Boxwood flute made by Dominic Allan

claudine · Post by **claudine** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 2:11 pm

My new flute made by Dominic Allan is ready and should arrive in 1-2 weeks. More comments will follow as soon as possible.

Kelpie · Post by **Kelpie** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:08 pm

I have a keyed pratten's by him and I can assure you that you'll fall in love with it

Band Nerd · Post by **Band Nerd** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 10:07 pm

What are the two holes at the end used for?

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 10:17 pm

What are the two holes at the end used for?

To tie strings through so you can hypnotize the Morris dancers...

No, seriously, they're a left over from the days when you had 8 keys on most flutes and they're for low C and C#. On a keyless flutes, they're nothing more than vents and can be used to fine tune the flute (according to some makers) and are totally unecessary according to other makers. There is also a bit of a myth that flutes with the vented foot will be louder than flutes without. I have flutes with nearly identical bore, tone hole and embouchure sizes...one has the long foot with vent holes and the other doesn't and they're both just about as loud, just as in tune, and sound nearly exactly the same (which means they sound like me).

Eric

sturob · Post by **sturob** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 11:26 pm

Jayhawk wrote:There is also a bit of a myth that flutes with the vented foot will be louder than flutes without.

It's not exactly a myth: the footjoints in question (you mention ones with and without holes) will necessarily be somewhat different.

The conventional wisdom is actually that unvented footjoints (meaning short feet) are louder than (longer) vented ones.

Stuart

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:20 am

If I'm not mistaken, Casey Burns told me that the extended foot also "sweetens" the upper register. Particularly on Rudall-style flutes. Maybe Casey or Terry or Dave or one of the other makers will chime in and tell me if I'm remembering right.

Doc

Whistlin'Dixie · Post by **Whistlin'Dixie** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:23 am

That's a seriously beautiful flute!

Mary

chas · Post by **chas** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:37 am

I've also heard that the long foot makes the D sound more like the other notes.

As far as I'm concerned, if great makers like Olwell and Hammy swear by the long foot, and others such as Noy swear by the short foot, they must both have something going for them.

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 3:20 pm

Gorgeous looking flute, Claudine. I have one of Dominic's Eb's, his craftsmanship is superb. You'll love it I'm sure! Looking forward to the reports when you receive it

hans · Post by **hans** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:26 am

Hi Claudine,
its a very beautiful flute! Is it Dominic's S1 (smaller holed) model?
I guess it has artificial ivory rings and embouchure? Why did you choose to have the embouchure section plated and not in boxwood? Is the head fully lined or half lined?

I noticed Dominic is offering a new model, a copy of a J. Renton flute, which has a fully lined head:

see more at his website: http://www.woodflutes.co.uk/flutes.html

claudine · Post by **claudine** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:34 am

hello Hans,
it's the S1 model, boxwood & artifical ivory. I asked for the lip plate to prevent the development of an allergy to boxwood. I am already allergic to several things, including african blackwood, so the lip plate is just a precaution. The head is half lined.