Terry McGee - endorsements

greenspiderweb · Post by **greenspiderweb** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:39 pm

Henke wrote:I have the McGee Euro RAF at home with me now, and I've had it for a good few months. The guy knows he's stuff alright. The flute is flawless. I have one major complaint though: It's dead.It preforms better than any other flute I've tried. It has the volume, it has perfect intonation, but somehow it's just dead. It might be the square embouchure or the eccentric head. It feels like a silver flute. Lots of volume, lots of performance value, but it doesn't speak to me like a wooden flute should. I don't get that special feeling that I should get. I play it, and it barks out tunes in an effortless manner but there's no feeling, no joy, no passion when playing it. It might just be me. I just don't connect with it.I would like to try one of his traditional, oval embouchure flutes with standard cylindrical head, but I won't unless it's sent to me as a tour flute like this one. The man is more knowledgeable than most people in this bussiness, and he charges thereafter.

Henke, I don't know, that's a pretty strong statement considering you've been playing his flute for free for a few months now! That next flute tour might just circumnavigate around you next time!

But, to your credit, later you said that maybe it's just you. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that was a better explanation than the first statement about it being dead.

Give that same flute to some other fluter and it may be a completely different story-sometimes it's all in how you play a flute-if you are just honking out tunes you're going to get less tonal quality. If you are playing slow airs and you know how to get expression from your flute, it's a completely different thing. No doubt some flutes (and embouchure holes) are more suited to one type of playing than another, depending on who is playing it.

So, maybe it's not for you, but give it to another talented fluter that you know is capable of great expression, and see how it sounds in his hands. Have you heard someone else play it that plays well?

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:31 am

Well, maybe "dead" was a very strong word to use.
It's not so much about the tonal quality, although that has to do with it as well, and it has to be just me because others speak so highly of these flutes. The flute does preform better than anything else I've tried. It's loud, bright and very easy to play, but I guess I don't connect with its personality. To me it seems like it doesn't have much of a personality you see, and to me that's really important.
Although my old M&E does preform very well, it's not as loud and doesn't have as clear a voice as many other flutes, but I just love it's personality, and after trying out many flutes that costs three times as much, I can't justify a purchase of another, more expensive flute. The Jon C came closest to match the personality of the M&E, and it had other areas where it really excelled, so I just might get one of those later

So this has nothing at all to do with preformance, tonal quality (so much), playability, craftsmanship or anything else like that.
I suspect it's an embouchure issue as some people suggested earlier. It would probably click a lot easier with a traditional embouchure cut.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 11:00 am

Let me suggest we be a bit careful here in erring on the side
of letting people express negative responses to flutes.
It takes courage, there's a tendency to defend the maker's
work, and the natural response is that it's the critic who is
the problem. Maybe so, but better to leave such criticism
room to breathe--it's very valuable, IMO, and rare.

wolvy · Post by **wolvy** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 11:28 am

...and there can be several other variables that can contribute to the
overall assesment. For example, the room you are in where you play
a flute can have a big impact on your impression. Another can be something like if you have a cold and your ears are clogged a bit, etc, etc.

...and also, it can come down to personal taste as well.

Dana · Post by **Dana** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 11:53 am

It would be interesting to understand the reason a person would keep a borrowed flute for several months that they thought was dead and/or had little personality.

How about sending it my way?

Byron · Post by **Byron** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 12:19 pm

I agree with Jim. I actually thought Henke praised the flute quite highly.

I think the expressive qualities of round vs. rectangular (and points in between) have been discussed enough to automatically allow for personal preference.

For myself, I didn't feel Henke stepped over any bounds.

Byron

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 12:30 pm

Yeah, it's one thing when somebody says 'ACME flutes suck,'
and another when you get a sincere and intelligent appraisal
that's negative, which is what Henke did--not to judge
whether he's right or what it means, ultimately.

It's one thing to say, well, I have one of these and it rocks.
It's another to say the problem is the reviewer.
The problem is that, in the past, when people dared to
say something critical about an instrument, they got
mobbed and trashed. That means nobody is going to
say negative things here, and that's dysfunctional,
finally. Input is input, and negative input deserves
the room to live. If we just say nice things or keep
silent, we aren't going to get an objective view of
these flutes.

Wormdiet · Post by **Wormdiet** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:23 pm

Henke's reviews have been entirely honest, on topic, professional, and appropriate IMO.

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:57 pm

Many good points. And thanks for the support Jim, Byron and Wormdiet

To adress wolvy first, I have played this flute all over the place for quite a few months. I've even taken it and played it with my band, where it did really good thanks to spot on intonation and good, piercing volume. I notice this "problem" mostly when I'm alone with the flute. Something about the chemistry I guess

But I feel like I've given it a fair chance. And as I've said, it is a good flute, and I can definately see uses for it from my point of view as well, but I wouldn't buy one. It's too expensive.

And Dana, because the guy who's in charge of the tour haven't told me yet who I should send the flute to next. I don't know if there is anyone else on the list right now, or if he's just very busy. I've even asked him a couple of times and he's told me he'll get back to me soon about where to send it. I guess I could just send it back to him, but I'm not that eager to get rid of the flute. As I said, it's a flute I wouldn't mind owning, but I wouldn't buy it.
And there is a US RAF as well. You can sign up for that one.

Cheers all

greenspiderweb · Post by **greenspiderweb** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 4:01 pm

Wormdiet wrote:Henke's reviews have been entirely honest, on topic, professional, and appropriate IMO.

I don't have a problem with any of Henke's reviews except for the description of calling the flute dead. Negative or honest feedback is helpful, but if you say something is dead, well, that's kind of final.

Not connecting personally with the tonal qualities of a flute is very easy to understand-nothing works for everybody. I'm not putting Henke down for being negative, but suggesting that's not a very accurate term to use.

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 4:07 pm

greenspiderweb wrote:
Wormdiet wrote:Henke's reviews have been entirely honest, on topic, professional, and appropriate IMO.
I don't have a problem with any of Henke's reviews except for the description of calling the flute dead. Negative or honest feedback is helpful, but if you say something is dead, well, that's kind of final.

Not connecting personally with the tonal qualities of a flute is very easy to understand-nothing works for everybody. I'm not putting Henke down for being negative, but suggesting that's not a very accurate term to use.

I thought I had explained that already. I realize that "dead" might have been a strong word. By dead I ment lacking in character or personality. What did you think I ment by the term dead? I already said that it has awsome performance, so it can't be dead as in not sounding or anything like that.

Wormdiet · Post by **Wormdiet** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 5:44 pm

I'll post something tangentially related on the odd chance that somebody might find value in it. I had a very similar experience with another instrument - a guitar. This was my dream guitar - the very best Rickenbacker electric 12-string money can buy, in a custom finish. It's the same kind of guitar (more or less) that George Harrison played on Hard Day's night. I loved the jangly sound, the distorted sound was unearthly and awesome, it played easily, and looked absolutely killer.

But I never bonded with it, preferring to play my more homely 330-six string. So I sold the 12 and have not looked back. (THe proceeds are going to my Terry flute, oddly enough.) Had I an occasion to get another 12 string, I'd probably get exactly the same model, and I firmly believe that I could totally fall in love with it. Sometimes it is down to the individual instrument.

greenspiderweb · Post by **greenspiderweb** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 6:15 pm

Henke wrote:
greenspiderweb wrote:
Wormdiet wrote:Henke's reviews have been entirely honest, on topic, professional, and appropriate IMO.
I don't have a problem with any of Henke's reviews except for the description of calling the flute dead. Negative or honest feedback is helpful, but if you say something is dead, well, that's kind of final.

Not connecting personally with the tonal qualities of a flute is very easy to understand-nothing works for everybody. I'm not putting Henke down for being negative, but suggesting that's not a very accurate term to use.
I thought I had explained that already. I realize that "dead" might have been a strong word. By dead I ment lacking in character or personality. What did you think I ment by the term dead? I already said that it has awsome performance, so it can't be dead as in not sounding or anything like that.

Yes, Henke, you had explained that already. I was replying to Wormdiet and the "defenders of freedom" by telling them that I wasn't jumping on you or your review-just how the use of dead seemed to me.

I actually got a chuckle out of it the first time I read it!
Carry on, you're doing a fine job-you've got the people's vote!

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 6:22 pm

Strange how these discussions can develop. But I'm just a slight bit confused now

BTT!

greenspiderweb · Post by **greenspiderweb** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 6:26 pm

Henke wrote:Strange how these discussions can develop. But I'm just a slight bit confused now

BTT!

As you should be!

Me too.