Miyazawa PA-202...with an option for heavy-walling.

[DivaricationOfMind]

I recently discovered that Miyazawa now offers the plated-body PA-202 with a .45mm heavy-walling.

I'm really curious as to how a heavy-wall plated body feels. Has anyone tried this model with the .45mm wall?

if so, how was the weight compared to medium-wall plated flutes?

Did you feel additional resistance compared to the medium-wall plated?

any other comments are more than welcome

[JButky]

I recently discovered that Miyazawa now offers the plated-body PA-202 with a .45mm heavy-walling.

I'm really curious as to how a heavy-wall plated body feels. Has anyone tried this model with the .45mm wall?

if so, how was the weight compared to medium-wall plated flutes?

Did you feel additional resistance compared to the medium-wall plated?

any other comments are more than welcome

Heavy wall flutes are not everyone's cup of tea. Conversely, some players prefer nothing else than a heavy wall.

Tubing weight does not equate to resistance contrary to what most people will tell you. A more "aggressive" player however will probably prefer the heavy wall flute since it can take more before causing the tube to sympathetically resonant and cause flute performance issues.

Heavy wall flutes will feel a bit more heavy than it's standard wall counterpart. How that compares with other brands will vary because of the keywork and options that any particular flute might have.

Personally, I am a heavy wall flute fan. So for me, weight is not the issue..

I have a heavy wall flute, old muramatsu that I'm particularly fond of with a Pearl Calore cut Pristine silver heavy wall with 14K Gold lip and Riser. It's more about the headjoint cut than the flute wall thickness as far as resistance is concerned. I like that head and another Calore with a Platinum riser on quite a few flutes.

The body needs to have a good scale, feel comfortable, and have a reliable mechanism. You can only tell if overall weight is an issue from playing it. And for many people a lighter flute is better. The only way to know if that particular model is too heavy for you is to play it for a while..If it's comfortable, then it's not an issue. If it's too resistant, try a different headjoint cut.

If you tend to "crack" a lot of notes on a standard wall flute, then heavy wall will improve that problem. The trick is finding the right headjoint cut for it (always the issue).