Pro an cons with different flute materials..

[Ketil]

Hi. I just sold my ebonite 6 keyed flute to a very talented young chiffer and although I at present time doesn't have a flute I will get one again in the future. But I am confused and uninformed about the different pro and cons of the different flute material out there.

Is it possible to make a list with descriptions and maybe pictures of flutes made of different materials. I am interested in for example weight, tone, colour, hardness, risk of cracking, maintenance, volume, ease of playing, looks.. everything one have to take into consideration when ordering a flute.

I personally really like the look of mopane flutes, but it looks like the majority of flutes are made of Blackwood. Am I correct or not?

Hope new and seasoned fluteowners would chip in!

Thanks, Ketil

[crookedtune]

In the scheme of things, material plays a small role in the the sound that is produced by a flute. It should probably be low on your list of concerns, (unless you're dealing with extreme climate issues).

I assume the 6-key ebonite flute wasn't working well for you. What is it that you're after?

[monkeymonk]

In the scheme of things, material plays a small role in the the sound that is produced by a flute. It should probably be low on your list of concerns, (unless you're dealing with extreme climate issues).

I don't have enough experience to comment on the sublte differences in sound between materials but how they feel under the fingers is quite different. Wood feels the best to me, soft with the least amount of slipperyness. Ebonite feels harder than wood and also not very slippery and has a great, resonant tone that I can feel in the lower octave. Delrin is quite slippery under the fingers, particularly when my fingers are just washed and dried and I sometimes have to rub a tiny bit of moustache wax on my fingers to give them some tackyness when playing. Delrin also marrs easily if you bump it against a hard, rough surface like brick or stone.
I do not think any of these attributes are significant enough to dissuade the purchace of a well made flute. I love my delrin forbes, slippery feeling and all.

[Jon C.]

In the scheme of things, material plays a small role in the the sound that is produced by a flute. It should probably be low on your list of concerns, (unless you're dealing with extreme climate issues).

I don't have enough experience to comment on the sublte differences in sound between materials but how they feel under the fingers is quite different. Wood feels the best to me, soft with the least amount of slipperyness. Ebonite feels harder than wood and also not very slippery and has a great, resonant tone that I can feel in the lower octave. Delrin is quite slippery under the fingers, particularly when my fingers are just washed and dried and I sometimes have to rub a tiny bit of moustache wax on my fingers to give them some tackyness when playing. Delrin also marrs easily if you bump it against a hard, rough surface like brick or stone.
I do not think any of these attributes are significant enough to dissuade the purchace of a well made flute. I love my delrin forbes, slippery feeling and all.

Most woods will also marr if bumped against a hard surface. It is all in the finishing of the Delrin, I like to sand in a micro grain into the surface, rather then just buffing it. This takes more time, to get right, but it will make it less slippery. Mopane is a very good tone wood, so is Blackwood. I like Cocuswood the best, but kind of hard to come by in a new flute.

[monkeymonk]

I like Cocuswood the best, but kind of hard to come by in a new flute.

Drool

http://shop.irishflutestore.com/Hammy-H ... lister.htm

Made for a piper's grip though

It's true, i remember now i played a delrin flute at a session recently and it had a very different finish from my Forbes. It was lovely silky to the touch with no slipperyness.

[MeMyselfandI]

It's true, i remember now i played a delrin flute at a session recently and it had a very different finish from my Forbes. It was lovely silky to the touch with no slipperyness.

Hm, might have been a Copley delrin, or something of the such. My Copley is exactly as you described, "silky to the touch, with no slipperiness".

Anyway, to the original topic, delrin, to me, seems to be loud and vibrant, but I wouldn't say it has the same warmness and something else I can't describe, that wood does. Maybe it's just my playing style, and that I only own a delrin flute. Oh well, from fairly extensive internet research, I have found that blackwood is dense, and tends to offer a very bright and hard tone. Boxwood tends to lend a slightly "fluffier" sound. It's lighter in weight, and it sounds a bit warmer and sweeter than blackwood. I've also heard that it is more prone to warping that blackwood is. Of course, all of this depends on how it is made, played, and cared for.

[Ketil]

Say if you have to decide between identical flutes by the same maker in blackwood, mopane, rosewood and delrin.. What would you choose and why! There must be more to it than looks and feel? In guitars and other stringed instruments there's often, but not always, a distinct difference in the tonewood used. Is it really so with flutes that the player dictates the sound regardless of material?

[LorenzoFlute]

Ketil, scientific studies on the subject seem to show that there's no significant difference in materials used, it's the shape that matters. Some people agree, others don't. And we're talking of musicians of all levels, flute makers etc.

Personally I think that there is a difference, and I wouldn't order a flute that is not made of blackwood or cocuswood, even though I did try some great flutes made from other timbers.
If you're a beginner, it wouldn't matter anyway.

There are plenty of threads on this forum on the subject, but my suggestion is to not think too much about it, you'll form your own opinion with time.
Just go for blackwood, which is a great standard wood, or mopane if you're obsessed with the look, or delrin if you're scared of breaking it. They'll all do...

[Feadoggie]

In guitars and other stringed instruments there's often, but not always, a distinct difference in the tonewood used. Is it really so with flutes that the player dictates the sound regardless of material?

Guitars are quite different acoustic generators than flutes.

The wood of the guitar top is a diaphragm that vibrates to generate the sound (Ok, vibrating strings to the saddle through the bridge to the top). The shape of the sound box and the woods strongly contribute to the tone of the guitar.

With the flute, it is the player produced jet of air being split at the embouchure hole that is vibrating and the column of air in the bore supports the tone. The player, the embouchure cut and the bore profile have more to do with the tone than the material. The material just contains the vibrating air column. It does not carry or amplify the vibrations as in the guitar.

Feadoggie

[jim stone]

With the flute, it is the player produced jet of air being split at the embouchure hole that is vibrating and the column of air in the bore supports the tone. The player, the embouchure cut and the bore profile have more to do with the tone than the material. The material just contains the vibrating air column. It does not carry or amplify the vibrations as in the guitar.

IMO, this is largely true but perhaps slightly too strong. The material does carry and color the vibrations somewhat, but
very much less than in the guitar. I think this is the simplest and most plausible explanation for the tendency of different
materials to have distinctively different sounds.

[chas]

Say if you have to decide between identical flutes by the same maker in blackwood, mopane, rosewood and delrin.. What would you choose and why! There must be more to it than looks and feel? In guitars and other stringed instruments there's often, but not always, a distinct difference in the tonewood used. Is it really so with flutes that the player dictates the sound regardless of material?

I tend to prefer boxwood. Originally it was because of the perceived softer edges of the sound. But I've found that my personal sound has the softer edges that I like. Now I have arthritic hands, and I like it for the lighter weight. I also like that it's different and was the preferred wood three centuries ago. One of my teachers called my boxwood Olwell. "hot blonde".

That said, my next flute will be a keyed Olwell in rosewood, because I've concluded that my current rosewood Olwell is the Finest Flute Ever Made. I think it comes in at 9 ounces, which will come in handy with all the extra hardware.

[eilam]

i love rosewood as well, it's light and holds a sharp edge.
boxwood probably has the most personality, and changes the most as you play the flute, half an hour into playing my boxwood Murray it becomes so focused and buzzes in my hands.
blackwood is so reliable, and low maintenance.

[jim stone]

Yes, I think rosewood is underrated.

[LorenzoFlute]

I've concluded that my current rosewood Olwell is the Finest Flute Ever Made.

I've played a rosewood slideless Olwell, it was for sale in Miltown Malbay this year, I think it was a Nicholson model but I'm not sure, it had thick ivory rings. Best modern flute I've played (I put antiques in a different category), just amazing.

[Loren]

I've concluded that my current rosewood Olwell is the Finest Flute Ever Made.

I've played a rosewood slideless Olwell, it was for sale in Miltown Malbay this year, I think it was a Nicholson model but I'm not sure, it had thick ivory rings. Best modern flute I've played (I put antiques in a different category), just amazing.

That's a wonderful flute, I owned it for it a time. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was better than any of the other half dozen other Olwells I've played, or several other modern flutes I've owned though. It's a very fine and lovely flute though, no doubt.

Loren