6 keyed D flute made by Michel Bonamy

[Gweniz]

Hello! I'm selling my beautiful 6 keyed D flute made by Michel Bonamy. I'm selling it in order to buy another instrument.
6 keys: Eb, 2 keys F, G#,Bb, C. All keys & rings in sterling silver. keys light, ergonomic, robust. excellent condition. new corks. Pratten type. Beautiful design and very good sound: warm, powerful and a bit breathy!
1800E Firm Price.

[jim stone]

Will you tell us more about the maker? And how do the keys work?

[Gweniz]

Michel Bonamy is a breton flutemaker, who learned making flutes with Martin Doyle & Eugène Lambe during 20 years. He moved for a few years in Oslo and finally returned in Britany the lasts years. More information here: http://michelbonamy.free.fr/
He's a great player, you can also heard him on guest on few discs like this one: https://myspace.com/talarlegroupe/music ... 4-90016110

the keys works very simple, as usual, it's just esthetic , a bit 'futurist' maybe? keys are very light, in silver.

[jim stone]

Thank you. Is there a tuning slide?

[Mr.Gumby]

the keys works very simple, as usual, it's just esthetic , a bit 'futurist' maybe? keys are very light, in silver.

It's maybe a reaction to the keywork on the flute he played himself (during the eighties anyway), a flute by a 19th century Viennese maker, Ziegler. That was elaborately keyed, to say the least.

[Gweniz]

yes, the tuning slide is different too: the head in the body of the flute. It's a different system, simple & works very good. I made this video today : http://youtu.be/F7M9qRv7LJI

[Nanohedron]

Interesting long and short touch solution using one hole for the F, there. Don't think I've seen that before. Seems very sensible.

[plunk111]

I assume you did your video into a mirror - you might want to mention that...

Pat

[Peter Duggan]

Interesting long and short touch solution using one hole for the F, there. Don't think I've seen that before.

See Rick Wilson's site for some early 19th century examples, with some other modern makers also doing it (Hans Bracker's Dominic Allan flute is set up this way).



Top/bottom (boxwood) flute by W. Liebel (Dresden, c.1825)


Top (boxwood) flute = copy of H. Grenser (Dresden, c.1800) by Folkers & Powell


Tabard (Lyon, c.1825)


A. F. Piering (Berlin, c.1815–20)


Dominic Allan

(Post edited to show more photos and add links/captions. Hans also has another good reverse-side photo I didn't include because it's quite a lot wider.)

[Gweniz]

I assume you did your video into a mirror - you might want to mention that...

Pat

No, sorry, it's because of Photobooth on Imac...

[Peter Duggan]

Interesting long and short touch solution using one hole for the F, there. Don't think I've seen that before.

See Rick Wilson's site for some early 19th century examples, with some other modern makers also doing it (Hans Bracker's Dominic Allan flute is set up this way).

But some of these (certainly Hans's Allan flute) have a short F key also opened by long F lever, whereas Gweniz's Bonamy flute appears to have a long F key also opened by short F lever (so moving far more with the short F, if you see what I mean).

[Dominic Allan]

Thinking about it, having a long F that can also be opened by a short F lever (as opposed to the way I do it now -short F opened by a long F lever) is actually slightly simpler to make.
I can't remember why I originally did it that way round, I may have a re-think on this!

[jemtheflute]

A long F key is much more mechanically efficient (and reliable) than a short one. Short F keys are comparatively difficult to design and make so they operate correctly and, if closing a pad, have to have a short, stiff spring, making their action relatively heavy even when well made and adjusted. A short F which is merely a lever lifting the long F shank can be very lightly sprung, just to keep it from moving/rattling when the long F is operated.

[Jon C.]

A long F key is much more mechanically efficient (and reliable) than a short one. Short F keys are comparatively difficult to design and make so they operate correctly and, if closing a pad, have to have a short, stiff spring, making their action relatively heavy even when well made and adjusted. A short F which is merely a lever lifting the long F shank can be very lightly sprung, just to keep it from moving/rattling when the long F is operated.

That is so true...

[Dominic Allan]

The short F key while fiddly isn't a major problem on it's own. The complexity I seem to have inflicted on myself is that the long F needs to do a sort of dog leg to connect to the short F, the short F needs a little tab on the side to connect to the long F .
A straight long f with a little lever from the short f running under it would be much easier.
I think I did it this way because there are similar keys on oboes and that's what I'd been doing before turning to flutes.