First post in the forum, and i’m afraid the title is a little misleading.
I’ve been playing the flute for 15 years now, and by flute I mean your not-so-traditional modern Boehm concert flute. By the time i shifted out of music and into medicine however, I had figured out that it was Irish music far more than the classical that interested me.
I ended up picking up a Tipple in-line D flute. It sorta worked. I realized very quickly that my hands and fingers were not nearly big enough to play it comfortably, and I ended up ordering a second Tipple, this time the off-set D. Loved it, played it, enjoyed it. Ended out hurting the wrist of my R hand and was out for a year or two. Now after coming back to it, I can’t get a comfortable grip on the off-set either, and am wondering what to do here.
I can still play my concert flute no poblem, however the increase in the bore size associated with the Tipple flutes is giving me problems.
To cut to the chase, i’m looking for any ideas on flute brands or makers of irish flutes that are priced at the entry level. This isn’t for sessions, performances or anything else. It’s for me and my entetainment. As such, it needs to be nigh-on-indestructible, as it will be going camping, traveling, and all that other stuff (thus the PVC Tipple was perfect). Lastly, i’m wondering if there are alternatives out there, similar to the tipple, but with a smaller bore, especially for the L hand. On a side note, does anyone with an M&E flute with a conical as opposed to cylindrical bore know or is able to post on jus thow much the bore narrows though the L hand versus the head?
OK, measurements by my tape measure on my M&E…so they’re not precise. 19ish mm at the end of the flute with the cap off, 18 mm at the top of the LH joint, 14 mm at the bottom of the left hand joint, the bottom of the RH joint is down to about 12 mm (the top of the RH joint is the female portion so it’s hard to measure the bore) and the foot joint holds that 12 mm.
An M&E R&R model will serve you well. Another option is Walt Sweet’s Shannon. It’s bore is bigger (19 mm at HJ, 18ish MM at top of LH joint, 15 mm bottom of LH joint, and end of the flute is 14 mm), but the external circumference of the flute with the hole covered by LH 1 (your index finger) is only 8.6 cm whereas the M&E is 8.9 cm at that same point (this is using my wrap the measuring tape around the barrel so the marks are side by side…the real circumference is a tad smaller).
Both flutes are easy to hold and cover all the tone holes, but the M&E despite the body being a big thicker is easier to cover all the tone holes. Both are significantly easier than a Tipple thanks to the conical bore. Walt offsets the LH3 tone hole so it’s easier to cover for some folks (although he’ll make it inline as well).
Either should work. The M&E has a more rudally sound to me, while the Sweet is louder and has some similarities in sound to a pratten.
If the offset on the G hole works for you, then, maybe then look for one that is also offset, like the Sweet Shannon, or Casey Burns Folk Flute (wood, but may be worth the extra care for a bit more in tone to the player). Not many offer an offset G, or what many call L3.
Sillydill has a Boxwood Folk Flute up for sale now, and I’d jump on that if I had the money. Edit: Though the one he is selling seems to have an inline G, and the one he’s keeping has an offset G, now that I’ve looked at the pictures again. Casey makes them both ways, according to your preference upon ordering.
Alternatively I suspect a Dixon 3 piece polymer might work well for you. The holes are on the smallish side and it is conical so the taper would probably help. I’ve had mine for years and it is still the first one I grab to just play a quick tune or two or when I am learning something new because it is a easy player and I can leave it out assembled. I’ve also been know to take it on overnight motorcycle rides so I know it’s pretty bulletproof as far as the build goes.
If you aren’t really interested in playing with other people why not try a flute in a higher key like Eb, F, or even G? It would make the stretch smaller; I can’t remember for certain, nor could I find it on Doug’s site, but I think he uses a thinner pipe for some of the higher keys. I’m sure someone could correct/verify me on that anyway.
On another note if you have the money to spend I would highly recommend the Copley delrin, great value. I bought it as a spare for my fancy 8 key J. Gallagher flute and I would have no qualms about bringing it to a session. He’ll do them in Eb, F, and G as well so if the higher key was of interest that could work. I think the F is only like $300 which in terms of flutes is quite cheap.
And as said over on the Mustard board, you can find most of the mentioned flutes at: http://shop.irishflutestore.com/Flutes_c3.htm
You can be pretty sure that any flute you buy there will be of at least decent quality. Also, be sure to look about on the Used Instrument Exchange here on Chiff and Fipple and watch for the flute you might be looking for. I just recently got my Copley delrin from there, and it is a really nice flute. I wouldn’t trade it for anything except another Copley or an Olwell, or anything else of that caliber for that matter. Also, if you want a flute that has the same low, rich tone of a D flute, but want something with a smaller reach, I personally would go for an Eb, and wouldn’t bother with anything higher.
