Reviving an Old Dead German

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Sillydill
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Reviving an Old Dead German

Post by Sillydill »

Well I guess it is official, I'm off the wagon! :lol:

I just got an old German 8-Key Flute off of Ebay: Note* the two short F keys. :wink:

Image

When I bid on it I thought it was made in the U.S.A. it has a stamp on the left hand portion "C. FISHER NEW YORK", but I guess they were only the importer of the flute. Because the barrel is stamped "Made in Germany".

Any hoo, I repaired the crack in the barrel and fixed the head, taped up all the key holes, except the C# & C. The flute plays very nicely (High Pitch) and really likes the top of the Second and Bottom of the Third Octives (I don't even know the fingering to go above E3).

:sniffle: The fly in the ointment is the bottom D, it is a faint whisper that can't be pushed (C# and C are almost non-existant). The Eb key is taped closed and the C# and C are largish and open, but the flute just won't go down to D or lower. I'm open to suggestions, :o PLEASE!!!!

I've tried switching heads and it doesn't help much.

Happy Holidays!!! :party:

Jordan
Last edited by Sillydill on Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Loren »

Dude, one more flute and I'm calling for an intervention......
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glinjack
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Post by glinjack »

the Germans had a habit of putting short touches on their F keys. I know a person who had a flute just like that a few years ago, (might even be the same flute) and at the session on sundays he'd have a piece of string tied around his little finger and rigged up someway over a little post and around the long F key, every now and then he would give a fast snap with the little finger while he was attempting to do a cran on the low D, The resulting sound
would remind one of a cat screeching when they got their tail stepped on,
Anyway some of those old german flutes play great when repadded and tenons wrapped etc.
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Post by Jayhawk »

Jordan - I had a flute much like that...and it had a replaced long F touch because the original broke in that same place. The flute taught me that I'm allergic to nickel - at least my lower lip is.

You've got to be leaking air somewhere south of the last open tone hole. Either the D# is leaking or there is a crack - perhaps a fine one - around a post.

Granted, it could be your C and C# aren't quite right (not lifting fully off of the holes), but they look OK in the picture.

Eric
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Post by Unseen122 »

The pads could probably use a replacing. Make sure the joints seal all the way.
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Post by Sillydill »

Hey Eric,

Good Idea!!! :oops:

I'll check for cracks at the posts. I can put a bright light in the bore and look for leaks.

I've taped up the holes under the pads with electrical tape and they appear to be a good seal. Tape has assumed the shape of the pad seats. :P YES, I left the C# and C holes open.

I almost sent you a PM Eric, I recalled you had a silver headed german. But didn't yours have a plethora of keys (11 or so)?

I entered into this as a winter project. But, if I can't get the bottom D, it'll be fruitless!

Thanks For the Help!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Jordan
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Post by Jayhawk »

Yours is really similar to my old flute (I think it's on it's 3rd board member now). It had the standard 8 keys, a RH Bb touch (that was nice), and a high trill key.

However, it had a good low D, low C# was pretty strong, but the low C fairly weak (that may well have been me).

Is your broken long F taped or tied down...physically? The back half of the key has the spring that holds it down tight, and your D and below would stink without that being physically held tight.

Eric
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Sillydill
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Post by Sillydill »

Hey Eric,

I slipped the electrical tape under the pads on all the keys and held them down tight to seal the holes and then smoothed the extra tape around the outer edges of the seats.

I guess I could seal up the C# and C and gently pressure test the tape.

Well the kids are to bed and now is my chance to play the flute!

Good Yule!

Jordan
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Post by Jayhawk »

I need to be asleep myself...but my flute when I first received it had no pads at all on the keys - I padded it myself with silicone (worked wonderfully). But, I used electrical tape, too at first, and the flute obviously leaked no matter how well I taped it (air is so like water - it finds ways to escape). When I had the pads finished, it played fine.

If you can't find a crack, you may be having the same tape issue I had, and it may resolve completely when you re-pad it.

Eric
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Post by meemtp »

Get some Schnitzel, Sauerkraut, Schnapps and lager. That should revive any dead German.
Corin
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Post by anniemcu »

meemtp wrote:Get some Schnitzel, Sauerkraut, Schnapps and lager. That should revive any dead German.
I'm not even dead... or German (except by marriage :D ), but I'm wider awake now! My fork is ready! My glass is ready! My taste buds are more than ready!
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Post by breandan »

I have one of these as well - and exactly the same problem with the bottom D. Might try removing the c and c# keys to see if that helps - worked for me on my Monzani.
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Post by Gordon »

My guess is that you have either a leak in one of the lower closed keys (which, then, aren't), or you have an overall slight leak in the tenons themselves, which will greatly affect the bottom notes, and not so much the upper. Make sure all the tenons are sealed tightly, fill in all closed keyholes, temporarily, with something (modeling clay works nicely), and see if the notes come through.
German flutes don't have terrifically loud bottom notes, but they should play decently. Mine, when in proper form, can even reach the low C decently. But when it has even the slightest leak, it will lose all in the bottom end. In top form, though, the German flutes play their best in the upper octaves -- Music at the time was probably more concerned with music played in the upper two registers than really pushing the bottom. And you have a high-pitched one, which is more so. But the low notes can and should be reached, if all is sealed, and they aren't half bad if the flute is in proper form, either.
Good luck with it.
Gordon
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Post by Silvio Zapparoli »

I have see another german flute on e-bay http://cgi.ebay.it/Nach-H-F-Meyer-Wood- ... dZViewItem
I'm interested but the buyer said to me "I'don't know if is in D key or other key".

Suggestions?
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Post by Unseen122 »

Ask them the length. If it is about 25-28 inches (about 63-72cm) then it is probably in D if it is substantially shorter or longer then probably not. Looks like it goes to a Low B so it might be longer than 25 inches.
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