Orpheus Flutes

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 12:40 am

North of Dallas.. currently.

Originally from East Texas.

Masters7 · Post by **Masters7** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 2:04 pm

Hey Mark; Is that the Richardson area? I went to college with a guy from Richardson.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 2:20 pm

He's from farther east of me then, although I work out that way.

but yes, it's in the ballpark.

mark

Masters7 · Post by **Masters7** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:12 pm

Hi Briolette;
Did you get your Orpheus flute back yet?

briolette · Post by **briolette** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:31 pm

No not yet...

atoriphile · Post by **atoriphile** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:00 pm

I won one of these flutes on eBay in November, but I'm still waiting for it. William / Craig hasn't responded to the last two e-mails I sent in the last two weeks. I called him on Monday and left a voicemail message, but haven't heard back yet.

Based on the experiences of others that I read here, I did not expect that communication would be a problem.

Briolette - Have you had any communication with William / Craig in the last two weeks?

atoriphile · Post by **atoriphile** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:32 pm

I did finally get in touch with William/Craig. He says the flute will leave the factory in mid March. I'm hoping I will get it by the end of March.

I ordered it in November, and based on the other posts here I expected it in about 10 weeks. It looks like it will be almost 5 months (possibly more) before I get mine!

I just hope it's worth the wait!

Masters7 · Post by **Masters7** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:02 am

A musician friend of mine just got back from China. She was teaching in Beijing for three months. Katt had the chance to go to one of the factories that makes wood flutes for the American market. She said there were three in Beijing. Based on her information, the lengthy production time, is due to limits in production. Apparentely, they only make 250-300 flutes per year, out of that particular shop. As more and more people are buying these flutes, they don't produce more, you just wait more. If Craig is getting his flutes from this shop, that could account for the production delay.

Katt did buy a flute for herself......and saved a bunch! Of course, there was that airline ticket she had to buy to get there...LOL!!

Masters7 · Post by **Masters7** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:59 am

Hey Briolette;
I hope all is going well. Did you get your flute back? I would like to know how things worked-out. Take care!

rwilson · Post by **rwilson** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:42 am

I purchased a used Orpheus flute on E-bay a couple of months ago (the Prelude model). The instrument is about two years old. Overall, I'm very disppointed in the instrument. I had problems with the low notes as others have described. I later learned that this problem was an embouchure issue. Over time with much practice, the low notes have improved. In addition, my flute instructor played the instrument and can play down to low C, so I know it is possible to play the low notes on this flute. My main gripe is the substandard quality of the keywork. Since receiving the instrument, I've had to press the keys really hard to get a consistent tone. My flute instructor confirmed that the flute has a leak, so I took the instrument to a well-known woodwind repair tech here in Austin (by the way, my flute instructor insisted that I not play the instrument until I got it repaired as the "vise grip" technique I was having to employ was ruining my technique on my silver flute, a Pearl). The technician took a look at the instrument and explained that over time the pads had shrunk, so they were not making a consistent connection with the tone holes. The tech said he would shim the pads up from the underside of the pad to even things out. The work was going to cost about $250 but I figured it would be worth it if it made the instrument playable. The technician called me back today to report that he cannot fix the instrument to his satisfaction. He would shim the pads then put things back together only to have the leak recur. So basically the instrument is unplayable and I'm out a significant amount of cash in the process (not to mention being in the doghouse with my wife).

So I would not recommend buying one of these flutes. This experience has taught me a couple of lessons... 1) Don't buy an instrument unless you can play it first. If this is not possbile, insist on a no-questions-asked return option. 2) A wood flute costing $2000 or less seems too good to be true. Given my experience, I think it is too good to be true. I think one can expect a $5000 price tag for a decent wood flute, which is way beyond my budget.

So does anyone have any ideas about what I can do with this flute? I'm really at a loss as to what to do now.

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:20 pm

At this point, it sounds like the instrument is just very unstable. Have you tried oiling the bore? As a reference, I'll point you to an interesting online article that describes a semi-scientific approach to studying the benefits of oiling a wooden insrument bore:

http://www.naylors-woodwind-repair.com/ ... asting.htm

Basically, they found that when wooden instruments get dry, the wood shrinks and morphs to such a degree that the instument actually changes shape. This could result in the problems that you and your repair person are experiencing. If it is dry enough to change shape slightly, the tone holes may not be perfectly level and that would prevent proper pad seating. It could also cause some of the key posts to be slightly loose or out of position which would cause slop in the mechanism and result in unpredictable leaks.

In the article, they describe an english horn that was visibly warped, and after a series of oilings (inside and out) over a three week period, the instrument had completely straightened itself.

The best results were obtained by completely immersing the instrument in oil (with all of the keys removed of course). At this point, you don't have a lot to lose if you or the repair person try it, but it just might stabilize the instrument and allow the pads to be re-seated properly. Ask your repair person if he/she would be willing to try an oil immersion treatment - it might salvage it.

Kasra · Post by **Kasra** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:45 am

Has anyone heard from William lately?

We (my fiance and I) ordered the Diva model (in Rosewood) last October. William was quite good in replying to our concerns early on regarding the progress of the flute, but our last contact from William was Feb 27 in which he said the flute would be delivered to him from the factory by March 15.

Since March 15, we have emailed Orpheus about 7 or 8 times and made 5 or 6 international phone calls, from Australia, but all we got was the voice mail, and we have not heard from William or anyone from Orpheus at all.

Does anyone know if William is out of town on tour or something as, after spending over AU$4700, it is now starting to get a little tense at home !!

There are certainly avenues that can be taken with VISA (and / or PayPal) but I am loathe to go that route as our previous correspondence with William has been great and we dearly want our flute (they look absolutely fantastic).

atoriphile · Post by **atoriphile** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:55 am

No, I am in the same boat, having bought a flute from him on eBay last November. He gave me the same approximate date as you. That was the last I have heard from him as well.

I've noticed he hasn't offered any more flutes on eBay since I ordered mine. Perhaps the backlog at the factory is still affecting business.

Depending on your credit card policy, it might be too late to get your money back that way. Many of them limit it to 60 or 90 days. But it can't hurt!

Based on his 100% positive feedback on eBay and the reviews posted here, I hadn't exptected this much trouble. I'm sure it is just a backlog at the factory, which is outside of his control.

However, he could communicate this much better!

sidekicker · Post by **sidekicker** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:10 pm

Boy, you all have much more patience than I with this. I would never put up with the type of business practices you've described here regardless of any ebay rating. That's apparently not the best measure in this case. There are very very few excuses, IMO, that would justify such bad customer service, if it can be justified at all. Backlogs are one thing, but not communicating with a customer who has made numerous inquiries is pretty sorry if you ask me. It takes just a few seconds to say or write "I'm sorry. There is a backlog at the factory. I expect your instrument to be ready _____, and will let you know if I get different information."

If it were me I'd nix the deal. Surely you can find something comparable from another source. As an aside, I'd also never pay for a flute without playing it first. But that's just me.

SK

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:19 pm

What some of you are experiencing is typical of a lot of small businesses. As orders increase, so does the cost of doing business. The best thing to so is only take orders that you can fill. However, most of the time new companies that build things over sell their capacity to produce. This usually effects the quality of what is being built also.

Crooked business partners are another issue that happens. In Asia, this happens quite a bit. One partner usually has the skills to build/produce the product, and the partner spends the money as fast as it comes in.

I think it is very possible to get a decent wooden flute for under $2000, because I have played on them. The key is finding the right outfit. I wish all of you luck in resolving your flute issues!

Also keep in mind that customs in China are strict. I have seen things held there for up to 8 weeks! Just be aware.

Phineas

Fluteland.com Flute Message Board

Orpheus Flutes

North of Dallas

Hey Briolette

Orpheus Flutes

Hey Briolette!

I've had a bad experience with this Orpheus flute!

Orpheus Flutes

Contact with William??