Windward Flutes

[brotherwind]

My new African Olivewood flute from windward (bought it at the Boxwood festival in Lunenburg, NS)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2784559702/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2783707179/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2783707269/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2784559740/

Very nice in deed!

[G1]

Beautiful instrument! Nice view of the Sydney River, too.

[jemtheflute]

Some VERY pretty keyless Pratten style flutes - 4, I think - just gone onto eBay tonight....looks like Windward are expanding their marketing by that route, to judge by the very well written and informative blurb on their eBay listings - well worth a read! Go have a drool anyway .

[tin tin]

Lovely indeed.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories

And apparently Mike Rafferty bought one in East Durham!

[Tjones]

I have some question as to what Forbes means when he talks about the flutes on E-bay:

“Embouchure Cut: Aggressive oval, very loud, will accept a lot of wind
Reflector Plate: Parabolic Metal”


“Embouchure Cut: oval, built for flexibility and control Reflector Plate: wooden flush”

What is he referring to when he says Reflector Plate? And where is this located? What is Parabolic Metal? He states:

“... all Windward flutes the head is unlined to allow the personality of the wood to speak completely.”

So I’m confused as to what this might be.

Also,
“Embouchure cut: Aggressive oval, very loud, will accept a lot of wind,”
verse
“Embouchure Cut: oval, built for flexibility and control”

Do other makers concern themselves with cutting the embouchure for different players?

“The parabolic reflector combined with a very aggressive embouchure cut provides a huge “sweet spot” and the ability to twist, bend and crescendo far beyond our standard tone hole cut.”

Shouldn’t this be the goal for every flute? If I’m buying a flute from a maker, I what his best cut embouchure. I understand that different shapes will suit different players, but what is the advantage of having something an “oval” vs. an “aggressive oval”?

Tjones

[ChrisCracknell]

The "reflector" refers the the face plate of the headjoint cork/stopper assembly. I.e. the side of it facing down into the acoustic part of the flute. My windward has a flat metallic one. I tried the parabolic one at the time I was working through the collection of flutes but I preferred the flat one with my lips, my flute and my embouchure. Hard to say exactly why. Just me...

So, there isn't an absolute "best" when you get to this level of fine tuning. Different players really do want slightly different things. This said, the only sensible way to match up what you want with what is on offer is to try them. Visit Forbes or catch him at a festival sometime.

[Doug_Tipple]

I noticed that all of the four flutes that are listed on ebay have offset finger holes (slight, moderate, or strong offset). The maker explains that offset finger holes allows the player to play faster.
Forbes writes: "Drilled for a mild finger hole offset, this flute is designed to relieve index-finger and ring-finger tension". Robert Dick, has written that inline finger holes are merely a carryover from the past and that modern flutes should utilize a more hand-friend, offset fingering arrangement. I don't see many traditional players jumping on the bandwagon, however.

[tin tin]

Do other makers concern themselves with cutting the embouchure for different players?

Some do--Peter Noy and Terry McGee, for instance. In the Boehm flute world, multiple embouchure cut options are the norm and expected. An extreme example is the headjoint maker Sandy Drelinger, who does personal consultations with players in order to give them the optimal headjoint.

And Doug, regarding offset finger holes, I have an offset G on my flute. I find it more comfortable.

[jemtheflute]

Re: the offset toneholes thing, I would suspect that most makers would continue to offer in-line set ups as standard, especially on non-bespoke "production" models as default because most people are fine with it and don't have hands that need offsets. I personally have no issues with the traditional pattern and, having played some offset holed flutes and whistles, found no speed advantage in them so far as I recall - just reach and accuracy of coverage (which do affect speed, of course, as well as comfort) on oversize low instruments (low C-Bb) - on normal size D instruments I find no improvement for me. The many folk who do have issues with comfort/stress and accuracy in spanning normal in-line D flutes order offsets anyway if they have any sense and are buying new with choice. Not that I'm in anyway opposed to sound ergonomic arguments, and I see the point in what Windward are offering, though I also see clever sales spiel!

I'd say the traditional in-line pattern will also remain standard because it offers reversibility to the leftie player (on a keyless, at least) and because it fits most hands adequately, whereas any offset pattern may be more hand-type specific in its suitability. A bit like "equal temperament - all keys equally out of tune", "in-line tone holes - fit all hands equally poorly" maybe????

[ChrisCracknell]

He does them with inline holes too... It is just that I think he tends to do them offset unless building with a particular order in mind. Mine has very slightly offset holes, so little, that I didn't notice until someone pointed it out to me... I've got quite big hands anyway. I remember him at Boxwood last year asking people systematically which of his flutes they preferred, including a range of offset/inline - so I presume he is going on an informed perception of what people he has asked seem to want.

Certainly the offset G on a Böhm flute is much easier to use than an inline. My Burn's Folk flute also has offset holes - I believe this is what he calls his "ergonomic standard".

And I am fairly certain his embouchure holes are not left/right switchable. No flute that I own (including Burns, McGee and Yamaha) has a left/right handed symmetrical embouchure as far as I can tell from playing them. I can't play left handed, but I can certainly hold the flute well enough to play the individual notes well enough to compare them. And I have tried at least one genuine left handed flute which had exactly the same perceived difference, just the other way round.

Chris.

[ullastep_rua]

Hello all- I will crawl out of lurking to jump in on this one. My husband Jeff is the tuner for Windward. Although the embouchures CAN be played in reverse there is very specific cutting to the hole to control sound and remove turbulence. For the flute to be most playable and most in tune you should really play the flute as Forbes cut it.
If you a leftie and play reverse just tell Forbes and he will cut the embouchure to support that.

IMHO:As a woman with smaller hands the offset make my hands cramp less. Some have reported that athritic hands are helped by the offset as well.

It takes more time to drill the offset holes so a lot of other makers haven't gone to this additional expense. Some have, as mentioned earlier.

It keeps my hands more relaxed so I play faster and more easily on the offset flute. The Christies watched me play a flute with an offset this past summer and wondered why all flutes were not made with offset- I was that much faster and more comfortable.

Note: The offset only works if you play with the pads or the tips of your fingers. All you pipers and piping style players may not notice a difference.

[drewr]

I made inquiries a couple of months ago to the Windward flute shop, as they're only about a 3-hour drive from where I live. They wanted me to go in for a "fitting" for a new flute, basically. They wanted to ensure the fingerholes and emboucher, I suppose, were appropriate to my playing. It seemed like an excellent idea and they were very accommodating and interested in getting me a flute perfectly suited to me.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to come up with adequate funds, so I have as yet to follow this up. I've only been playing a year, primarily on a Dave Copley delrin, and this current flute seems to more than meet the needs of my playing ability at the moment anyway.

When my ability and finances meet the requirements of a Windward flute I'll definitely become a customer. I've heard nothing but good things about these.