asking price: usd $1400 (plus ship/ins) *sold* (9-19-05)description:
i am the original owner, flute has been oiled and well cared for. keyless, blackwood, silver tuning slide and rings, threaded screw in endcap (to adjust cork position), silk lapped tenons, no cracks or checks, made about year 2000, comes with soft case 3 pouch roll seen in pic (red inside/black outside) flute is lying on top of it.
characteristics:
playable a440 with a good strong tone. easy to play and keep in tune at a440. plenty volume, easy to sound low 'd'. this flute came my way brand 'new' (was not ordered), so i scooped it up and only used it as a backup, mostly because i already had an 8keyed flute which i already liked. but there is nothing wrong with this keyless flute except it needs to be played more often.
condition:
overall condition is great with the only minor exception being a small nick in the endcap on the top edge of cap. no cracks or checks, nor signs of wear.
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asking price: usd $2900 (plus ship/ins.)description:
i am the original owner, flute has been oiled and well cared for. 8keyed made in 1995; blackwood; silver tuning slide, keys and rings; pewter plugs for low c#/c keys on the foot joint; threaded screw in endcap (to adjust cork position); silk lapped tenons (with some dental floss thrown on as seen in photo - will be replaced with silk for you before shipping).
characteristics:
playable a440 good strong tone and plays well. it was played daily as my main player for a few years and i just loved it. i think it was a deceptive flute at least to me at first, until i found it's sweetspot and then it hummed. it projects well but i'd say it is a litte more challenging than the keyless as far as controlling the tone, volume, and keeping it in tune; but definitely doable. i loved it and favor it over the keyless. the reward is a compelling tone, great response, pleasing overall sound, good volume. for a440, tuning slide needs to be pulled out a tad more than what is currently needed for newer grinter flutes (such as the keyless mentioned above). i believe a longer piece of wood is simply being used nowadays in the head joint so that less of the tuning slide is exposed. yet the embouchure hole remains the same distance to first tonehole. distance-wise nothing changes.
condition:
- two small hairline cracks in the socket of the heart joint (lower section of flute), both are difficult to see from the outside of the flute but if you were to look into the inside of the socket you could see them (see photo below). they are old cracks (maybe checks) and i had initially put beeswax on them but i haven't bothered in a few years as i realized they do not affect the tone and believe they do not leak.
-the original barrel had been replaced (by m. grinter) in the first year that i had the flute. some glue can be seen at the seam of the barrel and tuning slide. not noticeable unless you are inspecting. it is not an eyesore, but i feel it should be mentioned because it should not reflect upon m. grinter's workmanship. at the time i needed a fast replacement so i rushed him on it.
- the following pertains only to the low 'c' key and note on footjoint: i never had much luck getting the note to sound on this flute... additionally, on the main mounting block for the two lower keys: the thin piece of wood which is part of the block, located between the 2 keys, has broken and is detached from the main body. but because of its location - being wedged between the keys, and since the pin for the low 'c' key runs thru it, it stays put (anchored), and serves its purpose as well as if it was not broken or seperated. so it is not really a bother (i never got the low 'c' note to really sound anyway)... and finally, the pin that goes into the block located at the far end of the foot and thru the last joint of the low 'c' key has been replaced by me with a makeshift pin made out of metal wire. i still have the original pin which i think got slightly bent out of alignment when i pulled it out and i had difficulty getting it in and getting that joint to operate freely (the pewter plug would stay depressed, covering the tonehole if the key was activated accidentally. so to avoid that, i replaced the pin and the mechanism works freely).
- i put a homemade pad on the cnat cup (my pads rock).
that's about it.
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both flutes made by m.grinter and have never been altered except as indicated above. for questions about m. grinter flutes in general, checkout his website:
http://users.netcon.net.au/grinter/flute.htm
please 'pm' me for questions regarding the condition and playability of these 2 flutes (the email address this site has for me is outdated). soundclips and/or more photos can be arranged for serious inquiries. i hope you will find these offerings as pretty decent deals.
[for inquiring minds... both of the above flutes are fine, it is just that i also own a grinter 8keyed cocus flute (which i am holding onto to) and the unmarked wylde (i got from andrewk a few months ago), which has similiar design/playability to my grinter flutes (except it has a wilkes hj), among others.
anyway i have no need for all of these flutes, so i have decided to sell the two. thanks for taking the time to read this.]
"It might be a bit better to tune to one of my fiddle's open strings, like A, rather than asking me for an F#." - Martin Milner
Well I tried... But it seems an earlier bird got there before me.