i need a flute

Whistlin'Dixie · Post by **Whistlin'Dixie** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 12:04 pm

SO interesting to read all these replies, and so very true!

I now have several flutes, but if I had to pick just ONE to keep and sell the rest, I'd have a devil of a time doing it!!! I love them all! I love flutes that bark and honk, and they ALL DO THAT! The flutes are only limited by my own puny air-supply (I'm workin' on it!!)

So go with your instincts for now, and resign yourself to the thought that sooner or later, you'll wake up and say "Hey, Where'd all these flutes come from?"

Mary

anton · Post by **anton** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 7:44 am

Thanks for the advice everyone.

As it stands now i am leaning toward the Burns folk flute. Most due to the fact that it is wood. I had a chance to play someones PVC flute recently. It was purely cylindrical and had off set holes. It was ok, but quite a stretch on my fingers. I am not sure of the make.

Hopefully this summer up in Boston i will have the chance to sample more flutes, either at stores or sessions.

anton

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 10:09 am

It's hard to go wrong with the CB beginner's flute,
and the stretch will be better than the available
options. This isn't meant to be an absolutely
first rate instrument, of course; but it's
an attractive option. I may have said this
earlier, but the CB mopane middle range
flute is worth checking out as a relatively
inexpensive flute with easy fingering that
sounds very good. These are out in stores,
in fact, so checking is possible. 450 dollars.
I know a good flutist who performs
with one of these. Best

anton · Post by **anton** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 11:36 pm

After taking a look in my financial situation i decided to go with a Doug Tipple for the time being. The price is right, plus i can play it immediatly. I got his two piece model with in line holes. The stretch is not a problem, but i am adjusting to the larger holes.

I figure in a year or so if i improve at this i can get a good wooden instruments, perhaps with a few keys.

anton

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:44 am

Get buckwild with the white freaks, show 'em how to really work the white sheets.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:12 pm

Kevin L. Rietmann wrote:I can't believe what these flutemakers are charging. If you ask me, a new 4-key should cost about $1200.

:roll: :roll: :roll:

You've obviously never made a flute, milled blocks, forged keys, mounted and adjusted the buggers, or purchased the equipment necessary to do all of the above......

Loren

eilam · Post by **eilam** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:53 pm

<<You've obviously never made a flute, milled blocks, forged keys, <<mounted and adjusted the buggers, or purchased the equipment <<necessary to do all of the above......

<<Loren

Loren - your so right, there is so much that goes into making a good flute, there are such easier ways to make a living.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 5:31 pm

I'm afraid flutemaking is an economically perilous
activity, cause I think some very good makers
are barely making ends meet, so to speak.

Jon C. · Post by **Jon C.** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 5:54 pm

When I first saw a wooden flute, I thought this would be a piece of cake...
After "tooling up for 2 years" I can now make a flute that is in tune...
There is a lot that goes into it. The reamers, the math, the wood, then there is the silversmithing, the waiting for the wood to stabilize, the mounts, then the drilling of the tone holes, the embouchure hole, and you can screw it up any point! It would be very hard to do this for a buisness!
I just want to make a few more flutes... Bb? R&R?...
I like your turning, Eilam! It must be fun to make those big wooden balls!
Nice Baroque Flute too!
Jon

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:14 am

Get buckwild with the white freaks, show 'em how to really work the white sheets.

eilam · Post by **eilam** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:59 am

Kevin - you come out very strongly, like someone is trying to rip you of. Sure in Morocco there are kids doing wood turnings with there feet, and there is no dust collecting system, or real estate cost, not even OSHA on your back!
I can tell you that tooling is closer to the $10000, and there are years of learning. If someone is making and selling bagpipes for $1300, it does not say anything about what it takes to make a good set, I'm not saying that the $1300 is not a good set, but you can't judge by that. If you think its a great way to make a living, why don't you get into the busyness?

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 9:20 am

Is silver being used in the making of pipes?
Curious.

I don't know enough about the mechanics of flutemaking,
not to mention pipes, but
I've met makers and I disbelieve that anybody
is jacking up prices. Also while there is some
fluctuation in prices, there's a reasonable
standardization of prices and I don't think
there's a price-fixing conspiracy afoot.
For lots of these people, this is substantially
a labor of love--many of them could be making
a great deal more money doing something else.
Not greedy types.

When you do get reasonably good lower priced flutes I can
always see why the price is lower.
They're all wood, there's no tuning slide,
the fittings are brass, not silver....

We have this discussion periodically, last time it
was about whistles, and I err steeply on the
side of the idea that prices are reasonable. Best

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 11:23 am

I'd spar with you some more on this topic Kevin, but I'm too busy making instruments 10 hours a day (plus the commute) to waste the time, especially since you seem to already have your mind made up.

Believe what you like, but the fact is that flutemakers aren't getting rich doing this work, regardless of what you think.

Loren

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 7:59 pm

Gave her ten dollars, then she axed me for some more

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:52 pm

Morning Kev! You're no longer in the company of people who know very little about uilleann pipes.

Just for a refresher, when's the last time you saw a UP chanter that came fitted in 5 sections? There's a few extra days, lad.

(not so silent, stop pouting!) And any old uilleann pipe fool knows AB can whittle out your best reeds in 15 minutes flat, while the embouchure hole, and flute are exposed to moisture and some erosion to an extent. And where is the slide on your UP?

There's an extra few days.

And, your 8 keyed flute doesn't compare to a 2-5 keyed UP chanter (you been comparing apples to oranges again, lad?)

Apple sweetone knowledge isn't Rousome, who you think you're fooling? The wind tunnel in a flute may be more critical than you are allowing, we ain't talking cylindrical, one bit fits all! Ever played a flute that played itself? Ever played a flute that gives off the quality little barks you might expect in the 2nd octave F# and G on your chantrel, whoops I mean BA chanter?

Details, lad details. Fine flutes take knowledge and time to make. Don't yield to the temptaion, if you are so gravitated, to compare Olwells to your broken German flute attitude. I'm so disappointed in you Sargent. I thought you would be fussier than this.

Yours in good humor...

PS: I'll wager that each one of the sections of a flute comes close to the work that goes into some chanters (at least those with metal reed caps). So, a fantastic flute could easily cost triple the price of an average UP chanter. Give yourself 21 years to appreciate the subtle differences in the bore of a good flute, Kemosahbee.