What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

The Chiff & Fipple Irish Flute on-line community. Sideblown for your protection.
Post Reply
Flotineer
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:22 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: New fluter. Recovering piper... What with one thing and another I’m learning the flute, but I’ve been learning Irish music for a while now.

What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Flotineer »

I have a folk flute I’m really happy with, but am traveling again soon , so am looking into a plastic (delrin/pvc/carbon/whatever) flute. So, could someone please recommend a flute that plays like a folk flute, but is tougher/maintenance free? Something I can stuff in my backpack, but won’t have to relearn my embouchure , etc? If Casey were already making his plastic ones, I’d just try to grab one, but that appears to be in the indefinite future.

Thanks!
Flutern
Posts: 259
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2007 8:49 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I have a keen interest in wooden flutes (modern and antique), early music (Renaissance, Baroque), Romantic music and Irish Traditional Music of course! I also play the clarinet (my first instrument) and I've also started learning the cittern.
Location: Sherbrooke, Quebec

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Flutern »

I can't be of much help but I wanted to point out that although Casey did experiment with resins, it looks like he has now shifted his efforts to making glass flutes. (See the blurb on his homepage.) Probably not the kind of flute you can stuff in a backpack...
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
User avatar
Loren
Posts: 8387
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Location: Loren has left the building.

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Loren »

Why not get a polymer flute that plays better than a Burns folk flute?
User avatar
Loren
Posts: 8387
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Location: Loren has left the building.

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Loren »

But to answer your question: I’ve played the majority of polymer flutes out there, and I don’t think any of them play particularly like a folk flute, aside from, and not to be sarcastic here, the fact that all flutes kind of play the same, if you see what I mean.
jim stone
Posts: 17185
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2001 6:00 pm

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by jim stone »

Suggest you find a polymer flute that is a good flute, whether or not it sounds like
a FF. It will sound good in a different way and you will probably like it and it will
make you a better musician. Just saying, I busked this morning and managed to
make seventy dollars in an hour and a half, playing Dave Copley's bottom of the line
delrin flute.
Flotineer
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:22 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: New fluter. Recovering piper... What with one thing and another I’m learning the flute, but I’ve been learning Irish music for a while now.

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Flotineer »

I’m not worried about it sounding like an Ff, rather I’d like it to handle like one. Better would be fine, too, the ff is just what I’m used to. If none of the available models plays like the ff, then I’ll survive...But I enjoy mine and am looking for as little effort adjusting as I can find.
User avatar
chas
Posts: 7697
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: East Coast US

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by chas »

I haven't owned a Folk Flute, but have played a couple, and have also owned quite a few of Casey's flutes, including an older D that's quite similar to the FF. To me his flutes' biggest selling point is that they all have very forgiving embouchures (and the breadth of his offerings). To me the polymer flute that most plays like the FF is the Dixon three-piece. The M&E R&R would be a distant second.

That said, I'm with Loren. There are several better options out there that are also really easy to play. You're never going to progress far with the Dixon. I had one for a year or two, and it was great as a fill-in for my Bleazey Rudall The M&E is also a really easy-to-play flute that you can get much more out of than a Dixon. The drawback, at least for me, is that it's really heavy. That might be a shock after the all-wood folk flute, especially if yours is in boxwood.

My personal favorite is the Copley with a traditional embouchure -- still really easy to play, with a little more flexible sound, and much lighter than the M&E. If you really just want a flute to play now and then when you're camping or something, the Dixon would be a decent fill-in. If you want something more, that will help you grow as a player, I'd really recommend something like the M&E or Copley (or Forbes, Somers, Shannon. . . which I haven't played).
Charlie
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
cac
Posts: 121
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:47 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Simple system wooden flutes, keyed and keyless. xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by cac »

My experience is severely limited, but I still think it is relevant. I've played 1 of each of the following: Forbes, Copley (with a traditional embouchure hole), Somers (Rudall&Rose model) delrin flutes and 1 folk flute (made of blackwood and a handsome instrument). _All_ of the delrin flutes were significantly better than the FF. In terms of closeness to the FF, I would say it would be the Copley. The Copley also had the most 'forgiving' embouchure of the 4 flutes. Chet
User avatar
Loren
Posts: 8387
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Location: Loren has left the building.

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Loren »

I’m with Charlie and Chet, my recommendation would be the Copley. Here’s why:

1. Copley flutes play very nicely and have good intonation and volume. I’ve not played another polymer flute that matches the Copley’s ease of play, satisfying tone and excellent intonation.

2. As mentioned in someone else’s prior post, the Copley is shorter than most (all?) other polymer flutes making it relatively light and compact, great for travel, and jam packed sessions :poke:

3. Can be had with or without a slide, and with or without rings. I’d skip both and go with the bone stock model for travel, it’ll be lighter and there will be no slide to get damaged during transit. The slideless model is still plenty tunable via the top tenon.

4. The Copley Delrin is a great value - best bang for the buck flute value out there IMO, regardless of the material.

5. Copley flutes are extremely consistent, this is not true of some makers. You won’t get a dud.

6. Generally speaking, the waiting time for a Copley Delrin w/o slide is pretty short, as these things go. Last I looked it was 1-3 months, but you’d have to check with Dave directly to see what the current wait time is.

7. Copley flutes as a business is very professionally run - there will be no shenanigans: no badly missed delivery deadlines, no poorly finished or badly tuned flute showing up at your door, no loooooong silences after attempts to communicate with a maker who seems to be avoiding you after taking your money. And, if you live in the U.S., no long shipping delays.

8. Resale Value: Copley flutes are always in demand on the used market. Should you want or need to sell the flute in the future, it will be easier to sell quickly than nearly any other polymer flute out there.

I could go on, but I’m fairly certain the equine has been well and truly bludgeoned by now.

Enjoy your travels!
User avatar
Steve Bliven
Posts: 2973
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 2:06 pm
antispam: No
Location: Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Steve Bliven »

Loren wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 5:28 pmI’m fairly certain the equine has been well and truly bludgeoned by now.
"The Bludgeoned Equine" might make a good name for a hornpipe.

Best wishes.

Steve
Last edited by Steve Bliven on Tue May 25, 2021 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Live your life so that, if it was a book, Florida would ban it.
User avatar
Loren
Posts: 8387
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Location: Loren has left the building.

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by Loren »

Steve Bliven wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 6:54 pm
Loren wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 5:28 pmI’m fairly certain the equine has been well and truly bludgeoned by now.
The "Bludgeoned Equine" might make a good name for a hornpipe.

Best wishes.

Steve
Good call, I like it!
User avatar
NicoMoreno
Posts: 2098
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I just wanted to update my location... 100 characters is a lot and I don't really want to type so much just to edit my profile...
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by NicoMoreno »

Loren wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 5:28 pm 6. Generally speaking, the waiting time for a Copley Delrin w/o slide is pretty short, as these things go. Last I looked it was 1-3 months, but you’d have to check with Dave directly to see what the current wait time is.
Just before christmas I saw they had a C flute available, so I contacted them about it - unfortunately it had been claimed the evening before. However I did go ahead and decided to purchase one anyway, fully expecting the above timeline. Long story short, I had it one week after paying for it. The good thing about delrin is it doesn't require settling times between the various stages of finish like wood, so Alan Copley was able to turn it out in ~3 days (actually I think it was just 2).
User avatar
eilam
Posts: 1242
Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2002 6:00 pm
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: Ojai,CA
Contact:

Re: What plastic flute plays most like a Burns folk flute?

Post by eilam »

M&E flutes are most like C.B flutes in my opinion.
Post Reply