C flutes

matahari_1946 · Post by **matahari_1946** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:15 am

I was listening to Kevin Crawford's "In Good Company" yesterday and I loved the tracks with Martin Hayes on viola and Crawford on a Bb flute. I don't think I can handle a Bb yet but I have played a C and was OK with it. What I'm wondering is this: who has played a C flute, which maker(s) and what are your thoughts?

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:28 am

matahari_1946 wrote:I was listening to Kevin Crawford's "In Good Company" yesterday and I loved the tracks with Martin Hayes on viola and Crawford on a Bb flute. I don't think I can handle a Bb yet but I have played a C and was OK with it. What I'm wondering is this: who has played a C flute, which maker(s) and what are your thoughts?

I make a low-cost, 3-piece, 6-hole low C, cylindrical-bore pvc flute. Even though it is a large flute, I can easily manage the finger stretch with the offset holes, and I don't have very large hands. I have an audio clip of the flute on the audio files page at my website, in case you are interested. The low C flute is at the top of the list.

johnkerr · Post by **johnkerr** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:19 am

I love my Olwell C flute. It's the best of both worlds, really - the mellowness and darkness of a Bb flute with the responsiveness of a concert pitch D flute.

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:28 am

C is lovely. McGee makes a nice one. Had a WIlkes C here once that was lovely as well. Had a Hammy C here that was lovley too. Burns makes a C I've heard good things about but haven't played. Seems like Jim Stone has one as I recall. Dave Copley also does a C.

Billy miller makes nice bamboo Cs as does Pat Olwell.

Doc

dontf · Post by **dontf** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:10 am

I have a Casey Burns C/Bb flute in mopane. I'm still having a bit of a struggle with the reach on the Bb body but the C body is hardly longer than a D, very comfortable and the sound is wonderful and very easy to play, I think it takes less air than my Pratten in D. It makes all those tunes in D minor accessible as well!

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:14 am

Casey Burns C/Bb/A flute in mopane
the C is very nice, quite managable
with some of the low flute characteristics of the Bb & A

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:48 pm

Dave Copley now makes a keyed C!
(and I have one

) Just got it a few weeks ago, so I've been waiting to get to know it better before posting.

It definitely has a different, more "dusky" voice than my D. It's a little harder to play because it takes more air. The span's larger but he was able to make it a bit more ergonomic than it might have been. I find it harder to do the ornaments, but I think that's a matter of getting used to it.

Dave Copley is great to work with-- he patiently answered all my questions, and was willing to do the little tweaks I asked for. And he was several weeks ahead of schedule!!!

I usually play in church situations and they seem to do things in the key of C or in multiple flats, so it's been working very well for me.

Good luck with your decision!

ImNotIrish · Post by **ImNotIrish** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:16 pm

Tiff,

check out Martin Doyle's site. He has some clips of himself playing his 'C' flute.
Arbo

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:24 pm

I have a C flute, by Sweetheart. Nice flute!

I find the C flute to be the largest flute I can comfortably play fast ornaments on (cuts, taps, etc.), the qualifier here being fast. I really like the bigger flutes, too, such as the Bb you mentioned, but perhaps because I spend less time with them, my fingers tend to more notice the stretch between the tone holes, not bad, but just enough to inhibit fast fingering.

YMMV.

matahari_1946 · Post by **matahari_1946** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:10 am

Wow, thanks for the replies! I'm still looking at all of your suggestions but here are a few of my thoughts; I don't like the look of Sweetheart flutes so I'd rather avoid those if I can, even if they do sound nice. I loved the clips of Martin Doyle's C flute on his website but I'm afraid that's a little too pricey for me. I'm too impatient to wait for an Olwell.

I liked the Copley D that I played for a few weeks, I'll look into this one. The rest I haven't had time to check out yet.

The C flute I played belongs to a local player (and C&F-er). It's a delrin McGee with that MDT thingy which I'm not crazy about. I didn't have any trouble getting the notes out or covering the holes but the tuning and intonation isn't very good. A couple of notes on it were pretty bad the last time I played it. (Sorry, Mark!) I liked the tone but playing this one has made me a little leery of getting one like it. Has anyone else tried a McGee delrin C? Or even a McGee wooden C?

Any other ideas for C's?

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:34 am

The Couple of McGee Cs I've played have been spot on in tuning. I think you'll find low flutes in general require a bit more control with embouchure and air stream to maximize intonation.

Doc

Aanvil · Post by **Aanvil** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:17 pm

Caroluna wrote:Dave Copley now makes a keyed C!
(and I have one ) Just got it a few weeks ago, so I've been waiting to get to know it better before posting.

It definitely has a different, more "dusky" voice than my D. It's a little harder to play because it takes more air. The span's larger but he was able to make it a bit more ergonomic than it might have been. I find it harder to do the ornaments, but I think that's a matter of getting used to it.

Dave Copley is great to work with-- he patiently answered all my questions, and was willing to do the little tweaks I asked for. And he was several weeks ahead of schedule!!!

I usually play in church situations and they seem to do things in the key of C or in multiple flats, so it's been working very well for me.

Good luck with your decision!

I'll second this. I played one of his Cs (actually a middle core d'recharge for a D ) little over a week ago. Really nice. I actually didn't find the stretch to be a problem and it was easy enough to fill. I have big hands though.

Real choc-co-la-teh it was too. Kinda like a Bb without the pain.

The fellow that owns it had nothing but praise for Dave and his bedside flute manner.

matahari_1946 · Post by **matahari_1946** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:49 pm

I'll admit my embouchure isn't the best so that definitely could have been the problem. If I remember correctly, the "E's" didn't sound so great and maybe an "A" too. I should have paid more attention! I just thought of this but it seems to me that the holes on this C flute were pretty small so maybe that's why I didn't have any trouble with the reach. Maybe I wouldn't be able to handle anything bigger than that.

Rob Sharer · Post by **Rob Sharer** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:30 pm

Aanvil wrote: I played one of his Cs (actually a middle core d'recharge for a D ) little over a week ago.

Hey, maybe we should do a whip 'round and send a "core d'recharge" to that guy in the other thread who needed to perk up after work! Cheers,

Rob

Aanvil · Post by **Aanvil** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:46 pm

Rob Sharer wrote:
Aanvil wrote: I played one of his Cs (actually a middle core d'recharge for a D ) little over a week ago.
Hey, maybe we should do a whip 'round and send a "core d'recharge" to that guy in the other thread who needed to perk up after work! Cheers,

Rob

Hey now... I can make up numerous words you'll be able to understand.

I couldn't be arsed to look it up at the time...what is the correct term anywho?

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C flutes

C flutes

Re: C flutes