What's the must beautifullist?

Tjones · Post by **Tjones** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:08 am

Is it ebony or blackwood, Olivewood or boxwood, Mopane or Cocus, Silver rings or gold rings, brass or none. And does a beautiful flute play louder than an ugly flute?

I couldn't resist.

Tjones

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:16 am

I'd say new Cocobolo is probably one of the most beautiful woods.
Definately not ebony or blackwood (maybe the blackwood if it's very new and not sufficiently oiled.)
Very old boxwood is also hard to beat.

And yes, I'd definately say that a beautiful flute might play louder than an ugly flute.
Because if the flute is beautiful I might pick that particular one up more often, therefor getting more used to it's embouchure, and being able to play it louder

Sylvester · Post by **Sylvester** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:39 am

Cocobolo for me too, please.

My first flute was made out of cocobolo and had rings, the cap and the end of the foot made out of sterling silver. It had that elegant sobriety of unkeyed ones. What a beauty...

Volume? what's the worth? The loudest flute I tried was firewood completely out of tune. Forget the volume, mind the tone

Unfortunately I was as dumb as to not to have a single picture.

Sometimes I feel I still am...

My wife agrees to this last statement quite often.

Jon C. · Post by **Jon C.** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:45 pm

I think aged boxwood...

jb · Post by jb » Thu Aug 10, 2006 2:06 pm

I like Boxwood too,

Jack

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 2:35 pm

Olivewood is pretty damn nice. So is Boxwood. I am partial to Sterling Silver or Nickel.

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:09 pm

I think most of the rosewoods are lovely when new, but boring once they've aged. I'd definitely give the nod to cocobolo, but a really nice blackwood is a pleasure to look at when new: jet black with this really deep, distant purple grain. Bocote is also very beautiful when new.

I'm also partial to well-turned boxwood. Again, you have to look closely: the grain is so fine and intricate, and it never looks as though there's any grain on the surface.

If the beauty motivates you to play, the beautiful flute is definitely louder.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:14 pm

JB,

Is that avatar a picture of your Border Collie? Nice looking dog!

Loren

Craig Stuntz · Post by **Craig Stuntz** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:24 pm

I think this flute is gorgeous.

-Craig

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:27 pm

chas wrote:If the beauty motivates you to play, the beautiful flute is definitely louder.

I think it does. I haven't really noticed it with flutes though and it might not be that powerful because they're always tucked away in a case when not played.
I do notice it with guitars though. I might sit and do something completely different, like whatch tv or reading a book or anything. Then I look up for whatever reason and I see my beautiful Fender Strat. No matter what I'm doing, I just get that powerful urge to pick it up and play it, just because it's so darn easy on the eye.
An aesthetically pleaseing instrument just begs to be played. More so than an ugly one.

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:13 pm

Why restrict yourself to one wood?

I'm getting a Snakewood flute with a boxwood head.

I also have a mopane flute with a Blackwood head.

I think an Olive flute with blackwood rings and cap would be lovely.

Cocobolo with blackwood is very very cool. I have a UP chanter like that but that's another forum.

Doc

I.D.10-t · Post by **I.D.10-t** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:22 pm

Used but loved flutes.

Discolored lip areas, wear where the fingers lay, decades of aging with it's occasional scratch yet signs of constant maintenance, that shows that it is a tool of a musician.

That is beauty to me.

lichatt · Post by **lichatt** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:24 pm

and 2 differents woods for the head ....

http://www.la-flute-en-chantier.com/flu ... rsiere.php

Patrick.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 6:45 pm

Loren wrote:JB,

Is that avatar a picture of your Border Collie? Nice looking dog!

Loren

Border collies rock!

I like boxwood too.

Chiffed · Post by **Chiffed** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:06 pm

I.D.10-t wrote:Used but loved flutes.

Discolored lip areas, wear where the fingers lay, decades of aging with it's occasional scratch yet signs of constant maintenance, that shows that it is a tool of a musician.

That is beauty to me.

Cocus does lovely things when worn. My Dulcet seemed bleached at the emb. and along the fingerholes. I thought it was just dry, but after oiling it was still lighter and shiny-er.

I love the look of an instrument showing much love and many hard miles. The Dulcet, my (freshly restored by me) Super Dynaction sax, a great Telecaster I sold to pay for a truck, and a copper dumbek I traded for a chromatic Hohner harmonica - all properly seasonned axes. Like Damascus blades or good marriages, time does wonderful things.

Then again, there are restorerers who like to buff all the charachter right out of a piece of history and art. May they be acid-dipped!!!