FS or FT: Skip Healy Blackwood and Sterling Keyless D Flute

[Liney Bear]

Ridiculously low price for a fine flute and case. And a very knowledgable fellow who knows a great deal about flutes, inside and out.

[Loren]

Obviously Gower is on my payroll, and bucking for a raise.

[Loren]

No takers eh? Real shame, this is a powerful flute.

Ok, I'll drop the price to $1000., shipping and insurance included. Seriously, no way you'll find a better flute/case combo for the money. I'm still open to trades as well.


Loren

[jim stone]

I've played these. Fine flutes and certainly a great price.
Skip apprenticed with Chris Abell and it shows.

[tsackett]

I own two Skip Healy flutes: a 5-key with a gorgeous Northwind case like the case for the one being sold in this thread, and a keyless flute like the flute sold here, except that mine is a two piece, rather than the three piece with a separate foot joint.

When I first had these flutes, I had concerns that they were difficult to play. The spacing of the holes for the right hand seemed "unnatural". I even tried to sell the 5-key for a while. However, after looking at measurements of other flutes, I discovered that the spacing is pretty typical of pratten-style flutes. Furthermore, I've grown used to it. The Skip Healy keyless is my main flute. It's extremely satisfying to play, and I think it has depths I've not yet explored. The design and construction is excellent; given the use of silver tenons and wide sliver bands (instead of rings) I would be shocked if one ever split. I would recommend anyone looking for a flute at least try a Skip Healy.

[Loren]

Thanks guys, these are indeed nice flutes. They blow a little differently than most flutes with a pure elliptical embouchure hole, which can take some getting used to if that's what you've been playing. OTH, people coming from modern flutes seem to really like Healy's as the embouchure is often closer to what they're used to. I also find many of Sam Murray's flutes to require about the same type of blow as the Healy, so it's not a Trad vs Non-trad thing per se. Also, the big embouchure hole on the Healy makes for really good volume, particularly from the player's perspective, which allows you to hear yourself very well when things around you get noisy.

Loren

[brad maloney]

Have you tried contacting Skip? He uses other woods besides blackwood - cooktown ironwood, bois de rose I know he prototyped some in Olivewood too. He might take it on a trade and give you a flute in an alternate wood.

[Loren]

That's a good idea Brad, however in the last few weeks I've switched to new grip that makes playing a flute with a one piece center very uncomfortable, which is all Skip does, so I'm out of luck. It's ok though, this flute will find a home where it will be well used I am sure, I just need to find the right person for it.

Loren

[Loren]

If someone is interested in the leather covered Northwind Case without the flute, I will sell it for $200. shipped within the CONUS. This case would cost at least $279. plus shipping new.

PLEASE NOTE: This case will only fit a skip Healy 3 piece flute. It will NOT fit any other maker's flute, nor will it fit a Healy 2 Piece flute. Absolutely fantastic case though if you have a Healy 3piece flute you want to protect.

Loren

[woodfluter]

Just an additional note, in case this helps someone make a decision.

I have a Healy F flute, one of his early ones I believe.
It's a little cannon in F!

When I first got it, maybe 15 years back, I had trouble getting it to sound reliably.
With a little time, the tone issues evaporated and I learned to adjust embouchure mid-set when going back and forth between oval and his more rectangular one. Capable of really strong tone when I got things straight.

But there is something different about the RH hole spacing.
I think Skip aims for the strongest E note (on D flute) with this design.
For a while I had a couple of fat O-rings around it, to force my RH ring finger farther down.
Then, somehow, I didn't need that any more.

I just wanted to point out that you can get past these initial unfamiliar aspects and it needn't affect playing other flutes. IMHO, it's really worth the effort. I don't need another keyless D flute, but if I did I'd be all over this one at this price.

[Loren]

Woodfluter, thanks, much appreciated. I agree that Healy's embouchure cut plays differently than the typical elliptical cut. People coming from modern concert flute seem to take right to Healy's embouchure with no problem and love it, but then they often initially have problems with the standard elliptical cut until the learn what it needs. I actually find the Healy plays somewhat like a Murray - both require more of a blow across the hole and less down - if that makes any sense. Once you get in your mind where you need to be aiming, BAM! (sorry Emeril) both the Healy is huge sounding.

On the issue of right hand hole spacing, I can't speak to the F flute as I've never run across one of Skip's F's, but the Healy D flute hole space is quite normal for a prattens style. In fact I just compared the Healy to my Olwell Pratten and the Olwell has a larger RH 1 hole than the Healy, and thus the Olwell has a somewhat longer total stretch between RH 1 and RH3. So, at least on the D Flute, the Healy isn't unusual with regards to finger spacing.

Loren

[jim stone]

If I may give my subjective impression, the Healy D is uncommonly comfortable for
a Pratten-style flute. I lived in Providence for a year and most every fluter had
a Healy and I got to play them at sessions. I was impressed by how easy
they were to finger--as Prattens go. Solidly good, well-designed flutes.

[woodfluter]

I agree that Healy's embouchure cut plays differently than the typical elliptical cut. [...]
I actually find the Healy plays somewhat like a Murray - both require more of a blow across the hole and less down - if that makes any sense. Once you get in your mind where you need to be aiming, BAM!

Good observations. Actually, I do set the headjoint so the blow is slightly flatter, but not much...nearly all a matter of lip shape adjustment. Also, the embouchure (on mine) is cut so that the semi-rectangle is almost a parallelogram, slanting a bit toward the foot direction. So I find the sweet spot requires holding it a tiny bit farther out from my body. Don't know why, but that's how it is, and after a while muscle memory sets in when you pick it up.

On the issue of right hand hole spacing, I can't speak to the F flute as I've never run across one of Skip's F's, but the Healy D flute hole space is quite normal for a prattens style.
[...] the Olwell has a larger RH 1 hole than the Healy, and thus the Olwell has a somewhat longer total stretch between RH 1 and RH3.

Loren, on mine the difference is relative positioning of RH2, not hole size or stretch (certainly not an issue in F!) RH1-RH2 is 24.5mm, RH2-RH3 is 40mm. (And I have to retract what I assumed about this being for a strong "E"...I don't know why actually). Looking at Skip's website, the D flute photos look like a slightly shorter relative RH1-RH2 than my Olwell Pratten, but that's eyeballing only. And the positioning difference is probably pretty small. It is far more pronounced on my F flute. So likely a non-issue with the D flutes.

If I had time, I'd post pictures. But anyway, you get the idea.

[tsackett]

woodfluter: I'm too tired to track it down right now, but there is a thread comparing hole sizes and spacing of various flutes. I posted the measurements of my Healy there. There is definitely a difference between the r1-r2 spacing and the r2-r3 spacing. I found, however, that this is a common feature of flutes based on Pratten designs, and there's nothing extreme about the Healy's spacings.

I looked into the spacing because I was having some problems playing. For a while, I even thought that my fingers would simply never get used to it. However, they did. I think it's part of how Skip Healy's flutes reward the player's persistence. The more you put into one of these flutes, the more you get out of it.

[Loren]

Last call:

3 Piece Blackwood Healy flute, now $900.+ shipping, with NO case.

Loren