This is what really upset me and I'm not sure what to do since from other people's feedback, I already knew of this problem. I cannot for the love of God, get the low C and low Bb out. When I try the wood headjoint on one of my metal flutes, I don't have any problem playing the low notes (unfortunately the metal heads don't fit on the wood flute). Therefore, I think it is a key adjustment or padding problem.
The pads are just atrocious in my opinion. I can tell from looking at the underside that they don't seal properly on the foot joint. Even from this picture, you can see how uneven they are:
I'm not sure if this is a fixable thin gor if it is me and my inability to produce the lowest notes on this particular flute (like I said, my metal headjoint is more forgiving; Perhaps I'm not strong enough to play the low notes) or that's just how it is...
For those of you who already own an Orpheus, do you have this issue with weak or non existant low notes and if so, what did you do about it?
It does sound like an adjustment or padding problem to me, as well. Depending on precisely what's wrong, it may be easily fixable, or require a good bit of work. A good tech should be able to get the mech set up right so those low notes speak correctly. It's a beautiful instrument...Once you've had some more time to get to know it, let us know what you think.
Sorry to hear your flute did not arrive set-up as mine was. The footjoint mechanism and pads should be even and inline. I would contact Craig. I am sure he is most willing to adjust whatever is needed -key height, pad re-set, etc.
As for the headjoint, I too have a Sheridan and the cut is slightly smaller on the wood. I am biased to my Sheridan. Dana makes a great headjoint. But, I can actually play with as much dynamic range on my Orpheus as on my Sheridan. It does take some time to acclimate to wood. The tonal qualities are different, the response is different, control factors are different, and embouchure changes need to be made for wood accordingly. Give it some time.
If you have questions about playing with wood, give me a shout!
I guess the thing that worries me the most is that I simply can't play the low notes on my own. I mean, surely, if I press down the keys hard enough I ought to be able to make them come out a little, but there's literally no tone--just harmonic whispering.
It would be a great dissappointment if I sent it off to get adjusted and no change occured. Ugh...well, no use being pessimistic.
You really think Craig would be willing to make an adjustment? I did purchase this one off of ebay, so I wonder if the quality is lagging through an online auction (vs. ordering directly from him)
Do the low D and C# play easily? Or do you have to struggle to get them out? If they play well, then I would agree that adjusting the keys and pads on the footjoint would most likely fix the problem.
How is the case? Does it hold the flute securely in place? Or is there some movement? The reason I am asking is that the footjoint keys might have gone out of adjustment during shipping. Just a guess, though.
Hey Briolette;
I would contact Craig. Once I received my flute, I had a question regarding the height of the G# key, and he offered to fix it or replace it. My instrument came out of the case popping out low Bs without any effort at all. All pads were flat and even. Sorry to hear that your flute was not set-up that way. As for key height, key height can vary according to an individuals preferences. I like my key/action close to the flute body. Mine was set-up according to my tastes.
I would contact him and make an arrangement to correct the problems. I do not believe Craig would have two standards for eBay V.S. direct buy customers.
The C# and D do play solid and easily for me.
I'll contact Craig although he's been oddly quiet (for instance I never got a tracking number from him) so I don't know if he's out of town or something, but I'll contact him and see if we can work something out.
If it wasn't for the low C and B all would be fine.
I would avoid doing that! According to what I've read, wooden flutes should be broken in gradually, playing them for only 5-10 minutes at first and more as time goes by.
Tis okay. I swabed it out frequently and let it "rest"
When I spoke to William/Craig he said the flutes were pretty much stable right out of the box and as long as there isn't excessive moisture, it should be fine.
I would take it easy on the "all night" playing. After performing on wood instruments for 30 years, it has been my experience to take it slow with new instruments. Keep tring to get Craig. Based on your photos and description of the problems, you do have good reasons to have problems addressed. But, this is the holiday season, he's probably just swamped with every version of The Messiah possible. When I was free-lancing, I worked 24-7 till New Years. Ah, those were the daze.....LOL!!!
By the way. I like the Rosewood headjoint on your mp3. My violetwood is more like the grenadilla.
Point taken. I'll let it rest up a bit...
I just heard back from William/Craig and he said he's be more than happy to fix it. He's such a friendly seller.
So, gotta send it back and hope for the best. It sounds like it can be fixable. The thought is that it probably got damaged in shipping.
Related to that, you never answered my questions about the case:
How is the case? Does it hold the flute securely in place? Or is there some movement?
If there is some movement, perhaps William/Craig could put a thin sheet of foam in the case for shipping so that it does does not go out of adjustment.
I've heard the violet wood has a richer tone, but decided to go with the grenadilla because I've played on a grenadilla head before and knew i'd like the sound. Ironically, I actually prefer the rosewood headjoint so far!
The case is well padded with cell sections for each part (the 2 headjoints, the body and the footjoint...you can see it is a french style case from the pictures). When it arrived, each piece of the flute was wrapped in plastic and then packing material was taped down to secure the parts. The case itself was in the nylon sleeve and it was all securely packed in a larger box.
The off-alignment of the footjoint keys could be due to rough handling through the mail. My friend noticed the low C key is slightly shorter than the B flat, so it could be that it is bent a little or that the key was manufactured a little too short. I think the pads that don't sit evenly in the key cups is more likely a manufacting issue. There's also a slight leak with the F again due to a pad that sits tilted.
With that said, the tone is getting warmer each time I play the instrument. I'm thinking I prefer the responsiceness of the rosewood head at the moment. The lower register is quite rich. Hopefully I'll be able to bring out it's full tone in a few months.
I can tell it's a nice instruemnt---It just needs so tweaking and fortunately, Mr. Marlowe is very willing to work with customers regardelss of whether or not the instruemnt was purchased off of Ebay. I was worried since this was an auction item, it would be sold "as is" but he reassured me that I could send it to him to get correct, so that's definitely a good thing!
Last edited by briolette on Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I'll let it rest up a bit...