I saw a picture of a flute with a key extension in Kara`s pictures. How expensive is it to get a key extension put on a flute (in US $). The reason why I ask is because I have a Yamaha 581 and it has the inline G, but I would really like an offset G, I have small hands, so the inline is really uncomfortable and I have had problems with Carpal Tunnel. I really like my flute and I do not have the funds to get another one, so any information on key extensions would be greatly appreciated.

It shouldn`t be terribly expensive at most maybe a couple hundred. Though if you have open holes the hole you are putting the extension on will most likely need to be sealed. You should place tape over that particular hole and check to see if your pitch or tone is affected. If so, bring that up to the person adding the extension and they will need to raise that key higher to correct for the hole closure.

There are a couple places I know of in the Los Angeles area that do custom key work, but you really want to find a shop close to you that can show you examples of their soldering.

Brannen makes extensions which just plug into the open holes. No soldering required. See:

http://www.larrykrantz.com/alexaart.htm

They will probably charge about 10 times what the things cost to make.

My guess is that they stay in by a well-fitting O-ring.

Making a one-off item such as your technician would have to do, costs a lot more in time than bulk manufacture, as Brannen will be doing.

Seeing I have a metal lathe, a supply of silver, and assorted O-rings, I guess it would take under an hour to make such an item. However most technicians do not have a metal lathe (or the other bits). The cost of the metal is negligible.

If an extension is soldered on, then if it were ever removed, silver plating would be needed to deal with the cosmetic damage. However gluing it on is another option. Some non-damaging heat removes most adhesives, followed by a touch-up polish.

The effects on pitch/tone that Pico mentions are theoretically correct. However in practice they are so insignificant that you probably will not need to worry about them. Many people buy an open hole flute, then put assorted plugs in at lest some holes without ever considering such changes.

Arak, Thank you for the link.

Thank you Arak, that link was very interesting! I love the do-it-yourself ideas.

A key extension does not need to be soldered on for a flute that has open holes for the G key.

Plugging that particular hole will not disrupt the pitch or sound of the flute.

The ones I make simply have a plug in the back of them, so you just pop it in and out of the open hole.

I have made full key extensions that yes, I did have to solder on. Mostly because it was a closed hole flute.

I understand the great need and want of an offset G, so I have taken pity on my customers and I have only charged $25-$30 for an offset G extension. Most of them were friends also.

I made extensions for the entire flute one time and charged $100.00 for it.

I think it is ridiculous to pay as much as Brannen is asking.

Arak, I have never used a lath. I use spare keys off of flutes. I think it just looks a heck of a lot better is all.

Because of my carpal tunnel, I have had to slow down, so I haven`t been making any key extension as of lately. That and because I have gotten really busy with other flute playing projects. I mostly did it to help the people that couldn`t afford Brannen key extensions. I didn`t make much of a profit out of it with the prices that I charged.

I had a bunch of pictures of my work, but unfortunately I got a huge virus in my computer that destroyed all my files about a year ago.