David O'Brien-Barefield Flutes

[Irish Marine]

http://www.traditionalirishflutes.com/index.htm

Anyone have experience with these flutes?

[tin tin]

Nice looking flutes. Interesting approach to the footjoint--neither a D foot nor a C foot (a C# foot?).

[cathal morley]

Thanks for bringing this site to the board's attention.

The recorded tunes speak well for the instruments - and the player of course, I know - but the tone of the flute was right powerful and the upper register notes still sounded sweet. Very nice!
And we won't even mention prices.....

Evenso, wanted to see more of the actual flutes themselves - and a bit more verbiage about them. Hope someone who plays one responds with a review!

[jemtheflute]

Thanks for bringing this site to the board's attention.

FWIW, I've had this link on The List for some time!!!!!!!!!!

I'm afraid I can't add any further info, though.

[Irish Marine]

I realized you had that on the wooden flute makers sticky, Jem. Thanks for creating that resource. I was just curious if anyone has ever had experience with their flutes.

[Daithi-og]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the nice comments on the flutes. I figured I'd introduce myself, since there aren't very many of my flutes out there yet, so there wont be many comments about them either! We have been making flutes now for about three years. We built a small workshop and fitted it out with a good lathe and milling machine and various other bits and pieces. All the flutes we've made so far are from African blackwood, but we've got a very precious piece of boxwood quietly seasoning away which we hope to turn into a couple of nice instruments to add to our repetoire soon. We consider our flutes to be high quality instruments, well made and with good tone. However, the only real way to judge a flute is to play or hear it played live, and with that in mind we'd like to extend an invitation to any of you to give us a call any time you're near . We'll show you around and play a few tunes together!

Daithi-og

[jemtheflute]

Good to hear from you/see you here! Welcome.

[Rob Sharer]

Hi David,

You look like Denis Liddy's star flute-player. Same fella? Cheers,

Rob

[Cathy Wilde]

Lovely-looking and sounding-flutes (nice site, too)! Congratulations, and best of luck -- I look forward to hearing many good things from Barefield flutes in the future.

[Daithi-og]

Hi Rob!!

Im the same guy alright, just ventured into the other side of flutes!! Havent seen you in a long time, you sould come back and record more music!!

David

[Hanna]

Curious to hear if anyone's tried one of these flutes.

[radcliff]

any other extra pics or comment on those flutes?
thank you..

[Kmeister]

While visiting Ireland in March, I had the opportunity to visit David’s shop. I ended up ordering a keyless flute which I am expecting in late May. His flutes are very well made and easy to play. It took me a while to get use to the Pratten style, but once I did, I found his flutes very nice sounding and quite playable. I really like the mid and upper ranges. The higher end was extremely clear and the intonation seemed to be right on. The low end was solid and the low D spoke easily. When you hold his flutes, you can tell that you are holding a nicely made instrument. His craftsmanship is superb. David Sr. is a very nice guy and David Jr. is a really good player. If you are in the Ennis area, I recommend checking out his flutes.

[Ryano]

[Thread revival - Mod.]

It a long time since this thread was active but I felt I had to add to it. I was give a present of one of these flutes a year ago for my fortieth birthday. I am an intermediate level player and have found this flute to have improved my playing considerable! I was playing an M&E polymer flute for a couple of years and while it did what it needed to, there really is no comparison. The flutes the David's make are excellent. Beautiful craftsmanship and design. The tone is excellent, as as mentioned above sounds great at the upper level. The holes are medium sized and make the flute very playable indeed. There is good volume too and I gularly play in pub sessions swamped with strings yet my instrument holds its own. There is little evident deviation in pitch in the individual notes. All in all the flute I got is amazing. Of course many will look down their noses because its not made in Colorado...but in terms of value and enjoyment O'Brien flutes win hands down imho.