Two Questions??

[Mcwey]

I have a very nice (old) Boosey & Co 6 key flute. All of the pads have recently been
replaced as well as the cork. It is in the key of F and has no cracks or chips etc.
I want to sell it but have no idea what it is worth. I don't want to give it away and
yet don't want to ask way more than it is worth. Any suggestions.
I am also going to sell a nice M & E in D and can't figure out how to post a picture
in the sales page any help??
Thanks
Monty

[LorenzoFlute]

I would say it's worth around 400 euros or more, but I think most people are unlikely to be willing to pay that much. You could try though.

[jemtheflute]

Depends what pitch it plays at. When you figure out how, post a picture and also measure and tell us the sounding length. It's fairly likely to be high pitch. Somewhere there's an old thread about F flutes I ran for a while chronicling eBay etc. sales of F flutes over several months - I can't hunt for and link it right now, but use the search tool to find it - should give you something to go on.

[LorenzoFlute]

Depends what pitch it plays at.

Right! And, does it have a tuning slide?

[jemtheflute]

At a 'puter now - here's The F (Band) Flute Thread link.

[Mcwey]

No it does not have a tuning slide. Not sure
what the sounding length is but it is 17"
from the center of the embouchure to the end of the flute.
Still don't know how to post a pic but will add
pictures of the flute and case as soon as I can!
Thanks for the info on F flutes!
Monty

[jemtheflute]

Hi Monty. There's a How To thread on posting pictures somewhere.....

OK, a 17" SL (that's what you described!) (is that exact?) = 432mm. In my experinece an F flute needs a SL between 435-445mm (what works varies somewhat with the bore, embouchure size/cut and tonehole distribution/the scaling) to be viably playable at Concert Pitch (A=440). If an example has no tuning slide and does not have an SL of at least 435mm, it will therefore most probably be at least somewhat higher in pitch than 440. Yours at 432mm might just make it, depending on the actual scale tuning of the particular flute, but I'd have my doubts without play-testing it against a tuner. It probably isn't extremely HP, though.

Pictures may let me make some further guesses as to likelihood of pitch based on the SL and the visual style of its design. But the only sure proof is play-testing.

[Steve Bliven]

Guide to posting photos....
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=23407

Best wishes.

Steve

[MTGuru]

Guide to posting photos....
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=23407

In a nutshell:

1. Upload photos to a photo-sharing site.
2. Post the links here, surrounded by [img] tags.

[Mcwey]

Not sure this will work but will give it a try it,
The flute is 17 3/16 long from center of embouchure to the end.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help.
The URL bit is great and I did use Image Shack!
Monty

[ Fixed photo link. - Mod ]

[jemtheflute]

In mm?!! Well, given what I wrote above, that SL does suggest there's a good chance it is CP viable. Looks a pretty late/modern model too. That said, some of Boosey's late band flutes weren't very well made - look ok, but execrable scale intonation. Obviously I'm not in a position to say that is the case here, but value should be pretty much dependent on demonstration of actual playing pitch and how good or bad the intonation is.

BTW, the Eb key pad is too big- too wide for the key and tone-hole seat and set too high - the key won't open far enough. I can't really see the others well enough, but wouldn't be surprised if at least some of them have similar issues. This is typical of what can happen when mainstream modern instrument techs not familiar with these kinds of instruments are asked to repad them. Smaller pads which sit deeper in the cups are required.

[Mcwey]

I ment to put mm also, it is 435mm.
Thanks so much for your help and information.
Monty

[jemtheflute]

If you can play (or if not, find a competent player to do so for you), you need to check the basic design pitch and also the scale intonation against a tuner, and preferably make a demo recording which you can share. When you can reasonably reliably make statements about playing pitch and tuning, then you can seriously consider value. But broadly, if it'll play at CP and has decent-of-the-kind intonation through a 2.5 8ve scale (up to the 3rd 8ve "A" fingering) then it might (IMO, if I were the vendor!) be worth in the range £150-250 GBP - less than some as it has no tuning slide. If it has bad intonation or is HP, it is worth very little - maybe £40-100. However, if you put things like this on eBay, anything can happen!