Chiff and Fipple Forums

Imagine walking into your local London flute purveyor in 1835, trying a half-dozen flutes and picking out your favorite. We just don't get that chance very often!

I had the good luck the other day of comparing my 1835 Rudall & Rose #4676 to several Rudall style flutes from more recent "top-end" makers. These included: Chris Wilkes, Michael Grinter, and Rod Cameron - that's not one you see every day!

Each one I tried was an excellent flute, and each seemed better than the previous. In the end I would be willing to trade my R&R only for the Wilkes - anyone have a spare Wilkes they need to sell ? That speaks to how much I love my R&R, which has an extraordinary clear tone, and strong attack from low C up to high G.

The Wilkes had the largest holes, Cameron the smallest (designed after Chris Norman's famous R&R #642), and my R&R a medium size. I guess the embouchure designs were not in the larger "modern" style, rather more like the smaller antique size similar to my R&R. As a result they all suited me very well with minimal adaptation, as I normally need a good deal of time to come to terms with a new flute. Even the bonus Wilkes Pratten on the table was easy to play.

Intonation was excellent on all of these flutes.

Impressions are always impressionistic.

I play with more tonal clarity and less buzz than most ITM musicians, which very much suited these R&R flutes. Blayne Chastain plays with a lot more power and reediness than I do, which he easily provoked from the same flutes.

Wilkes: Clarity of tone, Resonant & expressive character of tone, Huge dynamic range waiting to be explored, Air resistance/pressure (?) as I pushed for more volume. I could tell that with time & practice I could really get a lot out of this flute. Weaker low C keys; less easy third register.

Cameron: Super easy to play, Sweet tone, Fast response, probably due to the smaller holes. Tonal quality had a softer rather than hard edge, perhaps due to the half-lined head.

Grinter: Great flute, Easy embouchure. If I had married this flute before any other, I would not feel I needed to stray. TBH I would feel that way about any of these flutes.

Why I would never give up my R&R: Clean, clear strong notes from low C/C# all the way through High G, which is as high as I practice. Wonderful reverb or resonance that I feel from my fingers to my nasal cavity. Perfect intonation, with minor lip or fingering adjustments.

Handling and fingering was easy on every flute. My R&R has my preferred C Forked-Fingering OXO XXO' , which doesn't work on the Wilkes - it wants OXX OOO instead.

To make my day complete, my other, large-but-not-enormous-holed R&R #3527 is a worthy companion for this table (stable?) of flutes. Contrasting it with my R&R #4676, the #3527 is somewhat louder, the note attack has a softer edge (compared to hard & precise), warmer tone rather than steel-edged. Intonation is perfectly fine (no gymnastics required) on either flute, embouchure is a bit larger or different - enough so that it takes me a little time to adjust. #4676 benefits from typical 19th venting and slight lip adjustments, whereas #3527 has no need for venting, aside from the E-note.

What a fun opportunity to compare and contrast such great flutes!

Eric

Was the Grinter heavy? I played one once long ago and recollect its weight. The key blocks are silver channeled, I recall.

I wouldn't say that the Grinter was particularly heavy... However, my preferred flute is a patent-head Rudall, so I'm not the one to ask!

You want light? I have a boxwood FPC one-key, and it's light like a feather.

To be honest, when I change from my patent head to any other random 8-key flute, they feel pretty darned light.

In any case, my enjoyment of those flutes had to do with the way their embouchures (holes & bore?) created notes so easily.

This is a delightful little read. There's an 8 key Butler that I've been eyeing and I wonder how it would sound in my hands. I love my Copley 6 key but you know how it goes, you see other stuff and just want to give it a go. The Butler I'm looking at is Cocus.

ET

tstermitz wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 5:36 pm I wouldn't say that the Grinter was particularly heavy... However, my preferred flute is a patent-head Rudall, so I'm not the one to ask!

You want light? I have a boxwood FPC one-key, and it's light like a feather.

To be honest, when I change from my patent head to any other random 8-key flute, they feel pretty darned light.

In any case, my enjoyment of those flutes had to do with the way their embouchures (holes & bore?) created notes so easily.

I have been spoiled over the years, having so many beautiful flutes spend time in my shop, many R&R flutes, I had two original RS Pratten's recently, along with lots of American and French flutes. I get spoiled playing the originals, occasionally I repair a good copy like Wilkes, or Grinter.
As far as light flutes, My own lightest flute is a original by JM Camp, he worked at Fluteville Conn. back in the mid-1800's, this flute is a boxwood one key with ivory rings and no cracks, and light as a feather... My favorite flute in my collection is a Fentum made by Wylde.

For around a decade I played an original R&R (their 1827-1837 address) which was boxwood with ivory rings.

Needless to say it was very light in the hands!

What a great flute that was. At the time, through the 1980s, I played many "Rudall model" flutes by new makers and none of them played similarly to that original.

Probably in part from being boxwood, it had a lovely rich warm tone quite different than the hard biting nasal Pratten tone which most players preferred.