I haven’t played an Aebi. I’ve played a Copeland. The latter isn’t terribly demanding
stretchwise. And it will be awhile before you get a new flute, unless you are lucky
and find something used.
So the question is How small do you want the holes to be? And there part of the question
is What sound do you want?
My impression (welcome correction from those who know) is that the Aebi has medium-sized
holes, in which case it may not be much different from your Copeland.
You MAY want something with smaller holes. But you need to find out because, with 8 keys
we are talking a lot of money. Such flutes are definitely made, but probably you might
wish to consider what sort of music you wish to play, etc. Because the flute with
smaller holes will likely have specific acoustic properties.
If I were in your shoes I would now make an effort to play the Copeland comfortably.
The add-ons I mentioned may well help. I would address my approach, my grip,
my style of playing, and use all my ingenuity to solve the problem. For all you
know it will transfer to any flute you play. Smaller holes may not solve it.
You might find a teacher.
You say the problem starts after about an hour. It’s probably a good idea to
break up practice into shorter periods. You just may be playing too long at
a go.
Meanwhile I would learn more about the flutes that
might serve my purposes, also I would consider what my purposes will be (perhaps
you already know). The search function above is helpful. Search on ‘Aebi,’ for instance.
The Healy is fatter than the GLP. Not sure about the CB FF.
It’s a Pratten-style flute, which means bigger holes and perhaps
a bigger stretch than some flutes; however it’s set up
nicely so that it’s pretty comfortable and manageable
for a Pratten-style flute.
Anybody who has a ‘thin-flute problem’ can solve it cheaply and easily
by fashioning the bopep I mentioned above.
I play Casey’s ‘Large-Holed Ergonomic Standard’, which is Pratten-like, and very comfortable. I’ve had chances to try two of his ‘Folk Flutes’, and they were similar to my flute in both feel and sound. They are a simpler design, without end caps, etc. I think one was the “small-handed” design, and was a bit less hefty than my standard. Both were very nice, though. I doubt I would be able to distinguish between them in a “blind test”.
I think Casey’s flutes are great instruments, and offer excellent value.
Yes and no on the first question. Skip’s flute is very much his own creation, IMO, and it sounds
different enough from other pratten-style flutes I’ve played that I’m nervous about saying
Yes.
The older CB sounded less fine than the more expensive CB flutes, to my ear; however
there is a new generation FF made of boxwood and this may sound just as good.
Maybe this is what Crooked Tune has played.
Healy flutes are Pratten-based (large holed and single middle joint), but are unique to more replica-like Prattens in the way they’re constructed and feel (Skip describes this construction pretty well on his site). The few I’ve played were really great players, good bass response and not quite as demanding, wind-wise, as other Pratten hybrids, and capable of a great honk and volume (it’s been awhile, but I assume they’ve changed less than I have). Nice flutes, all 'round - but like all flutes, they have their fans and detractors.
I like hearing clips on sites, myself, but it brings up a topic probably beaten to death in previous threads… clips show what can be done on a flute - with Skip, that’s showing an incredible lot - but a clip doesn’t actually tell you what qualities you’ll bring out on a flute when it’s in your hands.
I searched this forum for more feedback on the Healys. Jack Bradshaw says that the sound is loud and a little “hard”, like a fife. That means they’re not as soft sounding as some conicial flutes, and I hear this in Skip Healy’s sound clip. Jack Bradshaw says that the flute is good for small hands, although JessieK says that the D hole is a stretch. Offset holes may be necessary for small hands.
Skip Healy could make a curtain rod sound that way. It’s not clear
what one is hearing on these sound tracks. One knows his flute CAN
sound that way. I like the way they sound when I play them,
but I like more traditional Pratten flutes better, I think, though
I still would be glad to have on of Skip’s flutes. I find them
intriguing.
I think they are more comfortable and easy to finger than some other Pratten-style
flutes. Martin Doyle flutes are also a bit on the Pratten side of things, I think,
and they are easy to finger–FOR ONE OF THOSE TYPE OF FLUTES.
The Seth Gallagher ‘Pratten’ is easy to handle, although I don’t think it’s
really a Pratten.
But it is nowhere written that one must play a Pratten. If one has small hands
there are other options that even people with big hands sometimes prefer for
their acoustic properties. So if small hands are an issue I would try another
sort of flute.
Casey Burns makes flutes for small hands, these work, and maybe he can make
a Pratten style flute a small-handed person could play. But even putting that
aside, there are lots of other options.
I’ve been drooling over Casey Burns’ flute catalog too. He no longer makes a Pratten copy, but sells a large-hole standard flute instead. It looks very fat and would be great for small hands except the holes are big.
Do you know if the standard flute for small hands is similar sound-wise to Burns’ Rudall flute? The Rudall copy doesn’t come in a small-hands model.
