probably a frighteningly stupid question...

Callidor · Post by **Callidor** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:40 pm

I'm almost a little afraid to ask this, but I feel like I should probably know the answer.

concerning the small screws in the knobs at the end of the ribs on my flute...do they serve some sort of purpose besides the typical purpose of a screw? Specifically, is there any reason why they shouldn't be fully tightened? I ask because some of them had a little bit of room to turn on my brandy new (albeit, cheap) flute.

I don't know if this has something to do with spring retension or tone or anything of the flute itself, or if it's an error.

Having played with them a little bit (Oh god, should I not have?..) I didn't seem to notice any difference..except maybe a slight improvement in the problem i talked about here: http://www.fluteland.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=2117

though I think I'm probably imagining that. help!

fluteplayer123 · Post by **fluteplayer123** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 5:48 pm

The screw do actually have a purpose. Okay, STORY TIME!!! When I played the flute in elementary school, I had a solo in a concert. I was playing a song and I was really playing in a whole other key (it definitely wasn't C). The song didn't go right. I figured out one of the screws at the top came out so I screwed it in with my finger nail and got to play the solo again! The purpose of this story is to tell you that the screws can affect your in tune-ness.

Callidor · Post by **Callidor** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 5:58 pm

well then, do i want in screwed in all the way, or should it have a little bit of play? (my tone and key seems to be alright since i screwed them in tighter.)

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:37 pm

Okay...Here we go....

Stop before you do anything! I understand that you are trying to make sure your flute is in good working order, and it is a good ambition, but listen carefully. I am not trying to be rude, but to keep you from making a co$tly mistake.

The screws do NOT affect the tuning of your flute. They are there to keep your flute together, and to keep the adjustments correct among the keys. DO NOT mess with them unless you have been trained and know what you are doing.

DO NOT screw them all the way in [this will cause leaks, and could bind a few keys so that your flute won't play anymore]. They are supposed to have a little extra room to screw in and out. This is so that you can get the proper adjustment.

Please take my advice. I have seen WAY too many people screw all of the screw in, and do damage to their instrument. So, my best advice is, is that if your flute plays, then dont do anything to it. If it doesnt play, or doesnt play as well as it used to, then take it to a technitian to fix it.

The screws are NOT supposed to be screwed all of the way in. Do NOT take any of them out. Just leave them alone, and it will make you MUCH happier and worry free.

Callidor · Post by **Callidor** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 9:12 pm

fluteguy18 wrote: Okay...Here we go....

Stop before you do anything! I understand that you are trying to make sure your flute is in good working order, and it is a good ambition, but listen carefully. I am not trying to be rude, but to keep you from making a co$tly mistake.

The screws do NOT affect the tuning of your flute. They are there to keep your flute together, and to keep the adjustments correct among the keys. DO NOT mess with them unless you have been trained and know what you are doing.

DO NOT screw them all the way in [this will cause leaks, and could bind a few keys so that your flute won't play anymore]. They are supposed to have a little extra room to screw in and out. This is so that you can get the proper adjustment.

Please take my advice. I have seen WAY too many people screw all of the screw in, and do damage to their instrument. So, my best advice is, is that if your flute plays, then dont do anything to it. If it doesnt play, or doesnt play as well as it used to, then take it to a technitian to fix it.

The screws are NOT supposed to be screwed all of the way in. Do NOT take any of them out. Just leave them alone, and it will make you MUCH happier and worry free.

alright, thanks. so now my question becomes this: having been a fool and messed with them, should I now attempt to rectify my mistake and pull them out a bit to around where I found them, or just leave them as they are now? I don't seem to have inadvertantly destroyed anything, and the flute does play now..so should I assume that I didn't harm anything? Or would it be safest to pull them back out and give them some room?

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:29 am

It will never cease to amaze that people will monkey about with a screwdriver in areas where they have little or no knowledge

Next time use a cold chisel and club hammer

Callidor · Post by **Callidor** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:27 am

yes its a habit of mine...i have a compulsive need to destroy the shiney things I own. but aknowledging my idiocy will only get us so far..

can anyone answer my previous question? I'm thinking that when I get home I'm just going to give these screws a little bit of room, putting them back where they were initially. I guess I just need to know if in doing so, I weild the capacity for even further destruction.

Eh..I feel like an idiot. I own this instrument not one week and I can't resist the urge to somehow completely break it

I was just getting frustrated with the aforementioned problem to the point that i got impatient and started to dabble around in stuff that, as you said, Vandoren, I know absolutely nothing about. Which is ironic and stupid because there are plenty of wholely beneficial uses I can be putting screwdrivers towards.

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:04 am

The screws control the interaction that occurs between the various keys when Right Hand keys are depressed. As you can see the depression of a RH key will cause other key(s) to be actioned as well. The lag or lead of this action is adjusted by the screws. There is also interaction between these adjustments.

TAKE THE FLUTE TO A PROFESSIONAL AND GET IT SET UP.

This may also correct your original problem.

Callidor · Post by **Callidor** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:36 pm

Alright, I spoke with the manager of repairs at the store where I bought the flute. It seems to be working fine right now, but it looks like I'll be bringing it in on Monday to have him take a look, put things as they should be, and hopefully fix the initial problem I was having. (nice guy.) Also, I'm thinking I'm going to bring in my mom's flute as well (the old Gemeinhardt M3S) and see if he thinks it needs any work.

I seem to do crap like this a lot and never really learn my lesson

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:58 pm

Sorry I couldn't respond more quickly.

Okay. Good. Take both flutes when you go. Eventually, I am sure that you will want to move up to an open hole flute , so it would be a good idea to have the gemmie looked at. Even though it is older, and newer ones will have less intonation issues, old ones do just fine [my first open hole flute was rather old].

As for your idiocy.... I wouldn't go so far as that. Saying derogatory things to yourself does more harm than good. So, while it was just good natured curiosity, you must try to keep in mind that curiosity killed the cat.

I am sure you havent ruined your flute. It just isnt working as well as it should. The repairman should be able to readjust it rather quickly.

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 3:47 pm

Good move and good luck on Monday

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 10:00 pm

My signature says it all...

Hoshi_Flute · Post by **Hoshi_Flute** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:48 am

pied_piper wrote:My signature says it all...

Callidor · Post by **Callidor** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:56 pm

haha! i did remember your signature sometime after this whole thing took place. and yes, my mom's flute is open-hole. While I do intend to buy other advanced flutes as I progress, I really would like to keep this one in good working order and play it. perhaps I can make it something of an heirloom ^^;

Callidor · Post by **Callidor** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:30 pm

Well he said both flutes have leaks and could use adjustment. He's going away for a week tomorrow to do some performances though, so it'll have to wait a little bit.

the humerous part of the story, however, is that there seems to have been a bit of a misunderstanding. the screws i played with were the ones at the very very end of the ribs. just the ones that are for physically holding keys in place, not the adjustment screws. he said in that respect the flute's fine, nothings so tight as to cause key binding, and I couldn't really have caused any harm. the leaks are just due to the fact that its a cheap learner flute. (Guess i get what I pay for). I guess i didn't really describe well enough which screws I was adjusting at the start of this thread ^^;

And as for the Gemeinhardt, he says it's in pretty solid condition, just needs some tweaking. that made me happy