Chiff and Fipple Forums

LimuHead wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 8:52 pm The joint goes into double-jointed position and limits my dexterity and sometimes causes pain. I've been working for weeks trying to find a right-hand hold that would keep that from happening and have had some success but still can't play for very long.

LimuHead wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 8:52 pm
Can you get a big sound on the Carbony?

Are the 3rd octave notes there?

Is it possible to get a fat low D note?

pancelticpiper wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 5:31 am

LimuHead wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 8:52 pm
I've not played the close-finger spacing model but I've blown a large number of Carbony flutes in various keys at their booths at several festivals I've attended over the years.

IMHO they're not serious musical instruments. The flutes that I tried, dozens of them in all the various keys they had displayed, played about as well as the homemade ones people make out of white PVC pipe. This being the case I can only assume that putting the holes closer together and having chimneys will make the tone even less powerful.

The things I tried, their uilleann pipes, Highland pipes, Spanish Gaita, or whistles, didn't come anywhere near the performance expected from legit instruments of those genres. The sole exception was their Scottish Smallpipes, which were decent.

With the caveat that makers can and oftentimes do change their designs over time, it seems to me that Carbony has been dabbling with a large number of unrelated instruments and hasn't put in the enormous amount of focused R&D that making a high-quality instrument of any sort requires.

Who did put in a vast amount of R&D time on the flute was Theobald Boehm, and if you can play a Boehm flute comfortably why not use it for Irish music? Few of the things that make Boehm fluteplaying sound different from Irish fluteplaying come from the instrument.

Usually I don’t often respond, but I feel a need to in this case.

Panceltpiper usually has thoughtful and well thought out responses to most discussions, but when it comes Carbony instruments, he’s shown to me, a very strong bias against them and doesn’t hesitate to write negative reviews that are pretty hurtful, based on his trying them at festivals.

I’ve had two instruments from Carbony, a flute and an Uilleann chanter, both are okay instruments, in my opinion. The flute I had owned for some years, and I’d say it was very comparable to my delrin Cochran flute. I would use one or the other when I was camping. I do prefer to play my Burns 6 key or my antique Blackman as my main flutes. I did find that I preferred the Carbony over a Ward flute that I owned for serval months.

I had an opportunity to do a workshop last summer with a very well know piper. I was able to trade the flute for the Uilleann chanter. I had written in another thread on a piping forum, that I had gotten an Uilleann chanter from Carbony and that three pipers had been pleasantly surprised when they had tried the chanter. Richard wrote and challenged what I was said, questioning if these were experienced pipers, and stated that from trying one chanter at a festival, that the Carbony chanter was “unacceptable”. The three pleasantly surprised pipers included Mick O’Brien.

I would tend to agree with KKrell that the Carbony was “an OK, so-so player” and it was a bit heavy. At the time I bought the Carbony flute, Rob the owner of Carbony, told me that he used the Pratten model bore design, purchased from Terry Mc Gee, to develop his flute. This was not the one with chimney extenders. As I understand it, the carbon fiber is denser than delrin and this may account for the flute be a bit heavier.

I believe trying instruments at a booth at a festival with all the noise and distraction can give one a first impression, but until I spent time with the instrument I’d be more reserved with my judgement. On the Ward flute, the first time I tried it, I was very impressed. When it became available a few years later I bought it. After a few months, I decided that the flute wasn’t right for me and I sold it. My experience with a friends Owell didn’t leave me that impressed. First impressions can be misleading.

To generalize and call Carbony instruments “not serious musical instruments” is pretty damning, along with Richard’s other statements about their company and instruments, it leads me to believe he has some type of grudge with them.

Tjones wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 2:01 am I would tend to agree with KKrell that the Carbony was “an OK, so-so player” and it was a bit heavy. At the time I bought the Carbony flute, Rob the owner of Carbony, told me that he used the Pratten model bore design, purchased from Terry Mc Gee, to develop his flute. This was not the one with chimney extenders. As I understand it, the carbon fiber is denser than delrin and this may account for the flute be a bit heavier.

LimuHead wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 4:21 pm The hyperextension ring/splints seem like a doable and affordable option that I'll be looking further into. Thanks Kkrell for the tip!