Joe B,

When and why does a flute manufacturer decide to put adjusting screws on a flute or not? I would assume that some Pearl models have them while some do not?

Logic tells me that they would make a flute easier to adjust.

My Brannen and Haynes do not have them, while my Gemmy camping flute does have them.

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Thank you in advance.

When and why does a flute manufacturer decide to put adjusting screws on a flute or not? I would assume that some Pearl models have them while some do not? Logic tells me that they would make a flute easier to adjust.

A simple question without a simple answer...but I'll try. When does a flute maker decide? Lots of factors, Asks himself, Do I want to have to make more adjusting screws? Do I want to drill and tap more tiny screw holes...???

Why? Well this is partly answered above, but the other reason is that there is a false perception that clutch plates alone are more stable. Not true (but there is a perception by some out there..like playing a closed hole flute is never a professional flute.) While there is always the possibility of a screw loosening and turning, the adjustments are greatly simplified (as your logic rightfully concludes).

So it is part practical and part tradition and part marketing, depending on the individual flutemaker.

Joe B

but there is a perception by some out there..like playing a closed hole flute is never a professional flute.

Just what I keep telling people Joe.

But most don't believe me - they have been brainwashed into the fallacy.

As far as open vs. closed holes, that may be true that a "professional" flute could have closed holes, but I think there are marketing pressures out there that cause them to be "open" instead. Was just looking at the Pearl website, their Opera and Maesta are all shown with open holes. Six of the 7 Elegante models are open holes. Why is it not the other way around then? Why don't they show Opera and Maesta flutes with closed holes.

Back in the 1970s when I got my Haynes flute, there were three models available. A closed hole Commercial (drawn tonehole) model, a closed hole handmade (soldered tonehole) model, and an open hole handmade (soldered tonehole) model. That was it, there weren't as many open hole models available as there are today.

At Brannen, they don't push one or the other. You just specify open or closed, inline or offset, A=440, 442, 444, or 446, tubing = .014" .016" or .018" when you place your order.

It's pretty simple really, You provide a picture of what the vast majority want. Most flute pictures on manufacturer's websites and catalogs are open hole flutes. It's not that any of us don't make them, It's just what people expect.

Joe B