Recommendations on Delrin Flutes

[MJ1619]

Hey Everybody,

I'm new to the forum and am looking for some advice. I have experience playing the fife and the the keyless flute in D. Two years ago I purchased a Michael Copeland blackwood flute that I absolutely love. I love it so much that I find I am not playing it as often as I would like because I treat it like it is going to break at any time. I know, I know. I need to stop this behavior and just play and enjoy it, but no matter how many times I tell myself this I can't bring myself to taking it out with me. So it just sits safe at home and when I get a chance to play it, which happens far too infrequently, I do.

Now that that long-winded introduction is out of the way, I want to ask if anyone can recommend a flute in D made out of Delrin. I have heard marvelous things about this material, particularly its near indestructability, and am looking to get a "relatively" inexpensive keyless flute that I can take with me to practice and play on. I am not sure what style would suit me best. I think probably a Pratten style but I am open to suggestions.

Thank you all for any insight you can provide on this matter and for any advice you give.

Michael

[Cork]

Hey Everybody,

I'm new to the forum and am looking for some advice. I have experience playing the fife and the the keyless flute in D. Two years ago I purchased a Michael Copeland blackwood flute that I absolutely love. I love it so much that I find I am not playing it as often as I would like because I treat it like it is going to break at any time. I know, I know. I need to stop this behavior and just play and enjoy it, but no matter how many times I tell myself this I can't bring myself to taking it out with me. So it just sits safe at home and when I get a chance to play it, which happens far too infrequently, I do.

Now that that long-winded introduction is out of the way, I want to ask if anyone can recommend a flute in D made out of Delrin. I have heard marvelous things about this material, particularly its near indestructability, and am looking to get a "relatively" inexpensive keyless flute that I can take with me to practice and play on. I am not sure what style would suit me best. I think probably a Pratten style but I am open to suggestions.

Thank you all for any insight you can provide on this matter and for any advice you give.

Michael

Without hesitation, let me recommend one of Rob Forbes' Delrin flutes in D.

I took delivery of one within the past few months, and I am pleased as all get out with it. Just get it with the standard end cap, not the screw adjustable end cap, and I can all but guarantee your satisfaction. Yes, it has fairly large holes all around, Pratten style, and the embouchure is just great. For the money, you cannot go wrong!

[Casey Burns]

blackwood is pretty indestructable. Think of all the thousands of clarinets made from it. Or highland bagpipes. Your flute will survive fine! Save the oil for someone's Suburban.

Cheers!
Casey

[Cork]

blackwood is pretty indestructable. Think of all the thousands of clarinets made from it. Or highland bagpipes. Your flute will survive fine! Save the oil for someone's Suburban.

Cheers!
Casey

Yes, blackwood is virtually indestructable, and I have no hesitation to play my own blackwood flutes, including one of yours, a large holed standard with tuning slide, Mr. Burns!

However, with my understanding that Casey Burns does not make Delrin flutes, I am glad to recommend the Rob Forbes' Delrin flute, as it really is good.

[sbfluter]

I wonder if a flute is kind of like a new car. Until you get that first scratch you obsess over keeping it pristine, worry about the parking spaces you choose, wash it all the time.

I have only seen one Derlin flute, the M&E. It's a billy club. I think you could run over it with an SUV.

I'd much rather play my boxwood. I LOVE my boxwood flute.

[daiv]

some popular makers: seery, m&e, forbes, jon c. (who is a member of this board).

i agree about the blackwood. the only reason it will break is if you dont take care of it. it's meant to take some bumps and bruises along the way. just make sure as long you as clean it, feed it, and give it some water! clean your flute after you use it, oil it as often as your maker recommends, and when its not in your backpack (where it should be), keep it humidified in a drawer or a non-airtight plastic container. most cracks happen because of not being humidified.

dont worry too bad... if it breaks, it can be fixed. my flute was sold as spare parts. here is what it looked like when jon c. first bought it:


and here is what it looked like after he fixed it (the lip plate is not green anymore... it looks fine in person but not in this photo):




so, even if you leave your flute in an attic for 150 years, grow some mold on it, hit it with a hammer for a couple hours and pop off integral parts of the flute, it can still be fixed. (mine plays wonderfully, by the way)

play your flute, enjoy it.

[daiv]

I wonder if a flute is kind of like a new car. Until you get that first scratch you obsess over keeping it pristine, worry about the parking spaces you choose, wash it all the time.

I have only seen one Derlin flute, the M&E. It's a billy club. I think you could run over it with an SUV.

I'd much rather play my boxwood. I LOVE my boxwood flute.

even though my flute was covered in scratches, nicks, dings, and dirt in the bore, i STILL freaked out for months at the prospect of adding another nick into it; i kept discovering old nicks that have probably been there 100 years and worrying i put them in.

the first night i had it, it swelled up so much that i couldnt get it apart (it's cocus, not box). i freaked out. two days later, i got a cleaning rod stuck in the footjoint. i freaked out. then i had to take a hammer to it to get it out. i was actually ok with that!

[irish69]

I believe that Jon C. actually has a spare delrin R&R that he's trying to get rid of. Im sure he'll pop up here sometime

[sbfluter]

My flutes all swell too much and stick together, boxwood or not. I am baffled at the idea of humidifying them. I'm thinking of making a carrying case that carries the flute fully assembled.

Perhaps this is reason enough for a plastic flute. Anyway, you can get a real heavy black one from a number of makers, or a real light white one from Doug Tipple (I think he's got a few other colors, too). Doug's are the cheapest and are amazingly good. They surprise you that plumbing pipe can make a real flute.

[jemtheflute]

Diane, if they are so prone to swelling you must have quite a severe drying/wetting cycle going on! Doesn't sound healthy! Of course, that's all rather foreign (literally) to us in damp old Blighty! If you kept your flutes humidified, they might remain more stable - you could then get the joint lappings etc. set up for that and stop having your jamming problem if you don't let 'em dry out? Just a thought..... I don't know enough about your situation and practices.

[sbfluter]

If there was a drying cycle then they would come apart, wouldn't they? Yesterday the relative humidity was around 85%. We had some days where the humidity was in the single digits a few weeks ago, but that didn't seem to help because I had some time off work and was playing my flute for hours and hours. Maybe I just have moist breath.

Anyway, Casey's going to look at my boxwood. But even my mopani does this. It used to feel loose all the time, too. So perhaps it's just a function of the humidity.

[Henke]

Anyway, you can get a real heavy black one from a number of makers, or a real light white one from Doug Tipple (I think he's got a few other colors, too). Doug's are the cheapest and are amazingly good. They surprise you that plumbing pipe can make a real flute.

I'm sure Doug's flutes are as amazing as everybody says, but they are not in the same category as the heavy black ones. M&E, Seery and Jon C's polymer flutes are conical and made to the exact same specifications as their wooden flutes. They are actually traditional wooden flutes, they're just made of something else than wood.
I recommend any of said three. M&E is R&R style, Seery is Pratten style, and with Jon C you have a choice of what model you want, but probably with the downside of some wait time (if he still makes poly flutes at all, I'm not sure).
I've played all three (though not a polymer model in the last case) and I can highly recommend them all. They all have their pro's and con's: in my opinion, the M&E has a nicer, deeper and more resonant sound than the Seery, but it's slightly more demanding, it's heavy and it's a little bit rough around the edges. The Seery is really effortless to play, loud and a bit lighter and better apperance-wise, but I find the tone a bit uninteresting. Jon C makes great flutes, with more attention to detail and better workmanship than Seery or M&E, but he might be a bit less inexpensive and you may have to wait a little for your flute to be made.

[Cathy Wilde]

I love my Forbes. Desert island flute, play much more since I've gotten it because it's always lying around, rinsing it under the tap is fun, far better flute players than I'll ever hope to be like it, etc.

http://www.forbesflutes.com

It's a Pratten, however, so it has some of a Pratten's personality quirks.

David Copley is also making a nice -- and perhaps a bit more Rudallesque? -- Delrin one for a little less money. It's a more basic-looking model, no rings or anything, but depending on what you want to spend ...

http://www.celticlands.com

Just send him an email.

[Aanvil]

I'll take the Jon C over the Seery and M&E hands down. I've played them.

I still own my Cochran Pratten's Derlin. He made me a particularly nice one too.

[Denny]

I still own my Cochran Pratten's Derlin. He made me a particularly nice one too.

that's 'cause he likes ya, derlin