Abell Flute

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:42 pm

i was looking on Abellflute.com, and his flutes go for 12k, that was the most beautiful flute ive ever seen. does anybody have one? if you do, how does it play?

Jack Bradshaw · Post by **Jack Bradshaw** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:18 pm

Surely you jest ! (that's not a simple-system flute..or price)

Dave Parkhurst · Post by **Dave Parkhurst** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:12 am

I believe Jessie K has one, and she has raved positively about it. They are lookers, aren't they? And NOT to be confused with the Chinese imitations you find on eBay... do not buy those unless you are anxious to lose money...

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:25 am

Jack Bradshaw wrote:Surely you jest ! (that's not a simple-system flute..or price)

Nope, they're Boehm.

To answer the original question, I haven't played one. But, I have played his heads and they're quite wonderful. With one of his headjoints you can make an old gym sock sound like a $12000 flute.

I'm playing a boxwood Noy joint on my really cheap Yamaha and it sounds absoulutely marvelous. I don't know why I would ever need an expensive body.

Doc

Jack Bradshaw · Post by **Jack Bradshaw** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:47 am

Doc Jones wrote:
Jack Bradshaw wrote:Surely you jest ! (that's not a simple-system flute..or price)
Nope, they're Boehm.

To answer the original question, I haven't played one. But, I have played his heads and they're quite wonderful. With one of his headjoints you can make an old gym sock sound like a $12000 flute.

I'm playing a boxwood Noy joint on my really cheap Yamaha and it sounds absoulutely marvelous. I don't know why I would ever need an expensive body.

Doc

I'll second that, my Noy (blackwood) head gets all kind of overuse cuz' I keep playing it on everthing under the sun......speaking of which...it's beginning to look much more faded than the body....might be time for an overhaul...

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:46 am

Played one, a friend has one (Abell).

Very very beautiful, lovely wooden sound,
but Boehm, of course.

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:28 pm

On the upside, apparently Abell Flutes does offer a nice selection of whistles, at prices nowhere near $12K.

croberts · Post by **croberts** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:05 pm

Got one 4 or 5 years ago after a 2 year wait. I love it! Projects very well and still has that wooden flute sound. Just a tiny bit slower response than a silver flute...for me, anyway.

The whistles he makes are pretty amazing, too.

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:25 pm

Hei, croberts,

It was many years until I first tried a wooden flute, and I must say that I really was both surprised and delighted to find that a wooden flute really can SING!!

Your comment, however, about a slight hesitation in terms of response seems about right. Such a hesitation, however, is likely very, very slight, eh?

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:54 pm

No, I don't have one. They are great, though. I have a Powell wooden flute. I was looking for an Abell flute when the Powell came to me.

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:24 pm

JessieK wrote:...I have a Powell wooden flute...

Quite honestly, I had no idea that Powell ever made a wooden flute!!

Let me add, moreover, that I have a silver (metal) Haynes flute, dated March of the year 1915, not long into metal flute production for Haynes, and, I believe that Haynes continued wooden flute production for perhaps another several years beyond that.

Powell, after all, worked for Haynes, first.

Then again, Powell did make some very, very fine flutes!!

Dana · Post by **Dana** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:49 pm

Powell began making wood flutes in the last few years. They are modern-scale blackwood flutes that are designed to play like recent silver orchestral flutes, but with the added warmth of wood. I own one.

Dana

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:23 pm

Dana wrote:Powell began making wood flutes in the last few years. They are modern-scale blackwood flutes that are designed to play like recent silver orchestral flutes, but with the added warmth of wood. I own one.

Dana

Blessed be!!

springrobin · Post by **springrobin** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:49 am

Does anyone have experience with both Powell & Abell wooden flutes? If so, how do they compare? Not that I could afford either right now, but while this thread is still fresh.......

Aodhan · Post by **Aodhan** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:05 am

springrobin wrote:Does anyone have experience with both Powell & Abell wooden flutes? If so, how do they compare? Not that I could afford either right now, but while this thread is still fresh.......

Not to hijack, but I went and looked at the Powell site, did anyone see the price for a gold boehm flute??? A tad under 40k, WITHOUT the headjoint!

2,500 for a keyed Reviol is suddenly looking mighty cheap...

John