What do you feel is the major difference between a hand made flute and a commercially manfactured flute?

I started thinking the other day about how much more expensive hand made flutes usually cost and wondered why that would be the case. I keep thinking it is one of those things where a machine could be so much more precise than a human, so why take the time to make one by hand? Just curious.

The main difference is the amount of personal attention that goes into manufacture. Machines don't simply crank out flutes. Tooling needs to be adjusted from time to time, and certain operations (such as pad seating) is not done well by machines.

As always, true craftsmanship is in the details and understanding of the instrument by the craftsman. A handmade instrument has a person to inspect and correct and adjust at every stage of operation.

Joe B

sometimes you need to hold one of these fine horns in your hands to see what Joe is talking about, there is something about the keywork and feel of a fine Haynes, Powell, Brannen, Landell, etc that is hard to put into words, not to mention the soldered tone holes which, to me, make a big difference in the tone

sometimes you need to hold one of these fine horns in your hands to see what Joe is talking about, there is something about the keywork and feel of a fine Haynes, Powell, Brannen, Landell, etc that is hard to put into words, not to mention the soldered tone holes which, to me, make a big difference in the tone

Patrick...I hear(read) an echo...

Joe B <G>

I'm not sure about handmade flutes. But I know that string instruments are generally preferred to be handmade. The guitar for example, when made by a machine always has several different parts that has to be glued together and after awhile the glue can begin to come off. Like Patrick and Joe B said, handmade intruments have more craftmenship and the maker has the brain to fix anything that's not working right, while a machine doesn't.

I know a guy who makes guitars by hand and most of them are generally carved out of a huge block of wood, so you don't have to worry about leaks coming out the sides. A machine generally can't carve like that.

But thats the guitar. The flute is more complex and has springs in areas that are almost impossible to get to. A machine would have more accuracy when it comes to small things like that. And like Micron said, alot of people buy handmade flutes because of it's value.

Conlusion: Insruments with alot of small mechanisms are best made by machines. Although Machines may not be capable of testing them or being able to fix them when they are broken, the odds of getting a dudd is very rare.

Handmade flutes typically use harder pads, which means that there MUST be high-precision levelness in the tone holes

Not necessarily harder per se, but often thinner which does add a dimension to the term "harder".

Pro flutes rolled tone holes are no better than anybody elses. Soldered tone holes are "generally" more level than rolled. The soldered ones are actually easier to make (as you've pointed out). Rolled tone holes require a lot more tooling.

Many flutists are under the impression that soldered tone holes are better than rolled. All that can really be said is that they are different on few different levels.

Possibly, teh firm pad concept is currently being pushed just a little too far from what is realistic.

That is an interesting observation Micron. I have not noticed the firm pad concept being "pushed". There are many variations in pad design out there, but I don't see an overall trend towards moving to hard pads. The industry already knows that doesn't work. Most of the pad prototyping right now has to do with stability. If anything, from what they've learned, they are moving away from the harder pad idea.

Extra firm pads possibly also offer a difference in tone &/or reponse.

Those are at best claims that marketers have invented to sell their products though and bear very little resemblance to reality.

Joe B

Interesting stuff you guys. We had a discussion in class about handmade and machinemade products. Ppl are interested in handmade products because it's unique from machinemade. Every handmade products are slightly different from others..and also knowing that a person put time and effort to make it is special^^

I've noticed that here in the Netherlands, even intermediate flutes seem to be fairly uncommon, let alone professional ones, with some flutist using Yamaha 200 series student flutes all the way through the conservatorium (music college) even. I know a number of advanced students who after several years, finally buy their own after years of renting, and go straight for the silverplated models. No silver head, no B-foot, pretty much all with an e-mech. The Yamaha YFL-211 is the standard it seems.

I don't know whether we're that cheap, that boring, or that sensible...