So im ready to jump into irish flute, I love the warm tone and style,
Im looking at this site to buy a flute from irishflutestore.com
i was thinking about the casey burns flute at first but i want a flute im not going to out grow in a year and am hoping to invest in a flute i can keep for a long while or at least as a good back up,
should i go for the casey burns (i have read a lot of good things about them online) or because i can spend about double that should i make the jump to a $500-$600 flute
I have a budget of 600 to spend on a keyless d flute
thanks for any advice your willing to give on makers and woods and what you see for sale on this site,
soooo
i have played flute before, as is i have been feeling my way around my friends concert flutes for the last year or so playing by ear with buddies, I met with a flute teacher who plays both irish style and concert flutes and he said i have pretty good embouchure for never being taught, i played his wooden irish flute and was able to get notes and octaves pretty well. i will be taking a few lessons with him once i get a flute, i bought a little 10 dollar fife as he recommended changed the f to f# and have been practicing turns (pop and tap is how he described it) this has been pretty new and difficult but im keeping at it yes i am developing a crack in my scull : )
As for frustration and banging my head on the wall, i am very dedicated once i decide to learn an instrument and devote most of my day to playing music. As with all instruments im prepared to go months where there seem to be no progression at all but i know if you keep up with it you will hit that next bump up, i am very patient and know that you get what you put in and sometimes less than that.
what els can i write? i have pretty big hands i guess
thanks for the advice about not growing out an instrument worth buying in a year, i hope my opening post describes what i am looking to get with the money i put in, Boy-o-boy these are not cheep instuments
Casey is a sporadic member of this site, and while he’s probably wise enough not to undercut his retailers (I don’t know & haven’t checked) in price, you might find it easier to deal with him directly, via his site. His is a serious, craftsman-made instrument; it’s not something you’ll grow out of in a year or two. The significant jump in quality (& price) comes with a tuning slide, which can make it a lot easier to tune to others, particularly instruments piano or box which can’t be tuned on the spot.
Metal, plastic, fossil ivory etc rings add some longevity by making your flute less likely to crack, but add nothing musical. Keys add much less than you’d think, given the cost, as long as you intend to stick to Irish trad repertoire, but every newbie aspires to them anyway. Maybe like scrolls on mandolins, its purely a matter of the coolth.
http://francoisbaubet.50webs.com/Available_now.html
check his site. he is frenchman located in ireland, and his prices are really atractive.
delrin d flute with tuning slide for 380 euros or mopane d flute with tuning slide for 450 euros ! (and seems that both flutes are avaiable right now !)
here on c&f was recently discusion of his flutes and he got good review.i take look on some on his youtube clips and sound of flutes are very good.take look it will cost you nothing…
marin
fwiw… (warning: i barely know my name most mornings, i know even less about flutes… that said)
i’ve been playing the flute for several years… started playing the keyless about 3 years ago. currently, i have one of Casey’s folk flutes. i make a living with music. so, i would like to think that i am somewhat particular/picky about my music instruments. when looking at a new instrument, my first concern/question is how does it sound. not when somebody else is playing it, but when i am playing it. second, how good is the craftsmanship… the “fit and finish” if you will? a good sounding, well made instrument will last many years… and in most cases, only get better with time. my last consideration is the cost. obviously, i need to be able to afford the price of acquisition.
with regard to Casey’s flutes. how does it sound? i personally think it has a wonderful sound. it has a great range with a full, well bodied sound at all points within the range. Fingering is a delight on Casey’s flutes. He has spent years researching the mechanics/ergonomics of fingering and finger hole spacing. Personally, of all the flutes I own (or have owned) his is far and away the friendliest and easiest to finger.
His craftsmanship is easily the equal of any other flute maker on the planet. 'nuff said.
Cost. Casey’s flutes are very affordable and worth every penny of the asking price.
Service. Casey is phenomenal. He fixed my flute after it suffered a small mis-hap. The work is flawless, the turn around time was minimal and the cost was insanely reasonable.
i sincerely believe you will not outgrow a Burns Folk Flute. I also believe you will not outgrow any of the other great flutes that are available out there. I suppose most of what i’ve written here could be applied to most of the keyless flutes being made out there and be equally valid. But… for me… I am absolutely sold on Casey’s Flutes. There are definitely a few more of his flutes in my future. My Burns is without a doubt my favorite flute. It is the one I pick up first. It is the one I play the most. (my others include: an M&E poly, a Desi Seery, another M&E, a freak Dixon low D that actually has good tone and intonation… who woulda thunk… a Nach Meyer keyed… three bamboos… and half a dozen that i’ve made… and a collection of fifes)
should you decide to go for the Burns… you will not regret your choice.
Denny suggested i let yall know where i live, ill be living in georgia in two months. and then north carolina after that
thanks for all the tips so far, i think getting a flute with a tuning slide is a must for me based on some of your posts, because i like to play with other musicians
If you wind up anywhere near Asheville,N.C., you could try contacting Rob Sharer. Heck, you’d be close enough to try for a pilgrimage to Massie’s Mill up in V.A.
My take is that $600 isn’t an insignificant sum of money. A little patience, even at the beginning might pay dividends later. The investment of as little as $100 will get you either a Doug Tipple flute with a wedge and lip plate, or a ‘Hammy’ Hamilton practice flute for a bout the same amount. These are not instruments to be scorned. They resell for nearly their new price.
I know. You don’t want to ‘outgrow’ something in a year. In one sense, I don’t think you can outgrow a Tipple. It will challenge you to grow a strong, focused embouchure, and reward you with a very resonant flute with excellent intonation. And like a faithful dog, will always be there to pick up and noodle a tune without any of the moisture and maintenance issues a more expensive wooden flute might present.
The Copley’s, the M&E’s. and the Forbes are probably in your price range. However,you are confronted right away with decisions you may rethink later. Embouchure cut. These are excellent makers, but because they can cut you any of several styles of embouchure, it can be said that they are ‘embouchure-agnostic’. This makes sense from the perspective of a maker, but not necessarily from a beginning player’s point of view. If you have time to kick around a lot of sessions you will have the opportunity to try a variety. Then there are decisions like: Large-hole? Pratten-esque or Rudall-esque? Wood? Acetal-Delrin-Ebonite?
So after reading a lot of posts on here i think im going to choose between the two M&E flutes, i have read that the ebonite has a great sound, i cant find to much comparing blackwood to ebonite though.
edit also living in the south with high humidity is getting an ebonite flute safer? or if i learn to properly care for a wooden flute will i still be safe
The best that can be said for any wooden flute is that it hasn’t cracked ‘yet’. An all-wood flute is pretty stable; Casey’s folk flute might be one of these, I think. All the parts expand and contract at the same rate, so as long as you avoid asking for trouble (car trunk on a hot day; trying to force apart a tight stuck joint; too fast a transition between hot wet outside air and cool, dehumidified, air conditioned air) you’re unlikely to have trouble.
But once you combine wood and metal, trouble begins. All wood expands and contracts constantly, according to it’s relative humidity, which is turn depends on how much you play it, how you oil it, and the atmosphere. Metal doesn’t expand and contract with moisture. So, when you have a tight fit between wood and metal, there will always be stress. Wooden flutes are built to resist trouble in an number of ways (including rings), but no wooden flute is immune. That said, there are uncracked 100 year old flutes to be found, but they’re like unbroken decade-old glass test tubes in a chem lab: lucky, not virtuous.
A well made ebonite, delrin or some other plastic flute is as good as that maker’s wooden flutes. There is no detectable musical difference* between them. That said, there is a matter of prestige. Wooden flutes are perceived to be ‘better’ by nearly everyone. Makers can ask more for their wooden models, and I’ve never heard of anyone ordering a high-end flute (silver-keys & fancy rings, etc) made of plastic.
*A contentious issue, but no one has ever proven a difference, nor can anyone agree on what that difference, if it exists, might be.
Thanks every one for all your help, this forum has a ton of information to take into consideration and all of your knowledge is very helpful,
I talked to my flute teacher today and he suggested that a wooden flute will feel better in the hands, He also said that hand made instrument will each be unique and that its all about playing these individual flutes and making a decision, he said some dealers are ok with this. i emailed the owner of irishflutestore.com and asked him if i could order the Casey Burns folk flute and the M&E Rudall & Rose Model in Blackwood, try them out and make my decision, i hope it will be ok with him, if any one is curious i will post my decision here and let you know what i thought about each,
