purchasing advice

tt327 · Post by **tt327** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 12:02 pm

Hi all:

I'm a new poster.

I'm in the market for a keyless flute. I've been playing an M&E steadily for a year and am ready to get a wooden flute. I've done a lot of research/reading/listening and have narrowed down the list a bit (I'm not willing to wait longer than 6 months or so which leaves out Olwell and Wilkes). So: Hamilton, Copley, Lehart, McGee. Are there others I should be thinking about? (I know there's Grinter but I haven't been able to ascertain how long the wait is).

I'm sort of leaning towards the Copley based on posts I've read here before. I also like the fact that he's in the U.S. which would make logistics easier.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Tim

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 12:13 pm

Last I heard McGee's waiting list for a keyless was well over a year and a half long, and Chris Wilkes' was only about 7months for a keyless - Are you sure you have your timeframes correct?

Loren

tt327 · Post by **tt327** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 1:11 pm

Hi Loren:

I sent Terry an email awhile ago and he said around 6 months. But I didn't realize that Wilkes's period was that short. Just what I need--another maker to consider!

Thanks

Tim

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 2:08 pm

Wow, when I wrote him a year and a half ago he told me the wait would be 2 years. Hmm, perhaps there was a misundertanding and he was giving me the time frame for a keyed flute....

Yes, Wilkes' waiting list for keyed flutes is insanely long, so most people assume there's a really long wait for his keyless flutes as well, but that waiting list is much more reasonable.

Loren

tt327 · Post by **tt327** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 6:50 pm

Well, given Terry's recent (ongoing) trip, I imagine he's got zillions of new orders and so his waiting period is about to go up!

Tim

Eldarion · Post by **Eldarion** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 8:33 pm

Just to chime in, I heard from Terry about a month ago that the waiting list for keyless is 6 mths too.

rhodeirish · Post by **rhodeirish** » Sun Jul 14, 2002 8:30 am

Greetings,

You should also look at Skip Healy's instruments at http://www.skiphealy.com (I'm his Webmaster and I own two of his keyless flutes). They're incredible insofar as tuning and tone is concerned.

Skip just moved his workshop and is still getting sorted out, but I think his waiting list for a keyless instrument is holding steady at 30 days. You'll get better information from the man himself at skip@skiphealy.com.

Take care,
John Harvey