would you give me advice on wood flute please?

[malem]

Hi,
This is my first post here. I am new to irish flute, but not to music.

I am interested in buying a irish flute.
I play the traverse (silver) flute a bit, but really love the sound of the irish flute.
I don't have to much money so I am looking either for a used good condition flute, or maybe thinking about a Folk Flute from Casey Burns (just love the sound).
If any one here wants to part with one... I am interested!

I wonder though, because they need lots of oiling and pampering. If I don't play the flute for a couple of month (summer time is really busy here) do I need to oil it periodically as well? or it is only when playing so it keeps moisture away from the wood.

Also I thought about the Dymondwood Sweet resonance flute.
Any one here has one? how is the sound of dymondwood?
wich flute would you recommend? the folk or the dymondwood?
I think the folk is a better wood, but is the Sweet a better buy?

Wow ! that is a lot of questions!
I hope this won't scare you!

thanks no matter what!

[Jayhawk]

Hi and welcome aboard - if you're not going to play for a few months, you will not only need to keep the flute oiled but also make sure the humidity is high enough. Maybe the Sweet dymondwood might be the better of the two wooden options.

Have you thought of a polymer flute such as a Seery or an M&E? No worry about oiling there, and I think a good player makes them sound just like wood (check out Tom Doorley on the first three Danu albums - he's playing a Seery delrin).

Eric

[mutepointe]

crystal flutes don't need oiling either and the sound is etheral.

[talasiga]

Perhaps you may want to consider simply getting a wooden head joint for your transverrse metal flute. That way you can have advantage of both chromatic versatility and the wooden flute timbre. See this site:-

http://www.woodenflutemaker.com/HeadJoints.html

Also bamboo head joint info here:-

http://www.sideblown.com/joint1.html

[Jack Bradshaw]

crystal flutes don't need oiling either and the sound is etheral.

Very nice, but they don't sound "Irish" either.............(Yes, I have a full set)

Perhaps you may want to consider simply getting a wooden head joint for your transverrse metal flute. That way you can have advantage of both chromatic versatility and the wooden flute timbre.

Good advice if you already play "silver"..........get an unlined head for maximum effect....................

Note: lots of makers to choose from.......I like Peter Noy on this one (even though I think his might be lined).......check around

Our local boy in NH is www.mckennaflutes.com ....definetly a wild man !

[I.D.10-t]

The wooden head idea is a good idea, but I wonder how it would work in Irish music with keys? I have seen open hole Boehm flutes that allow you to slide notes like an open hole Irish flute, but most do not have this feature.

The plastic flutes seem like a good idea for two reasons. If you want the Irish flute taper of the bore and sound, a plastic flute will provide that. In addition, it will always be useful for harsh environments that you do not want a wooden flute exposed (think "band" flute) . If you become really serious about the older style flute, a wooden one will not sit for months, but become an obsession that you will play in your in between times.

PS, I am in no way a person qualified to give flute advice.

[malem]

Hi,

first Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your adivce.

The idea of a wood head for my flute, is good, but they are way out of budget for me. And the sound sample I heard is nice, very nice but not the warm sound I am looking for. I was amazed at www.mckennaflutes.com!! they even have crystal heads! Thanks for the link, it was most interesting to visit the site.

The Hall Crystal is cool! very nice sound, and I am sure must be quite special to play and it is affordable. I was considering buying one (love crystal!!!) and almost ordered it, but this is when making more research I came to the irish flute. And for the moment since I can't afford both, I would prefer a nice warm wood sound.

One word about the humidity level... how do you make sure the flute is "humid" enough?
or is playing once a week enough to keep ok, during periods?
I live in a forest and the house is very very humid in the summer, sometimes to a a point where it is unconfortable in the living room.
Whinter is another story, with the stove but I intend to play more at that time.

thanks you all!
I feel very welcome!

[Henke]

A polymer flute is your best bet. Look for a used M&E, they are on par with flutes twice the prize, and they do sound very woody. I don't think you need to get chaught up with the issue of materials when you're a newbie with the Irish flutes. A wooden flute is risky if you expect you will play it irregularly. You won't be thinking about materials when you acctually play the flute. I've played both wooden and poly flutes, and the difference is quite slim.

[drhbyrne]

contact me at drhbyrne@aol.com

[jim stone]

Please get your brother to write an informative post.
This isn't helping him. Best, Jim

[daiv]

The wooden head idea is a good idea, but I wonder how it would work in Irish music with keys? I have seen open hole Boehm flutes that allow you to slide notes like an open hole Irish flute, but most do not have this feature.

PS, I am in no way a person qualified to give flute advice.

the problem is not with the keys, but the shape of the bore, and the cut of the embouchure. although boehm flutes do come in open and closed hole configuration, i would say that most flutes silver flutes do have open holes, besides the student models. this is not to say that closed hole is in any way inferior and it is available in the professional models, just that most flutists prefer open holed flutes.

my guess would be that you have spent more time around wooden flutes than silver ones, which might create this misconception. i, on the other hand, have the opposite, and am very jealous! i have only played 2 wooden flutes in my life, an olwell and a no-name german, so i would probably have as many misconceptions the other way around.

[withak]

If the original poster is still shopping, there is a used M&E for sale just a few threads over.

[Nanohedron]

IMHO, any need for oiling will depend on how resinous the wood already is. The blackwood flute I have is so dense and resinous that oil just sits on it; the ends of the tenons absorb a little, though. You want to keep wooden flutes humidified to a minimum of around 45%-50%.

Peter Noy offers both lined and unlined headjoint options. This is not a commercial post.

[Unseen122]

If the original poster is still shopping, there is a used M&E for sale just a few threads over.

She is not.

[malem]

Right Avery!
I am very happy with the flute I got.
I am practicing practicing practicing now!

I thank you all for your replies and advice. I have found myself a beautiful 3 piece black wood flute, with a tuning slide and no keys.
It is a Geert Lejeune Flute and we are getting aquainted day by day.

I think I will want to get another flute one day, but I don't need it right now, I am just beeing childish about it! lol!
For maintenance I keep it in a plastic box with a sponge and humidity monitor, so it is happy! Not to much maintenance I find this way. So all is well. I like playing enough that I won't have a problem to keep playing this summer. Just less time that's all.

thanks!