Some time ago, I posted a message seeking comments on Bleazey flutes, but received no response. So I bought one. I’d heard rumors of spotty quality in Phil’s products, but had had good experiences with him and his whistles myself.
Please take this review with a grain of salt. I have a few years experience with the whistle, and consider myself a good intermediate-level whistle player, but I’m a rank novice flute player. My wife and I have between us, though, several wooden flutes: a nach Meyer 6-key blackwood; a Casey Burns blackwood; a Sweet walking-stick walnut; a Thin Weasel cocobolo; an antique English 4-key boxwood; an antique Mollenhauer 6-key (I think it’s boxwood, but it’s a little darker).
I’ve been dabbling in flute for 3-4 years, and playing casually for maybe 16 months, since we got the Weasel. I’ve been looking for a flute that I can play and get a good sound out of in both octaves for some period of time (greater than 5 minutes). I found a very good fit in the Mollenhauer, but the intonation is just not quite right, plus the keys can get in the way. The Schultz is a wonderful instrument, but I have to blow my brains out to get a decent sound from it in the second octave. That’s why I wanted to get a good, modern, Rudall-style flute. I also prefer the sound of boxwood to anything else I’ve played.
I asked Phil for an easy blower with a good bottom, especially the E note, which I’ve found is weak on flutes and whistles with small holes. (In the tradition of most craftsmen I’ve dealt with, he said that all of his flutes are like that.) He had two boxwood flutes in stock, one plain and one that was acid stained. I took the natural. It arrived a scant week after I placed the order, and would have been sooner had my credit card company not given him a hard time.
The flute is plain – straight lines, no flares, the fittings are brass, as is the slide. He said he’s silver-plating all the metal now. The fit and finish are good but not perfect. You’ll never confuse it with an $1100 flute, but then it cost $372 (223 pounds) including shipping from the UK to the US. The holes are small as advertised, and there’s a joint between the hands. The bore is somewhat more tapered than most flutes. The bore diameter at the head is 1-2 mm greater than the Schultz or Burns, but the end is 1-2 mm narrower. It feels heavier than the other Irish flutes, but actually weighs about the same, a scant 10 ounces. I suspect it’s the greater diameter that makes it feel heavier. The embouchure hole is about the same dimension in the blow direction as the other two, but about 1 mm narrower along the length of the flute.
It is an absolute dream to play. I can get good sound out of it from the bottom at least up to the third-octave G (except the high E – any suggestions on fingerings? I’ve tried XXO XXO and several other variations). I can play in the second octave without running out of air every measure. It’s perfectly in tune with the slide out about 1/4" (6 mm), although the top notes in the second octave like to have the sixth hole covered.
It is a bit limited in the range of tonal qualities. I can get a reasonably pure sound out of it, and can dirty it up a little bit, but it has nowhere near the versatility of the Schultz. My wife, who has a lot more experience playing flute than I do, has pointed this out, too. The sound is very full – full of overtones, but still clear, and it has really good volume. It also has that warm, smooth sound that I like in boxwood.
All in all, I’m extremely pleased with it. I doubt it will be my go-to flute for the rest of my life, but it’s exactly what I’m looking for right now. I think my playing has improved more in the couple of weeks that I’ve had it than it had in a few months preceding. Its so much easier to play and I sound so much better playing it that I am practicing a lot more. I’ll be sticking exclusively to it for quite some time.
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Great! I love my Casey Burns keyles Boxwood. Don