Need Heavier Crown

Reedsndeeds · Post by **Reedsndeeds** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:25 pm

Hi,

I have a 20 yr old Haynes HJ, which has a more modernish cut and noticed when I put the crown on it, from my 1953 Haynes flute HJ, which is much longer & heavier, the high notes are easier to play. I like it better, it's easier to control...just a little bit, but enough to make a difference.

I'm continuing to use this, but would like to get a heavier crown, to use on the HJ all the time. (so I can put the other one back on its original head)

Therefore, I guess I could call Haynes & see what they can sell me. (Not really interested in different metals, just one that weighs more)
or find an "aftermarket" one.

Any suggestions out there?

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 7:51 am

If you want a "stock" Haynes crown that is heavier, you should probably contact Haynes to see what they offer.
http://www.wmshaynes.com/catalog/catalog.html

There are a number of "aftermarket" crowns available, but they usually are different than standard flute crowns. Here's a few sources:

http://www.bigio.com/stoppersandcrowns.html
http://www.johnlunn.com/lunnflutes/crowns.html

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 8:48 pm

Crowns are curious little things. I know a guy that tried a crown on his flute, and he could NOT play a high C at all. He blew, and blew, and blew for about a half hour, and it would not come out. Furthermore, he wasn't just a local amateur. He was one of the top players in the area who does a lot of orchestra gigs. One of my flute teachers tried a crown (from the same maker as her flute, and it was the SAME DESIGN) and it made her flute sound a lot darker.

I tried a crown on my flute that was from an identical model, and it made my flute sound fuzzy.

So.... try them out! You never know what they will do...

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 8:24 am

Stoppers can also have a subtle effect on the sound of a flute. There are a wide variety of stoppers available and each is a bit different. I already referred to Bigio in my previous post. He has stoppers made from various materials.

I bought one on eBay several years ago and very much liked it. It seemed to open-up the sound and give my flute more projection. This is the one I have:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Flute-plug-The-Stop ... 41482029a7

Some others on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Stopper-Plug-for-Sa ... 335b9f7060

I'm intrigued by this one, but it costs a bit more and I wonder if the additional weight would affect the balance.
http://cgi.ebay.com/TITANIUM-flute-stop ... 439e4d2d7d

MissyHPhoenix · Post by **MissyHPhoenix** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 9:59 am

Several months ago I bought a rose-gold crown with an amber gem inset to use on my Prima Sankyo. I was actually surprised at the difference it made -- the tone was already beautiful, and this just brightened it up a little more. It is a subtle difference, but there, and I love it! Also, it is absolutely beautiful on my flute! I never thought that a gem crown would make a difference, but it really does.

WalterMitty · Post by **WalterMitty** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 1:57 pm

pied_piper wrote: Some others on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Stopper-Plug-for-Sa ... 335b9f7060

I bought this one (the exact one), yesterday!

I'm thinking about cutting down the the cork on one of my cheap flute that has loose dry cork, to see if shorter cork length has any effect.

Also, since I put teflon plumbing tape around the loose cork, the cheap chinese flute seems to be making good sound.
I don't know if it's me getting better on the instrument or the cork, (or the extremely thin layer of silver plating I'm adding), though.

When I get the new stopper, I will check it with the rubber O-ring, and then teflon tape, as well.

Also, now I'm ARMED with a graphical tuner to see what kind of sound I'm making.
http://www.cipoo.net/wtune_e.html

This is a free software and it's not perfect, but pretty interesting to see the spectrum of sound in real time.

I think there is lots of overtone (the double of the base frequency) when I'm making what I consider as a good sound (in lower register, especially), to the point the tuner thinks I'm making A2 instead of A1, for example.

lula · Post by **lula** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 6:50 pm

I looked at the John Lunn glory's that go on top of the crown. I want one that is 14kt. gold that will match my mouth piece. I looked at the question about the crowns and it said it could sometimes change the sound. Will a glory change the sound on my flute? Just wondering.

Thanks in advance! -Lula

DivaricationOfMind · Post by **DivaricationOfMind** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:00 pm

if you want to add additional weight to your current crown you can try putting a few washers through the threaded rod that keeps your crown in place.

It's really interesting to experiment with this. I suggest adding them one by one until you find the ideal weight. I put some sticky tack between the washers to keep them from moving around.