M&E seem to be selling through Ebay now.
Flute listing
It has less than 2 days to go, for those interested. It appears to be UK only it doesn’t show up on Ebay US.
David
I bought this same model direct from Michael and Evelyn - it is WELL worth the money. In fact, it’s well worth TWICE what I paid for mine! The case is kinda chintzy and the keys aren’t like what you’d find on a McGee, but it’s a great player.
Pat
Are you sure it’s the real deal? Looks like a Pakistani flute to me, even the case is identical to a Paki flute I saw at a shop.
All I can say is that mine says “M&E” on the end and looks exactly like this one, is made from blackwood, AND it plays great. If the Pakistani flutes are this good, then we should be looking at them more seriously. Michael said he made mine and I have no reason to doubt that. I’ve never played one of the Pakistanis, so I can’t really address that, but from everything I’ve heard, these M&Es could not possibly be Pakistanis - they are well-made and on pitch (as verified in sessions and church by me). Also, Michael and Evelyn do live in County Mayo, where the seller is coming from. I suspect Michael is testing the eBay waters and may not know about reserve prices. Someone may get a steal…
Pat
its an M&E, Michael had an ebonite 8 keyed model on last week, I was intrigued and asked about the ebonite, turned out it was made of ebonite and not Michaels usual PVC, the ebay handle markie495 is M&E flutes, so your in good hands, my second flute was a older M&E flute, rustic but a really good player 
Definitely an M&E, I bought an 8 key blackwood from him last week and it is identical to the one on ebay.
I bought mine as a back up in case anything happens to my favourite and it fits the bill perfectly, as sponge says they’re a bit rustic but mine plays well and has good tuning and I’m very happy with it.
That’s really Michael and Evelyn, as others have stated. Nothing to be concerned about. They have offered flutes on eBay since 2000 under that same id. I bought my R&R through them on eBay maybe five years ago. The transaction went very quickly and smoothly. eBay/PayPal payments help make things go quicker for international purchases. Very nice people to deal with through any channel.
Feadoggie
As above - no question whatsoever it’s one of Michael’s flutes. That’s his new, improved case (it’s much nicer than his older case).
FWIW - I’ve been playing one of the new 8 key ebonite flutes for 3 days now. I want to spend a little more time with it before posting a full blown review with pictures, but it’s very nice.
Eric
On the face of it, I’d be very confident that this is a Pakistani-made flute. Compare it to one in my Research Collection:
Terry
I’m contacting Michael to see if he will step in on this… Terry, while the keys on mine appear to be the same manufacture, almost nothing else is the same - the C-nat key is in a different spot, the barrel isn’t “bulged”, there is more wood above the top ring, the rings themselves are different, the position of the short-F is different, and the embouchure hole is larger (and elliptical). I bought this as a “stopgap” until two things occur: 1 - find out if I like keyed flutes and 2 - I convince myself and my spouse that I can afford one of yours (Terry, that is). The first is pretty much done - I like the F-nat, C-nat, and G-sharp keys - the second will have to wait a while!
I tend to switch between my GLP and my M&E quite a bit - for instance, I’ll be playing in church this morning and the GLP doesn’t make it for the key of F.
I will repeat that there is almost no comparison between the workmanship of my McGee flute and the M&E, but that’s why some people drive Kias and some drive Mercedes!
Pat
A fair few differences actually, the barrel on the ebay flute is straight not shaped, the bottom C C# keys are much smaller on the ebay one and the rings are flush rather than raised. Does fit with the flute pix on M&E site as well.
The other noticable difference between the flute Terry has pictured and the M&E, as far as I can ascertain from the photograph, is that the Pakistani flute has a one piece foot joint whereas the M&E is 2 piece; I’m sure you’ll correct me if I’m mistaken.
I believe this subject has been discussed previously and the understanding reached was that, Michael has the keys manufactured in China but the manufacture of the flute bodies and all assembly work are carried out by himself.
As a very satisfied owner of an M&E 8 key, and having being complimented on the tone and intonation of my flute by some very experienced, and owners of “top flight” flutes, palyers I think someone maybe about to get an absolute bargain.
Paul
Here is an old post on this issue:
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/m-e-flutes-made-in-pakistan-no-wrong/59119/23
Terry - the flute you posted only looks similar in the keywork, and Michael does obtain his keys from a woodwind company…so those could be from Pakistan or India or who knows. Except for the keywork (which looks poorly placed in your picture compared to an M&E flute’s keys…and I should know, I have 2 of his keyed flutes), the flute in your picture does have significant differences in the rings and barrel shape.
Eric
I thought it might help if I posted a couple of photographs of my M&E:
Paul
Hmmm… Oddly enough, this one looks EXACTLY like mine!!!
Pat
I’d love to hear a clip of somebody who loves the M&E actually playing it. Is that possible?
'd love to hear a clip of somebody who loves the M&E actually playing it. Is that possible?
If I recall correctly, there are quite a few tunes on the Clips and Snips flute section that are played on various M&E models. Maybe that’s not what you are looking for.
http://tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/flute.html
Feadoggie
I apologize for the crackles and pops, but will this do? http://www.box.net/shared/nbvivyq6jg
I haven’t recorded much recently, but I recorded that about 5 months ago on a handheld recorder. It’s my 6 key M&E. If you dig through the posting clips thread I have about 5 other tunes on there that show my varying stages of development, my slowly increasing knowledge of recording techniques, and that show my playing warts and all.
Edit - I just realized that was my only recording I tried on my netbook…which although it has dual allegedly stereo microphones doesn’t do the best job.
This one is about 8 months older…this one was on my handheld recorder which shows the flute’s tone better: http://www.box.net/shared/8vkeniymct
Eric
The fact the M&E looks Pakistani could be understandable if all of the metal parts are coming from there. The keys are identical to the flute that Terry provided pics of. I’d like to see if someone here could run the above clips through RTTA, it’d be interesting to see how the tuning on an “authentic” M&E is. I’m pretty bad with software, perhaps one of the experts could step in?