New unique M&E R&R with pics

Nelson · Post by **Nelson** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 6:49 pm

Aaron, I have 12 or more nice cocobolo billets. I sent 4 to Michael Cronnolly about a year ago because I thought I was going to have him make me a cocobolo flute. 2 billets for my flute and 2 billits to him as a present. It cost me $50 - heavy stuff. So if you are going over to Scotland and decide to go look at Michael's cocobolo flutes, you might want to get a billit from me to take over with you.

Ask Jon about the different colors of cocobolo, he goes to the market in Californlia and picks his own billits. He says some are red and black stripes and some are yellow and black. Look at his cocobolo flutes on flute lichen, page 17. Ask him if the stains if dark it will look more monochromatic.

For some reason they make highland bagpipe chanters out of cocobolo. I've seen explainations on a piper's site a year of so ago.

PS I will be receiving in about a month a cocobolo R&R a la Chris Norman from Johnie Gallagher, then I will be able to play as well as Chris Norman.

Nelson

Jon C. · Post by **Jon C.** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:27 pm

Here's my latest batch of flutes, just getting ready to drill.
The four in the middle are cocobollo, you can see the color difference. The second cocobollo looks curly (can't wait to see what that one will look like...) the top is a wood called Brown Ivory from Tanzania. The bottom one is cookstown Ironwood that Eilam gave me. Maybe one will be a international RAF...
I have found that there is a lighter colored cocobollo, it starts out orange yellow and turns red/black, then there is a darker red black that will probably turn very dark red black.
I'm having to much fun...

Aaron wrote:
Is Cocobolo always so high contrast? Can it be rendered a little more monochromatic?

The darker version doesn't have as much contrast, and a straighter grain.

Jon

Father Emmet · Post by **Father Emmet** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 4:03 pm

Nelson wrote:... the M&E unlike wooden flutes can be kepted together. It plays as well with the end stoped up as hollow so you could put some kind of dildo thing on the end or a mace squerter for when you are in a hostal invironment or both if you are in a hostal female environment.

This is clearly a very strong argument in favor of polymer!

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 9:00 am

Hi. Here are some pics of the flute. They are not really the best pics, the light and angle and everything is pretty bad, but hopefully they will give you an idea of how the flute looks. I might be able to upload better ones later, and I'll try to post some sound samples when I get time.

Cheers*

Father Emmet · Post by **Father Emmet** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 10:27 am

Henke, can't see the pix. I'm getting some kind of animated hearts.

OK, I see them now. Nice! Is the emboucher similar to the polymer?

Davey · Post by **Davey** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 5:21 pm

The color and variety of cocobolo can vary from tree to tree and country to country. If it is "fumed" using ammonia it will turn completely black. As such, it is an excellent substitute for af. blackwood. The two woods share a great deal in common, tonally speaking.

MarcusR · Post by **MarcusR** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 10:25 am

Henke wrote:I can already say that this flute is simply a remarkable piece of craftmanship. It is wonderfully sleek and flawless in it's appearance...The keys on it are not pakistani made like his normal keys but handmade by Michael Cronnelly himself. They are lefthanded, pinmounted and acctually very nice. A lot of people have complained about the M&E keys but it must be the pakistani keys that are bad, cause these keys are very nice...

I'm glad you like your new flute Henke, and I’m sure it sounds very good. I've had my keyless M&E close to
five years and it still gets quite a lot of my attention. When it comes to the key work my taste is a bit different.
I think Michaels keys are quite crude even though I'm sure they function well. It is far from something I would
call "a remarkable piece of craftsmanship" (I know it's not fair to judge from the picture above).
The sound and playability should be first priority, but I also think that aesthetics is an important factor when it
comes to the overall appearance. Maybe I'll get a chance so see it up close one day and then change my
opinion ... who knows?

Thanks for the pictures, and have a nice X-mas!

/MarcusR

Jay-eye · Post by **Jay-eye** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:54 am

Nelson wrote: An article in Nature Vol 231, # 6, pp 160, 2003, was a study that showed that 99% of all Celtic flute players who chose M&E R&R flutes as their first choice, all had IQ above 140. The other 1% with IQ above 140 chose Seery flutes.

Nelson

153. Tipple.

j.i.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 9:55 am

Doh de doh de doh. Kazoo.

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 10:02 am

jim stone wrote:Doh de doh de doh. Kazoo.

God bless!

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 1:01 pm

Father Emmet, the embouchure hole on the Cocobolo head is a tiny bit bigger than on the polymer, also the far end of the hole is more of a rounded rectangles shape, where the polymer head has more of an oval shape, but the differences are very small. I find it easier to get the dry Prattenesque sound on the Cocobolo head, but it's still easy to get a nice and focused tone from it. I don't know how much of the differences in sound comes from the shape of the embouchure, how much comes from the material and how much from the fact that the Cocobolo head is partially un-lined, but there is a pretty big difference. The polymer head is cleaner and more piercing and a bit fatter in tone. The cocobolo head has a little bit more volume, the sound is more grainy and woody and very crisp with my normal embouchure. However there is no problem making it sound sweet eighter.

And Marcus, about the keys. They sure are extremely nice for the price. I don't think many other makers would put in so much effort for such a small price. Of course, maybe other makers would not be pleased and let keys like that leave their workshop, hence the price. I acctually think the keys look better up close than in the pics. Michael seems to be determined to bring out affordable flutes with great playing characteristics and so he sort of cuts back a bit on the cosmetics and fancy stuff. Just the fact that he made the keys entierly by hand in sterling silver for less than 300 Euros makes them a remarkable piece of craftmanship in my eyes, all factors accounted for. Of course I don't think they are as aesthetically pleasing as McGee's block mounted keys, but that's not the point.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 2:05 pm

Henke - I agree with you on the key issue, and I find an aesthetic beauty in simplicity as well (as evidenced by a fondness for Shaker furniture). I sat next to a georgeous keyed Grinter less than a week ago, but I wouldn't say I preferred the fancy keywork myself.

Give me something simple, solid, that I can work on if need be myself, and most importantly that functions well - that's what I'd prefer to own.

Eric

Chiff and Fipple Forums

New unique M&E R&R with pics

cocobolo

Re: New unique M&E R&R with pics