I am thinking about buying a first wooden flute to learn on and would like some input from you folks who have been there. (I have a Tipple now, which I love.) I get the feeling there is some consensus about how good the CB folk flute is. But I’ve also heard good things about the Sweetheart flutes (both Resonance and regular) which are fairly inexpensive. My budget is under $500. So any comments about these flutes (especially points of comparison) or suggestions about other wood flutes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
if you play with others (or you plan to) a tuning slide is very important…
I’ll agree with Othannen about the tuning slide and playing with others.
I’ve got a folk flute from Casey Burns, two really. One regular one and one for small hands. I’d go for the regular one if you get a folk flute.
I just put a clip up playing the regular folk flute. I think it has a nice sound and plays easily.
It doesn’t have a tuning slide, although you can tune it by pulling the two parts apart. I had it pulled apart about 1/4 inch for the clip.
Michael
Within your budget, a tuning slide might be hard to come by. Both the slideless flutes I’ve owned (Dave Copley, Casey Burns) had tunable tenons and were easy enough to get into tune with other instruments (though I never ran into a wildly low or high pitched box or anything like that). So, while a slide is probably a good thing, you may not be that much at a loss without it.
Dave Copley’s slideless D in blackwood is just a bit over your budget, and I’m very pleased with the one he made for me; lovely. His delrin version is nice too, at a lower price, but with similar playing characteristics. The good doctor at the Irish Flute store has several other delrin models that might suit your price range, if you’re ok with delrin, that is.
Also you might consider finding a way to spend more money,
because if you buy wisely your flute will keep its value
and serve you very well for many years. A problem with a less expensive
flute is that if you really do get into flute playing you are likely to replace it,
so you can end up less happy and spending more money.
Thanks for the helpful responses so far. And Michael, thanks for pointing me in the direction of your clips with the folk flute.
If anyone has any remarks about the sweetheart resonance vs. the folk flute (especially for a relatively new player), that would be very helpful. (I realize that neither has a tuning slide.) Since the sweetheart resonance is less expensive, are there arguments for getting the folk flute instead? Thanks for all your help!
This may be of help to you for choosing one flute over another:
Did you completely rule out polymer? In that price range, I think you get more for the money with polymer.
Maurice Reviol is making some pretty amazing wood/plastic hybrid flutes that are worth checking out. The outside is wood and the inside cast resin.
Cheers
Graeme
Greenspiderweb, thanks for the link. That information is definitely useful.
Briguy, I have not ruled out delrin. The problem with all this flute stuff is that you usually have to buy something without playing it and we are talking about a non-trivial investment (at least for me). That’s why I was thinking about trying an inexpensive wooden flute that seems to get consistently good reviews. But I would be open to a plastic flute too. It is just hard to know what to get without trying them.
I have thought about the Seery delrin, but people say they are hit or miss. I have heard good things about the Cochrans too. And Graeme’s comment about Reviols makes them intriguing as well. But it is simply hard to know what to get without a chance to play them, not to mention things like the choice between small hole andlarge hole.
Again, I appreciate all your insights.
do you have a link or any more info?
^There’s an e-mail link on Doc’s site about the Reviol flutes that says to send a message for more info.
These are new and haven’t yet appeared on Maurice’s website. I saw a bunch of them last weekend and they look nice, play well and sound good. You get the advantage of wood outside (looks nice, feels good) and the advantage of plastic inside (easy to look after etc.) and the added advantage of being really light weight. They’re available in a variety of timbers, and configurations (rings, tuning slide etc.) Huge “bang for the buck”.
Cheers
Graeme
I don’t have one of the new resonance models, but I started on a Sweetheart. They are nicely made flutes, very light and easy to hold for long periods.
After struggling for about 6 months, I switched to a Burns Folk Flute, as a result of playing someone else’s. I found the Burns much easier, and I still find the Sweetheart difficult to play (2 years on).
However, this is me. One experienced fluter found my Sweetheart much easier than the Burns!
For me, the thinner walls and smaller embouchure on the Sweetheart require a much smaller and more focused embouchure, which I haven’t developed (yet!). On the other hand, getting the upper octave was much easier for me on the Sweetheart until I had mastered the differences of the Burns.
I stress again that this is not the resonance model, and that it’s my personal experience. I have no misgivings about the quality of the Sweetheart flutes.
Jumbuk’s experience mirrors my own. I owned both a Burns (mopane large-holed standard) and Sweetheart (blackwood resonance).
I found the Sweetheart to require a tighter embouchure, and it was slightly more demanding to play. The rewards were greater response (it could be played fast with ease), and a very sweet and focused sound that I really liked. I had trouble pushing any real volume out of it, though.
The Burns is easier to play, fuller, louder and slightly less responsive.
I ultimately sold the Resonance, but have no hesitation to recommend it. Just don’t expect an imposing, Pratten-type tone. That’s not what the flute was designed for. If you’re after a lower-priced flute with a full, open sound, the Burns is a great choice.
I’ve not played a resonance model, but I did play a standard Sweetheart irish model…and it was plenty loud and was, according to Ralph, based on the pratten.
I liked mine a lot, but I was playing in sessions with a box player who was terribly out of tune (although I can’t recall if it was sharp or flat) and I couldn’t quite get into tune with him and decided that I really needed a tuning slide.
In retrospect, I’d be willing to bet now I could play in tune and that part of the issue was that my embouchure wasn’t well enough developed to get where I needed to go.
I’d love to try a Burns FF sometime, but I have not yet had the opportunity to do so.
Eric
You might want to look at a Forbes Flute. It is all delrin with O rings to make the seals. It plays well intune with its self and has a tuning slide. It is not very traditional looking. You can score one for between 360 and 420 USD. I am also new to the flute started playing in Febuary and so far I have really enjoyed it. It is great for the bush since it is basicall in indestructible delrin club that comes with extra O rings.
I love the imagery of fluting in the bush. I spend a fair amount of time in the forests of Virginia tooting a Seery polymer flute (particularly nice on a river with echoing rocks); and have a Forbes on the way.
I like being able to play at will, and not having to fuss over wood. 
Wood is not that fussy.