I apologise if this question has been asked before. I can’t get the search function to work so its hard to check.
Has anyone here have an opinion on the advantages or disadvantages of the different kinds of wood for flutes. I’m thinking of upgrading to a better flute, and was wondering about wood choices. I won’t go for cocus, because it looks like that tree might be endangered. But there still is african blackwood, boxwood and mopane. Has anyone compared flutes of these three woods, and if so can you tell me what the differences are?
There are greater experts than me here, but since I’m the first here I’ll offer you the little I know.
1: Cocus was endangered (I don’t know about whether this was ever “official”) as it became so scarce some time ago, but is being cultivated responsibly again, so afaik you don’t need to worry about it.
The biggest difference to, say, African blackwood is a) that cocus is rather more allergenic (hence the popularity of metal lip plates on older flutes) and b) I have heard that blackwood has an even finer grain. The difference lies in the workability, and is of more interest to flute makers than to players. Since the material, assuming it is reasonably good, has only at best a marginal effect on the sound, it is a non-issue when set beside design and workmanship.
I do believe that boxwood takes more maintenance, in particular more attention to oiling. Afaik it’s advantage is that some people prefer the look of it.
But I bow to the greater experts who will follow me…
Some people think wood choice contributes a lot to the sound. The makers don’t seem to feel as strongly about that. Boxwood is maybe a bit more prone to warping. Scan the threads, and you’ll read all kinds of opinions.
unless you have something special in mind, Blackwood is great stuff, tough, lovely sound, not endangered and readily available. Boxwood is very sweet sounding but less readily available and somewhat harder to care for. There seem to be some difficulties in getting mopane, and it isn’t clear how it really compares acoustically with Blackwood. But it does appear to be very tough. If you search on the names of these woods, you’ll find a lot of info.
We may be able to be more helpful if you have an idea of the sort of flute you want and the maker if you have some idea of whom that might be. meanwhile you can’t go wrong with blackwood.
Thanks for all your replys. And thanks Dennys for the link to a previous post. I’m at work. These computers are so safe and secure that the search function doesn’t work on them, so I couldn’t look that up. It is a lot to think about. I was sort of considering boxwood, but it is said that it is succeptable to moisture. Is there anyway around that, like more frequent oilings?
Boxwood is less dense than blackwood, lighter, less resistant to moisture, more inclined to warp.
But it’s still a good wood for flutes, with reasonable care. I have two boxwood flutes
and never had any trouble. The very popular Casey Burns folk flute is made of boxwood.
If you talk to the maker about care and follow instructions,
you will be OK. If I wanted boxwood I wouldn’t let this stop me.
(Jim, the Folk Flute is made in all 3 woods! Blackwood is the most popular.)
Mopane and Blackwood are very similar acoustically and are quite stable. Mopane has a slightly “warmer” tone. Both produce good volume.
Boxwood is warmer than the above two, but requires more input for the same volume.
Mopane and Blackwood warp less but can crack more. Boxwood will warp before it cracks.
All 3 are available if one knows where to look. Most of the Mopane I get is somewhat wet at 14% and requires additional seasoning. I’ve put up enough for several years of flute making as it is my favorite flute wood for many reasons. The boxwood is also somewhat wet when I get it - but is stabilized in the microwave which also dries it. Its hard to get nice clear pieces however. I am about out of the long dried French boxwood that was cut in 1980. The blackwood I have been using is dry at 8% and ready to use off the shelf.
Thanks for the correction. I actually knew the FF is made in all three woods,
however I’ve seen a number lately in boxwood and that sort is on my mind.
I’m in a session-class and the fellow next to me is playing a boxwood FF
and it sounds very good. (drool, slobber)
I have many boxwood flutes and prefer it over other woods, in small part because it is “susceptible to moisture.” For some reason, I seem to play wet (probably inefficient use of air). So I get condensation on the blow-edge and in the head joint. This is way less of a problem with boxwood than with blackwood or mopane.
The added care for boxwood is not anything I wouldn’t do for any flute, but then that’s just me.
Recently we had a thread about flute reviews. Reviews are considered unreliable if the reviewer’s embouchure is underdeveloped.
Subsequently we had a thread about head liners, which suggested that their contribution to the flute’s tone or playability are minimal at best. The ability to detect any real differences is also subject to the adeptness of the user’s embouchure.
Then there was my thread about flute perfection. Perfection is unrealistic of course, given that flutes are handcrafted. There is limited repeatability in the manufacturing process which is why all well-made flutes undergo “final voicing”. We all accept that small adjustments to the embouchure and tone holes can have a dramatic impact on playability and tone.
Now we are on to wood, which incidentally we rarely mention specific species, grain or cut, moisture content, age, treatment, surface roughness, porosity, etc. I’m no wood expert but this is far from a homogeneous material. Nonetheless we again attribute tonal differences to different woods despite the aforementioned pitfalls.
(We’ve also had several threads about flute designs / bore profiles / rudall vs pratten but let’s wait for that one to come up again on its own. )
‘What you’re likely thinking of is clarity of tone and the color of the sound. That has much more to do with the wood it’s made of than the specific design (although that has lots to do with it, too).’
This is David Migoya from the thread to
which Denny linked, above (‘pure-toned flutes’). David is professional level.
I’m not in that league, far from it, but I have
been playing for seven years.
While not beyond controversy, the idea is widespread among experienced people that different flute-woods
have a distinctive sound–it’s more controversial why this is so. People do not generally arrive at this view
because their embouchure is weak or they haven’t played lots of flutes.
Over the course of the last month I’ve been trying to find out as much as I can about flutes before buying my first one (it was delivered a few hours ago, I am surprised at how tiring it is to play a flute but I am making progress)
One question I had was why flute makers never normally choose woods that are native to their own country. I’d love a flute in oak or ash for example but they generally always seem to pick some wood from Asia, Africa or south America.
My new flute is made from Padauk. I bought it in the sale so it’s already nicely aged and not orange which I am quite happy about.
