounding length, inter-tone-hole distances and tuning standards.

Some modern makers have based their R&R models on originals that had large tone hole sizes and wider bores. Others
selected small tone hole size originals. The difference between these two flutes is quite significant, to the extent that
the difference between Rudalls and Prattens from some modern makers can be smaller than the difference between
Rudall copies. We often talk about R&R flutes and Pratten flutes as if they are two points on a design spectrum.
They are not!

I do not know much about the particular R&R flute in the video linked above, but I see that it has small tone holes and that
it is from fairly early in the serial number range. These are factors you might want to take into account when asking
modern makers about their R&R copies. It would be useful to know which original model their modern R&R flute is based
on. At the very least, you would want to look for a "small holed" Rudall.

Having said all of that, I agree wholeheartedly that the flute and playing in that video sounds great, and that R&R flutes
have some magic to their sound, even if they don't all sound alike.

As for you question on whether the great sound is due to the flute, maker or player, its probably 99% the player and 1% the
flute design. But the 1% does matter, in the sense that it can be much easier to chase the specific sound you want to produce
on some instruments than on others.
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by Bran Ruz »

paddler wrote: As for you question on whether the great sound is due to the flute, maker or player, its probably 99% the player and 1% the
flute design. But the 1% does matter, in the sense that it can be much easier to chase the specific sound you want to produce
on some instruments than on others.
99% the player, I agree. I had the chance to play a few notes on this particular flute and to be honest, it's not an easy instrument. Getting a decent sound out of this flute is really hard, Ialrlaith's playing on this flute is reallly great. :thumbsup:
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by Sedi »

Just my 2 cents to the great info above. From my experience in making a couple of flutes (and whistles and quenas/quenachos) -- differences of just a half mm (probably even less) in hole sizes or a mm more or less stopper distance, etc. will produce significant and very noticable differences in how a flute plays and sounds.
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Re: Flute ID (or type) from this Iarlaith Mac Gabhann video

Post by tradlad123 »

Thanks for all the info, all!
I am working on the 99% player part, so when the time comes, I will think about getting a specifically styled instrument. :)
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