Hello and thanks to all of you who have been helping to educate me these last two years. I just bought an “antique” flute on ebay and would like any help you folks can give me as far as:
What it is (I suspect Wm Hall and Son).
What wood it is made of, (although it is probably difficult to tell from photos).
And what I should be careful of as I fix it up. I was able to get two octaves of sweet sounding, though quiet (I’m used to my Forbes) notes from it after taping the key holes and wrapping a little bit of floss on it. The tenons are grooved to accept thread, so I’ll be(gently) wrapping well-greased thread on the joints. And I’ll need to learn about cutting down clarinet pads to fit in the cups. It looks like I’ll need to clean some laquer out of the cups as well…(Or will that just melt when I laquer the new pads in?) Edit…I think I mean Shellac!
And any other comments that come to mind…here are some pictures:
The rings and keys look identical to mine, but I suspect the crown is a later repair/replacement as mine is rounded. The wood should be cocus. It looks to be in great shape! My head and barrel had repaired cracks and a little leakage, so I had John Gallagher make me a whole new headjoint. He matched the old perfectly and even did the rings in the same style as the original. It’s my favorite flute - I use it in sessions and performances. Granted, it’s not as loud as some of the “big-bores”, but it has a real personality (which I dearly love). I should mention that I put it next to Grey Larsen’s Firth and Pond and the body is identical - even to hole size and placement. He has an Abell head joint, though.
Could be a William Hall flute, F,H&P
Ditto that it is probably Cocus.
Ferrees has different sized pads in leather that work well for the flat cup, just measure inside the cup to find the pad to fit.
With no maker’s mark at all, the shiny look, the low number of keys and the short “D” foot, if all I knew about it was the pictures I’d have thought it was something from the last decade or two (or three?). Do you have good reason to believe it is old at all, or of good quality?
Curious,
AW
yes, it the sort of baroque-looking footjoint and the block-mounted keywork look just like the Wm Hall & Son i have as well. mine does say Hall & Son on it, but you really have to look, and about half the number has worn off and is invisible. so i think it’s totally possible, like Pat’s, yours just wore off.
Pat; i didn’t know you had a new hj on yours… that probably makes it a bit louder than mine, i’m guessing… so i guess OP, you could also consider going that route in the future is volume or intonation are a problem for you (i kind of like the one i have the way it is; it’s not so loud, but likes to honk : )
Jon C.- Thanks for the tip on Ferrees, that’s exactly what I need. I have access to a micrometer at work and I will take the keys with me to measure tomorrow.
AW- I have no real provenance on the flute. The seller sold it as an “antique flute”, which could mean that it is from the 1950’s, I suppose. She did say that she was selling her husband’s antique flute collection, that it was never played by him and only displayed (maybe that’s what dis-played means?). And she also sold an older-looking flute with square keys that same week. The older one looked like an F,H,and P and potentially could be a nicer flute. It was missing the ring on the footjoint and I certainly don’t have the skills to do a good job of replacing that.
If it is a copy, I think it could be a good copy just from the sound I was getting out of it. But I think fairly good condition Hall flutes aren’t that uncommon. The fact that the end plug is a little different and that the headjoint is relatively uncracked might mean that it is not all original equipment, though. Oh yes…the string I took off of the tenons was practically disintegrated. THAT looked old enough to have come off of an Egyptian mummy.
Eric- I have seen pictures of the flute you have because I actually placed a bid on it. BTW, this also has the tiny cork inlays that work as key bumps where they hit the body. I’m glad to hear you also like the sound of yours…it makes me even more anxious to get mine put together and start playing it.
Thanks everyone for the tips and good wishes. I’ll chime in again when I get it playing.
and about half the number has worn off and is invisible. so i think it’s totally possible, like Pat’s, yours just wore off.