Chocolate or buttercream? (2 flutes made by Dominic Allan)

The Chiff & Fipple Irish Flute on-line community. Sideblown for your protection.
Post Reply
User avatar
claudine
Posts: 1128
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi, I am a choir singer from Luxembourg trying to get back to Irish flute playing after a few years of absence from ITM.
Location: Luxembourg

Chocolate or buttercream? (2 flutes made by Dominic Allan)

Post by claudine »

Image

Image

Image

Image

The boxwood flute is an S1 model, small bore and rudallish, which I got in april 2005. It has a nice warm tone and is easy to play. Little air requirement and easy finger spacing. There are nevertheless a few problems with this one: the 2nd octave A is always flat and very difficult to blow up to tune. G and B in the 2nd octave are also a bit flat, but usually I can correct that. This is probably due to the small bore and the fact that I'm used to play Prattenstyle flutes. A better fluteplayer would probably be able to play this flute perfectly in tune. This flute is also very
sensitive to heat and dry air. As long as I keep it in its cool and humidified closet it's ok, but otherwise the body tends to take a banana shape. The boxwood flute looks lovely and smells good and I love it dearly, despite the minor troubles it causes sometimes.

The darker flute is an S2 model, Pratten style, and brandnew as I just got it last wednesday. It is made of leadwood and artificial ivory. It has a bigger bore, open sound, and it is a bit louder. It is also very easy to play in tune. Although I have not yet played it much, I think that this is probably going to be my favourite session flute.

Image

Image

Dominic has also made me this little wooden flutependant. It is 2 inches long (51 mm). This is my flute talisman which will keep me happy during hard times when fluteplaying is not possible. And I also believe that it has some magic power that will make me a better fluteplayer, if I only believe in it. :wink:
Last edited by claudine on Sun Jun 18, 2006 2:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Top
User avatar
chas
Posts: 7703
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: East Coast US

Post by chas »

What great pics, Caludine! The flutes are beautiful, but the flowers add quite a bit, too.
Charlie
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
Top
User avatar
Whistlin'Dixie
Posts: 2281
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2002 6:00 pm
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: It's too darn hot!

Post by Whistlin'Dixie »

I have to say, I pick chocolate!

Love the little flute pendant!

M
Top
User avatar
claudine
Posts: 1128
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi, I am a choir singer from Luxembourg trying to get back to Irish flute playing after a few years of absence from ITM.
Location: Luxembourg

Post by claudine »

The photos were made by my daughter Tessy. She is the artist in the family.
Top
jim stone
Posts: 17190
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2001 6:00 pm

Post by jim stone »

Might the maker tune/tweak your boxwood flute
so as to get it in tune?

Thanks for the lovely photos.
Top
User avatar
Alan
Posts: 606
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: From the land beyond beyond. From the time past hope and fear. I bid you, Genie, now appear! Well, the Genie did not appear but the notification to type at least 100 characters did so I am back and typing some more as you, if anyone actually sees this, can probably tell.
Location: Auburn, California

Post by Alan »

Tessy did a nice job on the pictures of that distinctive pair of flutes, Claudine.

I hope you get ample time to play them.

So that is leadwood... very nice and in looking up info on it I see it is termite resistant too! :lol:
Alan
Top
User avatar
claudine
Posts: 1128
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi, I am a choir singer from Luxembourg trying to get back to Irish flute playing after a few years of absence from ITM.
Location: Luxembourg

Post by claudine »

jim stone wrote:Might the maker tune/tweak your boxwood flute
so as to get it in tune?

Thanks for the lovely photos.
Jim, I haven't asked him yet, but I am sure he would offer help if I asked him. I believe that I just need to spend more time practicing this flute. Sometimes when the flute is well warmed up and when I concentrate, the tuning is quite good. So before fiddling around with the instrument, I would rather try to "tweak" my own way of playing.
Top
User avatar
Jon C.
Posts: 3526
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I restore 19th century flutes, specializing in Rudall & Rose, and early American flutes. I occasionally make new flutes. Been at it for about 15 years.
Location: San Diego

Re: Chocolate or buttercream? (2 flutes made by Dominic Alla

Post by Jon C. »

The boxwood flute is an S1 model, small bore and rudallish, which I got in april 2005. It has a nice warm tone and is easy to play. Little air requirement and easy finger spacing. There are nevertheless a few problems with this one: the 2nd octave A is always flat and very difficult to blow up to tune. G and B in the 2nd octave are also a bit flat, but usually I can correct that. This is probably due to the small bore and the fact that I'm used to play Prattenstyle flutes. A better fluteplayer would probably be able to play this flute perfectly in tune. This flute is also very
sensitive to heat and dry air. As long as I keep it in its cool and humidified closet it's ok, but otherwise the body tends to take a banana shape. The boxwood flute looks lovely and smells good and I love it dearly, despite the minor troubles it causes sometimes.

Hi Claudine,
Dominic makes nice flutes, I have played Toddyboys 6 key.
You might try changing the cork locaton on the Boxwood. To sharpen the second octave you would bring the cork a little closer to the emb hole, say 18.5 mm instead of the standard 19 mm. Measure it first before you move it, so you can always move it back if need be. The cork adjustment usually effects the upper notes of the second octave.
"I love the flute because it's the one instrument in the world where you can feel your own breath. I can feel my breath with my fingers. It's as if I'm speaking from my soul..."
Michael Flatley


Jon
Top
User avatar
claudine
Posts: 1128
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi, I am a choir singer from Luxembourg trying to get back to Irish flute playing after a few years of absence from ITM.
Location: Luxembourg

Post by claudine »

thanks for your advice Jon. The cork can not be moved, at least I didn't succeed when I tried to move it. I will ask Dominic about it now.
Top
User avatar
kevin m.
Posts: 1666
Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2002 6:00 pm
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: Tyne and Wear,U,K.

Post by kevin m. »

Lovely photos Claudine-thanks for sharing.
"I blame it on those Lead Fipples y'know."
Top
User avatar
claudine
Posts: 1128
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi, I am a choir singer from Luxembourg trying to get back to Irish flute playing after a few years of absence from ITM.
Location: Luxembourg

Post by claudine »

Update: Dominic asked me to send the flute back so he can retune it if necessary.
Top
Post Reply

Return to “Flute Forum”