Handmade Flutes

Consider these basic options for the body of your flute:

metals - sterling silver or 14k rose gold
Many flutists find that gold helps them produce a darker, denser, warmer tone quality.

body tube - .018, .016 or .014 wall thickness
The thicker the tubing, the darker the tone quality, and more resistant the tone production.

scale
The scale is determined by the size and placement of holes. Our Boehm flutes use the William Bennett Flute Scale; our Murray Mechanism flutes use the Laszewski Scale.

pitch - A-440, A-442 or A-444
Your pitch may be determined by your locale. Also, the higher the pitch, the brighter the tone.

g key - offset or inline
Many flutists find offset g offers a more relaxed left hand position. Since the offset g has its own axis, this in turn yields a solid g key. The choice is based on comfort and does not affect intonation.

g# key - open or closed
Open g# has one less tone hole, and the g# hole is placed between f# and g tone holes. Open g# eliminates contrary motion in the left hand when playing chromatic passages. High e can be fingered with the g# spatula down to tune and facilitate it.

key cups - open hole or closed hole

pads - traditional felt or Straubinger pads
Straubinger pads use special pad support and profiled washer. The cushion material is synthetic and covered with goldbeater skin. Factory-trained technicians install them because of the unique preparation of the tone holes and special tools involved.

tone holes - drawn or soldered
Drawn tone holes are extruded from the flute tube and the top of the tone hole is rolled over to provide a pad seat. Soldering involves soldering profiled tone holes to the flute body and then machining the top of the tone hole for the pad seat.

arms - Y-arms or French pointed arms