Hall Crystal Flute in D

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 10:26 am

I recently aquired a Hall "crystal" (Pyrex, actually) flute in D. Since these instruments are sometimes mentioned here, I thought I would post my thoughts on it.

Sound samples will follow as soon as I have time to record them.

First, appearances: clear glass tube with "rolled" tone holes and embouchure hole. The appearance is very striking, if a little odd. It's a lovely thing to look at.

When I saw the rolled edge on the embouchure, I was thinking I had made a mistake in buying this flute, but it is actually not as hard to blow as I had feared. It seems to respond best to a very loose, relaxed embouchure, and only moderate breath pressure.

I was surprised to find this flute plays easily into the third octave with a very soft, sweet sound. The flip side, though, is the lowest notes are hard to hit solidly, cannot be played with much volume, and do not project well.

This flute doesn't have the lightning-fast response of the Irish flute, and playing trad music approaching normal speed would be quite challenging; however, it works quite well for airs and slower pieces.

It has a nice soft, round sound, although it sounds a bit hollow when compared to either the Irish flute or the modern orchestral flute.

All in all, it's a nice flute to have, if not very useful in Irish music. To speak plainly, while I enjoy playing it, this wouldn't be a very good flute to learn to play Irish flute on.

--James

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 12:16 pm

I've seen those flutes go on eBay for less than peanuts before. Been tempted...but I need more whistles first. I think all the ivy and clematis and whatever-it-is is ugly, too.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 12:46 pm

James,

I think your review is dead on. However, with more practice I was able to play it fairly quickly - although not quite up to session speed. For the price, I actually think they are a good deal if you're wanting something for classical or airs.

Eric

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 2:06 pm

James

The Hall's embouchure leans more toward the "beer bottle" embouchure with its rounded lip. Because of this roundness it is more "stable" and harder to "flip" registers like the sharper and more angled Irish embouchure.

If you wish to improve the "attack", you can build-up a layer of clear nail polish on the "away" edge and then sharpen it with a fine grit file. This will not harm the instrument and can easily be removed with nail polish remover and a little elbow grease. Of course, this will not last forever. Send an E-mail to the Hall Staff and ask if they will "modify" your embouchure for a fast attack "reel" flute.

As for the weakness of the low notes, you can use the same nail polish to build-up a ring at the bore end,reduce the hole diameter and create "backpressure" to firm up these notes. If these reversible "tweaks" work for you, maybe a local glass worker could make these changes in the glass itself?

Thomas Hastay.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 4:26 am

I also have one of these. It's not so bad. Being made of Pyrex, it does have a little bit of a test tube appearance, though.

It was the flute that I used on the recording of Be Thou My Vision that I did with BrassBlower, Gary, and Tuaz.

Amuse friends and family by blowing into the end, causing a fog to appear, and then breathing the fog back out.

I've had two Hall Crystal Flutes. One I got a few years back, at a music store, for between $25 and $30. It was in G. It eventually got broken. The one I have now, I got for $25, and is in D.

Hall also makes a line of panpipes, and didgeridoos, as well as noters for Appalachian dulcimers.