Is this interesting ???

[bernez]

On our local ebay like site, I can buy this flute for €75,00 (ca. $100,00).
No name on it, the seller knows nothing about it. There are no cracks he says.
Any idea ???






Thanks,

Bernez

[an seanduine]

Try to get a Sounding Length. Measured from the approximate center of the embouchure to the bell (foot) end.
Could be a 'Band Flute', and so not useable except as a solo instrument. Then again, it could be a steal.
Fully lined head?
Could also be one of the wretched Far-East flute-like-objects.

Bob

[Julia Delaney]

It is a German flute. Never mind the sounding length or any of that stuff.
If it can make any sound at all it will most likely be soft and weak.
€75 is the most anybody should pay for that kind of a flute.

[bernez]

Thanks Julia,

But never mind, the seller, dispite our agreement, sold it to somebody else !

Bernez

[MarkP]

That's quite a generalisation without seeing or playing it. There are lots of session playable 19/20 century'German flutes' about (not necessarily German) worth more than £75 (IMHO)

[an seanduine]

MarkP, we wuz told, back in the early '70's that if it cost more'n $.99 and didn't have a screw top, it wuzn't worth drinkin'


Bob

[oldflutefan]

an seanduine-

"Could be a 'Band Flute', and so not useable except as a solo instrument."

Why is a band flute not usable with other instruments?

[Doug_Tipple]

an seanduine-

"Could be a 'Band Flute', and so not useable except as a solo instrument."

Why is a band flute not usable with other instruments?

By definition a band flute is used for playing in bands.
However, some of the old flutes are pitched differently and therefore wouldn't be
pitched correctly for playing in a modern band with A at 440 hertz.

[Julia Delaney]

the seller, dispite our agreement, sold it to somebody else !
I think you should consider yourself lucky.

There are lots of session playable 19/20 century'German flutes' about
There are plenty of cars that are drivable but not all are fun to drive.

For about the same price I'd much rather play a Tipple in a session than an old German flute.

[MarkP]

Depends what you mean by 'German' I guess, historically it's just a generic descriptor.
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/PottersGerm ... Patent.htm

Seemed to work for Packie Duignan

Grey Larsen...
http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/flute/interviews.html

...

[bernez]

... I think you should consider yourself lucky.

Maybe... We will never know !

[Jon C.]

FYI it is NOT a German flute as previously thought, rather it is probably a Belgium flute which has more of a French influence then German. Probably is a good player...

[LorenzoFlute]

Yeah that G# key got me suspicious about its German origin....

[Jon C.]

Yeah that G# key got me suspicious about its German origin....

I have a Belgium flute very similar to this, plays great! I don't think the Germans made any flutes with the French style keys, that I know of.

[an seanduine]

I think it is problematic to assign the provenance of a flute without closely examining it. The worst of the mass produced flutes from newly industrialized and newly nationalized "Germany" have given a bad name to an awful lot of flutes. At one time various makers could buy literally buckets of mass produced keys from both Germany and France. There was a briefly thriving group of makers in New York, and seemingly in Philadelphia, that used European produced keys mated to bores that were distinct from French, British, and the worst of the German bores. Yet, at first glance, they might appear to be "German" or 'French" by glancing at their keys alone. The Boehm tide swept most of this away by the end of the 19th Century.

Bob