McCarty Low D Flute Review

[Julia Delaney]

You can buy a (C&B) flute direct from Dave Copley. Ditto a flute made and sold by Casey Burns. Not that I don't support Doc Jones - I do. A more decent, honest guy would be hard to find. But without the makers, there would be no flutes at all.
We need a list or some sort of poll recommending flutes that sell for less than $500, brand new and currently available. Nothing used and nothing in bamboo. Nothing from Pakistan.
Only list those flutes which have been played and recommended by people who have demonstrated an acceptable level of accomplishment to be able to tell whether a particular flute is worth owning. It could be tricky....
My list would include: Tipple, Forbes, Copley, Burns.
I haven't played a Gary Somers. Has anybody? Who else am I missing?

Cheap Flutes R Us

[benhall.1]

I would include Hammy in there, too.

[Jayhawk]

The idea of a list of good flutes under $500 is excellent, but the implementation of such a list is the difficulty.

Who determines who is accomplished enough to recommend a flute for the list and by what criteria is this decision made? That's always the problem with the internet. I've heard recordings, and made recordings, of very accomplished players that sound terrible due to what they were recorded with, sound quality of the room, etc.

That said, I agree with Ben Hall that the Hamilton (I assume practice flute) is a good addition to the list, M&E, and maybe Seery if they're below the $500 mark these days (which is doubtful with the value of the dollar).

Eric

[Julia Delaney]

Sure, Hammy of course. I forgot his practice flute.

Seems we could all agree on:

Tipple, Hammy, Burns, Copley, and Forbes.

[LorenzoFlute]

Man, all Americans except Hammy.
There are quite a few makers that make flutes at a low price, but they aren't talked much. Also considering that most of the forum community is from the states...

[Rob Sharer]

Sure, Hammy of course. I forgot his practice flute.

Seems we could all agree on:

Tipple, Hammy, Burns, Copley, and Forbes.

"All" is a stretch. I would hardly weight those choices equally, which is as far as I'm willing to go in public.


Rob

[Julia Delaney]

Othannen: Who are the makers from outside the US who offer good playable flutes for less than $500 (€350)? Are you implying some kind of chauvinism? If so you're badly mistaken.

Rob, I'm not saying all these flutes are equally good. Which makers who offer flutes in that price range would you like to see on that list?

[Doug_Tipple]

Othannen: Who are the makers from outside the US who offer good playable flutes for less than $500 (€350)? Are you implying some kind of chauvinism? If so you're badly mistaken.

Rob, I'm not saying all these flutes are equally good. Which makers who offer flutes in that price range would you like to see on that list?

I just assumed that the flutes were listed in the preferred order. Maybe I was wrong.

[Julia Delaney]

Doug, you could be wrong, yes. Are you vain? I thought Doyle had that category locked up.

Re: Who determines who is accomplished enough to recommend a flute for the list...? Our collective conscious. We saw what happened to poor old Alto, adrift on his yacht in the high seas, with only his black walnut flute to keep him company. Not much chance of a ringer slipping onto our list.

[LorenzoFlute]

Ah sorry I forgot to mention that there are other makers, but I didn't try their flutes. My point is that maybe they aren't talked much on this forum because most people here are from the states, and buy flutes from their country and are not familiar with what Europe has to offer.

Are you implying some kind of chauvinism?

I'm not.

[Doug_Tipple]

Doug, you could be wrong, yes. Are you vain? I thought Doyle had that category locked up.

Of course, you know that I am joking. That my Tipple flute leads the list is also raising Rob's eyebrows, I can see right through his computer screen. Personally, I would be happy to receive an honorable mention. I could revise the list, such as "Burns folk flute, Copley 3-pc delrin, Forbes 3-pc delrin, Hammy practice flute, Tipple 3-piece pvc flute", but, surely, someone would not be satisfied with that either.

As an aside but relevant to the above, my wife and I and our granddaughter went to the Indiana State Fair yesterday. The fairgrounds are only a couple of miles from our house. After showing my granddaughter through the cattle, horse, and sheep barns, trying to avoid stepping on you know what, we climbed aboard the tractor-drawn train that circles the extensive fairgrounds. We got off the train at the Pioneer Building, where my wife likes to chat with the ladies that are hooking rugs as a demonstration of a folk art. My wife, Rita, has been hooking rugs for many years and for a number of years has been the State Fair judge for the state-wide rug hooking competition, which are displayed in the Home Arts Building, along with sewing and other domestic arts. None of the ladies that were doing the rug looking demonstration knew that my wife was the judge, and they were complaining about the judging of the pieces that they all had submitted for the competition. When my wife told them that she was the judge of the competition, suddenly they became all smiles. Rita explained to them that she looked in detail at each rug, front and back, and made her decisions based on her years of experience and artistic sensitivity. The truth of the matter is that a different judge would most likely have judged the pieces differently, but that's the way it is in the arts. After that encounter in the Pioneer Building we got back on the train and got back to the Main Street, where I had my annual pork burger and our granddaughter opted for cotton candy and an elephant ear.

[Julia Delaney]

Well, my wife used be a hooker too, and I am not the least bit ashamed of her.

[jemtheflute]

First this thread gets rather seedy, now it's turning crochet-ty......

[Nanohedron]

Well, my wife used be a hooker too, and I am not the least bit ashamed of her.

A rugged individualist.

[Rob Sharer]

Of course, you know that I am joking. That my Tipple flute leads the list is also raising Rob's eyebrows, I can see right through his computer screen. Personally, I would be happy to receive an honorable mention.

Hoo boy. The only thing worse than being specific is being vague, apparently.

I wouldn't try reading too many specifics into my (non-)pronouncement, only that I'm not about to sign off on anyone else's list as presented. I will admit to a bias for conical-bore flutes, but then again I play bamboo flutes all the time. Horses for courses.


Rob