I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I joined the session many years ago, and haven't posted for God knows how long. Anyway, I want to get a damn good Irish flute that really sounds like one. I'll do my best to describe the sound in my head in words, bit tricky, this: gritty, dirty, dark, woody, fat, fruity, and absolutely not remotely metal or classical. Do you get the idea? Please let me know any makers you would recommend. I'm not gonna say a budget, I just want to know what's out there that may fit the bill. I've played the whistle for years, and can get a good sound out of a classical flute, if that helps you with your suggestions.
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
Can of worm mu chacho..Check out the Discussion on Grinter or Hamilton or the merits of both posted out week ago. Sum gud advice to be had. Im in the market and all
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
this: gritty, dirty, dark, woody, fat, fruity, and absolutely not remotely metal..mabye check out the dirty shops near smithfeild in Belfastthat everyone pretens not to know exist
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
Hi Jonathan,
There's a number of names that spring into head at once. I can't say I'm the best expert on this site to give advice to other people, but from my meagre experience, there's a lot of good makers out there, and their flutes will be satisfying for you, if you can play them right.
Not to leave you with just general babble, I will certainly recommend Glenn Watson from Galway, as I play his flute and I know it well; it has the sort of a sound you describe, it plays very well and with no effort. There are plenty of other makers who are worth the praise, but I didn't try them enough to give you the reference.
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I totally know the sound you mean; that's what I was looking for when I bought my flute and it hasn't disappointed me (or I should say, I haven't disappointed it). There are so many good flute makers out there, you really just need to shop around, listen to sound samples if the makers can provide you with some, etc. I absolutely love my flute, it's made by Terry McGee, a large-holed Rudall Perfected model in blackwood. It's got that dark, rich, round, woody tone to it. I would recommend checking out his site in your search, and of course check out lots of others too before making your decision.
Good luck!
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
"I joined the session many years ago, and haven't posted for God knows how long."
Not that I am calling myself God at all but you last posted on August 11th 2004. You are right that is some time.
Good luck in your flute search. I know a lot of flute players in Scotland have flutes made by George Ormiston (http://www.ormistonflutes.co.uk/). Some folk don't like his flutes, some swear by them.
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
All the makers listed above make very nice flutes, but I'm firmly of the opinion that ANY decent flute will work for you - especially at first until you have played long enough to know what kind of flute you personally will do best with...and there is one huge reason for this - it's not the flute that truly gives the sound you're looking for, it's you. I've played Hamilton, Seery, Dixon, Sweetheart, Olwell, McGee and Doyle flutes, and I sound just about the same on all of them - I sound like me. My flute teacher, who plays an antique Chapelle, sounded nearly the very same on my M&E, and I'm not sure I could tell them apart in a blind test if he was playing both back to back.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying a Boehm flute will sound the same as a Baroque flute or a modern Irish flute (either pratten, rudall or hawkes based), but when it comes to good modern Irish flutes, the single biggest factor in how the flute sounds is you.
So...listen to lots of flute recordings or live players, if possible, try a few flutes and see what feels best to you, and just get one and stick with it for a very long time.
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
The sound will have to come from you, the player, whatever flute you have. I can get raspy sounds out of my Boehm flute quite well too...
Where I find the simple system flutes better for this music is for the ornamentation and lack of uniformity over the scale. i.e. E has a totally different character to D due to differences in venting etc. And the ornamentation is possible with a mechanism but considerably easier without. The conical bore also makes a big diffference compared to the cylindrical Boehm bore, but raspiness and earthiness are available with both.
What does matter is how well the particular flute you buy suits you personally. So, get out there and try as many as possible before buying. If buying blind, then pretty much any of the respected modern flute maker's product will be ok; throw a dice, count your money or look at where the maker lives in order to decide.
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I agree with Jayhawk, Crackpot, & Yoda: "The tone you seek come from you it must."
I've had the good fortune to be able to sample flutes from many different world-class makers -- and even two genuine Ruddalls. They all sound remarkably like mine.
A world-class maker can take your style, aspirations, & goals into consideration when making your flute, too, and optimize the design accordingly.
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
Thank you for all of your useful tips and advice. I've been looking at McGee's flute website, and I'm very drawn. I shall be making enquiries. Time to start my flute fund . . .
I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I joined the session many years ago, and haven't posted for God knows how long. Anyway, I want to get a damn good Irish flute that really sounds like one. I'll do my best to describe the sound in my head in words, bit tricky, this: gritty, dirty, dark, woody, fat, fruity, and absolutely not remotely metal or classical. Do you get the idea? Please let me know any makers you would recommend. I'm not gonna say a budget, I just want to know what's out there that may fit the bill. I've played the whistle for years, and can get a good sound out of a classical flute, if that helps you with your suggestions.
Many thanks.
Jonathan
# Posted on April 16th 2009 by Jonathan
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
Can of worm mu chacho..Check out the Discussion on Grinter or Hamilton or the merits of both posted out week ago. Sum gud advice to be had. Im in the market and all
# Posted on April 16th 2009 by Trucks_Mulligan
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
worms
# Posted on April 16th 2009 by Trucks_Mulligan
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
this: gritty, dirty, dark, woody, fat, fruity, and absolutely not remotely metal..mabye check out the dirty shops near smithfeild in Belfastthat everyone pretens not to know exist
# Posted on April 16th 2009 by Trucks_Mulligan
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
Hi Jonathan,
There's a number of names that spring into head at once. I can't say I'm the best expert on this site to give advice to other people, but from my meagre experience, there's a lot of good makers out there, and their flutes will be satisfying for you, if you can play them right.
Not to leave you with just general babble, I will certainly recommend Glenn Watson from Galway, as I play his flute and I know it well; it has the sort of a sound you describe, it plays very well and with no effort. There are plenty of other makers who are worth the praise, but I didn't try them enough to give you the reference.
# Posted on April 16th 2009 by EastPole
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I totally know the sound you mean; that's what I was looking for when I bought my flute and it hasn't disappointed me (or I should say, I haven't disappointed it). There are so many good flute makers out there, you really just need to shop around, listen to sound samples if the makers can provide you with some, etc. I absolutely love my flute, it's made by Terry McGee, a large-holed Rudall Perfected model in blackwood. It's got that dark, rich, round, woody tone to it. I would recommend checking out his site in your search, and of course check out lots of others too before making your decision.
Good luck!
# Posted on April 17th 2009 by Tasia
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
"I joined the session many years ago, and haven't posted for God knows how long."
Not that I am calling myself God at all but you last posted on August 11th 2004. You are right that is some time.
Good luck in your flute search. I know a lot of flute players in Scotland have flutes made by George Ormiston (http://www.ormistonflutes.co.uk/). Some folk don't like his flutes, some swear by them.
# Posted on April 17th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I see his website is down just now for a redesign.
There is some info here:
http://www.dwalker.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Ormiston%20Flutes.htm
# Posted on April 17th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
All the makers listed above make very nice flutes, but I'm firmly of the opinion that ANY decent flute will work for you - especially at first until you have played long enough to know what kind of flute you personally will do best with...and there is one huge reason for this - it's not the flute that truly gives the sound you're looking for, it's you. I've played Hamilton, Seery, Dixon, Sweetheart, Olwell, McGee and Doyle flutes, and I sound just about the same on all of them - I sound like me. My flute teacher, who plays an antique Chapelle, sounded nearly the very same on my M&E, and I'm not sure I could tell them apart in a blind test if he was playing both back to back.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying a Boehm flute will sound the same as a Baroque flute or a modern Irish flute (either pratten, rudall or hawkes based), but when it comes to good modern Irish flutes, the single biggest factor in how the flute sounds is you.
So...listen to lots of flute recordings or live players, if possible, try a few flutes and see what feels best to you, and just get one and stick with it for a very long time.
Eric
# Posted on April 17th 2009 by Jayhawk
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
The sound will have to come from you, the player, whatever flute you have. I can get raspy sounds out of my Boehm flute quite well too...
Where I find the simple system flutes better for this music is for the ornamentation and lack of uniformity over the scale. i.e. E has a totally different character to D due to differences in venting etc. And the ornamentation is possible with a mechanism but considerably easier without. The conical bore also makes a big diffference compared to the cylindrical Boehm bore, but raspiness and earthiness are available with both.
What does matter is how well the particular flute you buy suits you personally. So, get out there and try as many as possible before buying. If buying blind, then pretty much any of the respected modern flute maker's product will be ok; throw a dice, count your money or look at where the maker lives in order to decide.
Chris.
# Posted on April 17th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
I agree with Jayhawk, Crackpot, & Yoda: "The tone you seek come from you it must."
I've had the good fortune to be able to sample flutes from many different world-class makers -- and even two genuine Ruddalls. They all sound remarkably like mine.
A world-class maker can take your style, aspirations, & goals into consideration when making your flute, too, and optimize the design accordingly.
# Posted on April 17th 2009 by browndog
Re: I wanna buy a "real" Irish flute. Any makers recommended?
Thank you for all of your useful tips and advice. I've been looking at McGee's flute website, and I'm very drawn. I shall be making enquiries. Time to start my flute fund . . .
Jonathan
# Posted on April 20th 2009 by Jonathan