show off!

[Callidor]

I'm a member on a million message board, (I try to join one for more or less everythign i'm interested in), and I find that on most of them there's a thread or section where users can post some stuff about themselves personally, or personal stuff pretaining to the topic of the board atleast.

Just cause I'm a rather curious fellow, I thought it would be cool if there could be a thread where people could maybe post pictures of their flutes, or upload any of their performances...stuff like that. I'd be pretty interested to see members' flutes and/or hear them play if they're willing to share anything

I'd happily get it started and post some stuff of my own, but first I'd want to make sure that there isn't something like this already, or if it's by design that there isn't one. Any thoughts?

[concertino]

i think it's a great idea.



My flute--a Brannen sterling silver offset g soldered holes, French model. I ♥
it so much!

[fluteguy18]

I guess it is a good idea as long as people aren't directly comparing instruments saying that one is better than another. That could lead to someone's feelings being hurt if they are in more modest circumstances than others. I know for a while I was flat out embarrassed by my flute [before I upgraded this past February] because it was tarnished, peeling plating, and not a very good 'intermediate' model in comparison to the majority of 'intermediate' model flutes. But, it did the job, and I just had to keep reminding myself that there are others out there less fortunate than I am so I shouldnt complain. [Although it did look rather horrid, tarnish, peeling plating, dings, scratches, bad pads and all]. It was everything I could do to keep it playing until I had saved up the money for an upgrade to a handmade flute.

Concertino- Your flute is almost exactly like my "summer" flute professor's flute. It is a Brannen [same model as yours], but the only difference is that instead of a gold lip, she got a split E mech and the lip engraved. All around though, they are rather nice.

I already uploaded pics of mine awhile ago. Here is the URL:

viewtopic.php?t=1881&postdays=0&postord ... e&start=15

[Callidor]

on the bottom: my Benjamin Adams student flute. on the top: the Gemeinhardt M3S i've basically inhereted from my mom







edit: some better pictures, and removed the clip as I feel that I've improved and it's no longer an accurate representation of my skill lol. the BA looks dustier/crappier in pictures than in person >.>

[CaperFlutist]

sorry pics are dark..will take better ones later

headjoint


body


barrel

headjoint labelthin keys
lip plate

[Callidor]

those look nice. i cant get any to come out without the flash..and the ones i took with flash look bad =/

[concertino]

My pictures are taken without flash, but with a very slow shutter speed. No fingerprints show up either ~.^

Fluteguy - what kind of flute is yours? Do you think those anti tarnish strips really work? I had one for awhile but someone at Brannen Brothers threw it away when I was trying out head joints(the gold lip plate one is actually my second head joint, chose it after trying about 25 at Brannen).

Their newest feature is on my flute(not shown) is a gizmo next to the D# key. I'm not sure if I like it or not; my hands are really enormous so it doesn't really make a difference.

I hope no one is ashamed of their flute; not everyone gets the instrument that they really deserve. I played a Gemeinhardt 2sp closed hole for close to 5 years before I got my Brannen.

[fluteguy18]

My pictures are taken without flash, but with a very slow shutter speed. No fingerprints show up either ~.^

Fluteguy - what kind of flute is yours? Do you think those anti tarnish strips really work? I had one for awhile but someone at Brannen Brothers threw it away when I was trying out head joints(the gold lip plate one is actually my second head joint, chose it after trying about 25 at Brannen).

Their newest feature is on my flute(not shown) is a gizmo next to the D# key. I'm not sure if I like it or not; my hands are really enormous so it doesn't really make a difference.

I hope no one is ashamed of their flute; not everyone gets the instrument that they really deserve. I played a Gemeinhardt 2sp closed hole for close to 5 years before I got my Brannen.

My flute is a Miyazawa, and as for the anti-tarnish strips.... I'm not sure. But, it wouldnt hurt to keep them in there anyway. I have somewhat acidic skin, so the more I can do to prevent tarnish, the better. My flute professor certainly thinks they help [but, yet her Powell flute has a few places that are SEVERELY tarnished **as in a whole key is solid black** and it isnt terribly old]. So, I dont know. My opinion is that they arent very expensive, so why not?

I have seen that Gizmo option you are talking about offered by different companies.... I am not sure that I would like it either [but I haven't played one so I can't really tell].

And for the ashamed comment, I agree. But, unfortunately as human beings we can sometimes be shallow [particularly if we are really young], and will compare instruments. It achieves nothing but potential insecurity about your instrument [particularly if you are in a position of poverty] unless you are currently in the market for a new flute. Then it is somewhat okay because you are just looking around to see if someone has a feature that you want on your new flute. Then you can ask them about it.

I just know that I was sometimes insecure about my flute before I upgraded [it was in rather horrid condition and the one I had before that one was beyond reason..... *dents, black tarnish ALL OVER, peeled and pitted plating, worn pads, and the base metal made your chin burn... keys were poorly aligned regardless of all of my efforts... needless to say it was a wreck but I dont have to play it anymore *] and people gave me wierd looks about it. But luckily, I was a much better player [If I do say so myself ] than most of them, so I knocked quite a few socks off when people heard me play. When I got it, it was quite nice: shiny, new, etc etc. But, I played so much, and after several hours of playing everyday for about 5-6 years, a machine made instrument starts to deteriorate. However, I must admit that it isnt that bad. I was just the only flutist with a machine made flute this past year[low intermediate level armstrong in poor condition] in a flute studio where everyone else had flutes that were worth over $5,000.

And back to the point....

But, so far, things are staying mature about this, and there have only been positive comments. So, that is good.

[cflutist]

Here is my flute collection:



Emerson A3 Alto Flute - silver body, plated keys, have straight and curved headjoints

Wm S. Haynes handmade flute (1972) - got this when I was in high school, added Split E and C# Trill in 1998

Gemeinhardt 3KSB - silver body, plated keys, my camping flute

Casey Burns folk flute - key of D

Skip Healy Bb fife - you finger a D and it sounds a Bb

George Koregelos piccolo - wood, sterling silver keys, Seaman pads

Here's another picture of my Haynes flute:



Here's a picture of my new headjoint I bought in October 2006:



Here's a picture of my new 14K Brannen Flute received in September 2010:

[pied_piper]

This is certainly not a scientific study, but I've always kept a 3M anti-tarnish strip in my case since I got my flute. I put in a fresh one about every 6 months. I also wipe off the fingerprints with a microfiber cloth before returning it to the case. After 8 years, it is just now beginning to show some hints of very mild yellow tarnish around the posts and in back of the tone holes - all the places that I can't wipe after playing. I've never had it in the shop for a clean, oil, and adjust because I do all of my own maintenance and adjustments. (I don't observe the advice of my signature... )

So, I can't give the strips all the credit, but I do think they help, especially if the surface is carefully and GENTLY wiped after every playing.

[Callidor]

aye..your flutes are all exponentially better than mine, but rather than making me feel inadequite or anything, it just gives me something to look forward to as I improve.

I feel that I never really need to own a huge home, or a particularly fast car. But two things I would love to have throughout my life are a top-end computer, and a top-end flute.

Technology is one big aspect of my life so I want to have it covered. And while I doubt that flute playing will ever be anything more than a hobby of mine, I do believe that if there's any instrument I can get to be really good at..this is the one

But in the meantime, my super-basic instrument is more or less exactly what I want/need.

[cflutist]

I find that the strips don't seem to work when you have solid silver keys, but work great when you have silver body/silver plated key flutes.

My Haynes and piccolo do have a lot of tarnish and both have solid silver keys.

Whereas my Alto flute and my Camping flute look like they are brand new and they both have silver plated keys.

Can't figure it out since all of the intruments are in the same house. Can say that I don't play the picc, Alto or camping flute very often though.

I have a part time jewelry business so I bought a 100 of them from my supplier and ended up selling most of them at cost (10 for $3) to my flute playing friends.

[cflutist]

Technology is one big aspect of my life so I want to have it covered. And while I doubt that flute playing will ever be anything more than a hobby of mine, I do believe that if there's any instrument I can get to be really good at..this is the one

But in the meantime, my super-basic instrument is more or less exactly what I want/need.

Flute playing is a hobby for me too. I am a VP in the IT department at a Fortune 50 company. I play principal flute in a community orchestra where many of the members do have fulltime day jobs ... principal bassoon is a UNIX sysadmin, principal clarinet has a PhD in math and is a FORTRAN programmer at Lawrence Livermore Labs. I was a COBOL programmer many moons ago but now run software development projects instead. There are some professionals with paid positions though. I think its great that so many of us have music in our lives, enjoy performing (just played the Mozart Flute/Harp Concerto at our May concert), but don't have to depend on it to put food on the table.

[pied_piper]

I've found that there seems to be a strong correlation in the thought processes between music and computers. I, too work in the computer industry as a system engineer/architect for one of the big computer/consulting firms, but it was a second career. I was a music teacher for 6 years but sort of fell into computer work and then later went back for an MSCS. I know quite a few colleagues who are also talented musicians.

Right now, I mostly play at church. I'd love to play in a community group, but I have a fair amount of travel and an irregular meeting schedule during the workweek that makes it impossible for me to commit to a group.

[cyberflute]

Hi, I'm new on this board, but definitely not new to the flute!

I'm proud of my flute, a Muramatsu I bought at the NFA convention in San Francisco in 1977. I guess that really dates me, but it is still a fantastic flute after all these years!

Here is a picture of the head joint...



I'm also proud of the flute figurine collection I started back in high school. It's been a fun hobby to collect them.

If you would like to see them, I have them on display on my web site...

http://www.cyberflute.com/flute-figurine.html

Scroll down and wait a couple seconds for the photobucket slide shows to start.