Thoughts on Bb flutes?

[NicoMoreno]

I have what I'm pretty sure is the first modern 8-keyed B flute, from John Gallagher. It's lovely, and although it has taken quite a while to get used to, I don't find it a ton more difficult than the D flute (well, Gm tunes are a little harder on my hands).

One thing you might think about is if there are flat pipers around with B sets. They're rarely Bb, so if you want to play with them, B is a better choice.

[matahari_1946]

I may have let this one sit a little too long. Oops!

So for those of you with Lehart Bb flutes, how's the tuning? My C flute, while lovely and I love it, has a couple of tuning issues. Is/was your Lehart Bb in tune with itself?

Also, for those of you with a Casey Burns Bb, same question.

[Casey Burns]

Yes I do make Bb flutes in boxwood. Thought everyone should know. And the boxwood I will be using in the future is ore or less knot-free and kind of perfect.

Blackwood too. But not Mopane at this time as I don;t have any ready.

Casey

[greenspiderweb]

Yes I do make Bb flutes in boxwood. Thought everyone should know. And the boxwood I will be using in the future is ore or less knot-free and kind of perfect.

Blackwood too. But not Mopane at this time as I don;t have any ready.

Casey

Great to hear you have that option again, Casey!

And Tiff, the tuning on my Burns was right on-no issues that I came across when I had it. Just a sweet sounding and great playing flute, and oh so light to hold-no fatigue from playing for a while.

[paddler]

In answer to your question about tuning, it seems pretty good on my Lehart Bb. The C# and D are a little flat (maybe 10 cents or so) compared to the other notes, but thats pretty normal for a lot of flutes. The tuning of the C# in particular has to be balanced against the tuning of C nat . It plays at A=440 with about 4mm of slide open for me.

Jon

[Cathy Wilde]

Like Nico, I was an early Gallagher adopter. In fact, I have what's probably his first real keyless that was released into the wild. It's a lovely light flute, the tuning is great, and because John drills the toneholes at a bit of an angle, it's not a bad finger stretch. I do find, however, that I'm sometimes inclined to rest it on my shoulder after about 20 minutes b/c the distance from blowhole to left hand is longer. This might not happen if I played it more often, but there you are. I'm a weakling!

I'll also second Nico on the "B vs. Bb" thought ... if you're around a passel of flat pipers (which you may be in Salt Lake? Lucky you!), it might be worth considering a B flute instead ...

[NicoMoreno]

Cathy's Bb is why I talked John into making a B.

[matahari_1946]

Thanks for the info, Cathy and Nico. I'd love to have both a Bb and B flute. Wouldn't we all?! I do live near a passel of pipers here in SLC. I think two of them have B and C chanters. We haven't done much with the flat sets but I just tuned down my fiddle and played along with the B chanters. Mmmm.......B chanters........

[Liney Bear]

Have a listen to Sylvain Barou playing a Lehart Bb, if you haven't already.

http://www.box.com/s/4j9mmarce0rqhtfucaus

[matahari_1946]

Lovely. Thanks, Gordon!

[matahari_1946]

Barry brought to my attention that I never posted about receiving my Bb flute. I got it! I ended up ordering a Gilles Lehart Bb flute November 1st and got it November 27th. Now that's service! And it's lovely! Plays easily, tolerable reach, is very much in tune with itself and looks great. It has a nice, reedy tone to it and I couldn't be happier. Thanks for the input, everyone!

[Bran Ruz]