feedback on M&E and seery flutes
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- Loren
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Do a search because the discussion was prettly active and maybe everyone is burned out. Search for M&E, Seery, and you might also look at the messages on the Dixon 3 piece polymer flute. The new Rudall M&E sounds intriguing and adds a little gas to the M&E vs Seery debate, which up till now has been a stalemate in my opinion.
I just ordered the Dixon because the messages were encouraging and I have a another 4 month waite on a Copley Blackwood I have on order. I look forward to the Dixon, it will be my first 3 piece flute.
I just ordered the Dixon because the messages were encouraging and I have a another 4 month waite on a Copley Blackwood I have on order. I look forward to the Dixon, it will be my first 3 piece flute.
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I have an older M&E and have tried a Seery. I like them both. My comparison is:
M&E: More optimized for lower octave.
Seery: More balanced across the lower and upper octave.
Note: It took some work, but I have learned to easily get the upper octave on the M&E. I'd imagine with the Seery, I would have put in the same amount of effort learning to honk the lower octave. (It's easy on the M&E).
Volume: Probably close to equal. Some say the Seery is louder, others say the M&E. So it's probably a wash. They're both really loud.
M&E: Uses less air.
Seery: Uses more air.
M&E: Small finger holes
Seery: Large finger holes.
M&E: Joint between right and left hand
Seery: Right & Left hand holes on same piece.
M&E: Flat low D. (He did it on purpose, so you can honk it hard without going sharp). Perfect Cnat using oxx ooo.
Seery: Flat C# (on the one I tried).
Appearance: The Seery is a better looking flute. Understand that I say that while totally loving the way my M&E plays. But the Seery will be mistaken for a blackwood flute unless carefully inspected. My M&E would never be mistaken for a wood flute.
Hope this helps; I'd imagine it's a bit dated: I hear that Seery has done some work on intonation, and I know Mike Cronolly has changed hole and embouchure sizes from the way mine is even before he came out with his new R&R copy.
M&E: More optimized for lower octave.
Seery: More balanced across the lower and upper octave.
Note: It took some work, but I have learned to easily get the upper octave on the M&E. I'd imagine with the Seery, I would have put in the same amount of effort learning to honk the lower octave. (It's easy on the M&E).
Volume: Probably close to equal. Some say the Seery is louder, others say the M&E. So it's probably a wash. They're both really loud.
M&E: Uses less air.
Seery: Uses more air.
M&E: Small finger holes
Seery: Large finger holes.
M&E: Joint between right and left hand
Seery: Right & Left hand holes on same piece.
M&E: Flat low D. (He did it on purpose, so you can honk it hard without going sharp). Perfect Cnat using oxx ooo.
Seery: Flat C# (on the one I tried).
Appearance: The Seery is a better looking flute. Understand that I say that while totally loving the way my M&E plays. But the Seery will be mistaken for a blackwood flute unless carefully inspected. My M&E would never be mistaken for a wood flute.
Hope this helps; I'd imagine it's a bit dated: I hear that Seery has done some work on intonation, and I know Mike Cronolly has changed hole and embouchure sizes from the way mine is even before he came out with his new R&R copy.
- Jens_Hoppe
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Just one comment on Jomac's comparison:
Jens
As I understand it, Seery now makes his flutes in all sorts of X-piece designs; check the picture on the http://www.csagraphics.com/seery.htm website.Seery: Right & Left hand holes on same piece.
Jens
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One more comment: The M$E is massive. This never bothered me, after I got my hands used to playing flute in the first place, but I have large powerful hands (used to play acoustic bass). I actually like the mass of the M&E because I like to pound pretty hard with my fingers. The rhythmic pulse has to come largely from the fingers on the Irish flute, and when I play I almost feel as if I'm drumming on the flute with my fingers. Now when I do this on a whistle, for example, I really have to tone this down, otherwise the whistle is jumping all over the place, banging my teeth and bruising my lips. With the massive M&E, I can drum as hard as I like, and it doesn't budge.
Your mileage may vary.
Joe
Your mileage may vary.
Joe
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- clark
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Just for information purposes. I ordered a Seery (through Shanna Quey) and found the intonation not suited to my style... the C# annoyed me particularly. While I could blow the thing into tune it took more umph than I was used to... Well, Desi took the flute back and gave me one that fits my playing and doesn't need to be blown like a tornado to be in tune (including the C#). I would suggest letting Desi know what you want... he may be able to give it to you. By the way, I didn't deal with Desi directly. Steve Power at Shanna Quay facilitated all this for me. It pays to do business with people who care about customer service!
Clark
Clark
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I know you already bought the Seery, but I'll tell you a couple more things I like about the M&E, as well as another thing I don't.
In addition to the nice intonation on Cnat, you can get a pretty good lower octave G# with xx0 xxx and on the 2nd octave G# with xx0 x0x. It's a little sharp but just barely. x0x xxx gives a pretty good Bb as well on the lower octave, I haven't been able to get a good Bb in the 2nd octave. oxo ooo gives a good Cnat in the 2nd octave with practice - it's a little difficult to nail at first, but I can do it now easily.
Also, I can play with 2 different sounds: by hardly covering the embouchure hole with my lower lip and rotating the flute to compensate for intonation, I can get a really reedy, harsh sound, and on the upper octave I can control it to get just a little bit of the lower octave as well; a rough-and-ready sort of sound I really like. And by covering more of the embouchure hole and compensating intonation by rotating the flute out, I can get a much sweeter, purer tone.
One thing I don't like about my M&E: It's (nearly) impossible to half-hole to get a D#/Eb, or a lower octave Fnat. I can half-hole to get a 2nd octave Fnat with no problem. Half-holing to get Cnat, Bb, and G# works well as well.
Joe
In addition to the nice intonation on Cnat, you can get a pretty good lower octave G# with xx0 xxx and on the 2nd octave G# with xx0 x0x. It's a little sharp but just barely. x0x xxx gives a pretty good Bb as well on the lower octave, I haven't been able to get a good Bb in the 2nd octave. oxo ooo gives a good Cnat in the 2nd octave with practice - it's a little difficult to nail at first, but I can do it now easily.
Also, I can play with 2 different sounds: by hardly covering the embouchure hole with my lower lip and rotating the flute to compensate for intonation, I can get a really reedy, harsh sound, and on the upper octave I can control it to get just a little bit of the lower octave as well; a rough-and-ready sort of sound I really like. And by covering more of the embouchure hole and compensating intonation by rotating the flute out, I can get a much sweeter, purer tone.
One thing I don't like about my M&E: It's (nearly) impossible to half-hole to get a D#/Eb, or a lower octave Fnat. I can half-hole to get a 2nd octave Fnat with no problem. Half-holing to get Cnat, Bb, and G# works well as well.
Joe