Irish D flute in ebonite (Ebay)

jeff_lindqvist · Post by **jeff_lindqvist** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:23 am

Any thoughts on this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... PcY_BIN_IT

David Levine · Post by **David Levine** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:37 am

If you buy it you will probably be disappointed. It's not really a D flute as we think of it. You must close the bottom two holes (that we think of as the C holes) -- so the flute is probably in the key of Eb or E. Might be ok as a solo busking instrument. Anybody have direct experience with these flutes?

Matt_Paris · Post by **Matt_Paris** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:39 am

I own one. I was just curious to know how could be a £16 (8 keys !) flute.

The answer is: very very bad.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 5:29 am

Item location = India. I've yet to hear anyone with anything positive to say about these flutes.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:39 am

Tom up in Alaska has one. He said once he replaced the cork in the headjoint (it's a squishy compacted cloth like thing) it was a fine Eb flute if I recall what he said correctly.

Maybe he'll chime in, but he's been AWOL for quite some time now...

Eric

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:13 am

I had one of these things--it was too horrible for words--and gave it to Alan.

--James

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:39 am

Dan Bingamon uses the body on these to turn them into keyed high Whsitles he says that there are lots of problems to begin with so he fixes them.

clark · Post by **clark** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:39 pm

I make lamps out of them.

eilam · Post by **eilam** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:28 pm

i have one, and for the money, it's ok (at the time it was $35 + $30 shipping), especially for having a keyed plastic flute around, when i'm working on a new tune that needs keys, i can pick it up all thru the day.
I did have to do some fine tuning to make it play.

BMFW · Post by **BMFW** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:14 am

eilam wrote:I did have to do some fine tuning to make it play.

Same here. The one I bought was advertised as an E-flat and so, for the money, I decided to give it a try - knowing full well what I was in for.

However, a bit of work with some files around the embouchure and a couple of the holes, and the tone was reasonable enough to play around the house. I plugged and re-drilled the C# hole since the flute played desperately sharp on the low D (E-flat, you know what I mean).

I would certainly never take it near a session but it does for playing along with Frankie Gavin!

PS - the case smelled sooooooo bad you would not believe it. I think their marketing department stopped using the advertising slogan "These flutes even smell like sh*t"

Buyer beware!

G

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:17 am

I must've got lucky with the one I have then. All the keys are functional and don't leak. Having said that though, I can't seem to reach the long F-nat key, but the short one's fine.

Simply replacing the cheesy fibrous "cork" in the headjoint with a proper cork made the flute into a cheap and definitely playable maintenance-free 8-key Eb. After I'd added a few turns of floss to the footjoint tenon to tighten it up a bit.

It's good fun to noodle on and mine sits on the coffee-table ready to be picked up and tooted. Great for playing along with Dervish when I can't be 'arrised to assemble the Allan Eb. Or it would be if I could play that fast.

Oh and G's right about the stinky case... honks of inner-tubes, nasty sulphurous eggy smell from the 'ebonite' works I shouldn't wonder.

eilam · Post by **eilam** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:35 am

"Same here. The one I bought was advertised as an E-flat and so, for the money, I decided to give it a try - knowing full well what I was in for. "

yes - i milled an extension to the foot piece, like a bushing that goes into the socket of the foot, and extends it by 1/2", it brought the Eb into tune, and i tossed the bottom C ans C#
keys, turned it into a 6 key, ahh - and thru' away the rubber smelling box (right after i thru the cork as far as it would fly (don't do it against the wind, or wear eye protection gear

.
i don't know what it was, could be the throwing of the box, that made it a good player ?
the keywork is good in my opinion, i would have kept my keyed M&E had the keywork been as good as on these flutes, but it was worst (BTW - i love the keyless M&E, truly great flute).
e.

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:59 am

So this may be worth buying if for nothing else but some half decent keys to mount on another flute maybe.
One might even retrofit keys on a flute that doesn't have the option of keys from the maker.
I'd be willing to shell out the bucks for the junk flute to use the keys if I had the skill to put them on. Wonder how the CB FF would look with a few keys on it.........

eilam · Post by **eilam** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:25 am

if anything, then get an old flute on ebay for the keys.
plus, it's an Eb so the keys may not fit a D flute? plus, they're nothing to wrote home about, but for $75, to have a keyed flute that works is a good deal.

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Irish D flute in ebonite (Ebay)

Irish D flute in ebonite (Ebay)

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