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#1 2008-01-14 10:18:21
McNeill Art Flutes
I ran into these a few years back at the Phoenix Gift Shop in Big Sur, before I knew how to make a note. Anyhow, I found them again yesterday in the same spot and managed to make a few sounds out of them. They are pretty shakuhachi, lacquered, but I am a little uncertain as to the quality of their construction in terms of tuning. I am not sure if they are in tune to 440 Hz or to themselves. The bore was pretty huge on the blowin' side, with a very thin chin rest. I wasn't a fan of this, but maybe there are flutes out there like this?
The flutes were also bigger than I was used to; a C and B flute respectively, which added to my difficulty in assessing them. They were also one piece of bamboo--this, combined with some writing like "meditation shakuhachi" and other data noted above makes me think this is more like a lacquered hocchiku thingy. I probably could have gotten used to them after an hour or so, but you can't really noodle around on a flute in a gift shop for more than a few minutes. They were about 160 bucks or so.
http://mcneillart.com/flute.php
Looks like some of the flutes on Mr. McNeill's page are a little more sturdy in terms of construction. He may indeed sell higher quality flutes.
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#2 2008-03-08 04:14:25
- costademaria
- Member
- From: spain, denia
- Registered: 2006-12-11
- Posts: 110
- Website
Re: McNeill Art Flutes
hi, when i go buying musical instruments i always bring a tuner with me. i trust my ears for the sound but if i would like to check the pitch i trust the tuner. depends what are your priorities of course. the tuner is cheap and you look like more "knowledgeable" buyer. in fact if i like s.th. i dont care at all for the pitch, but if s.b. states is perfectly in pitch it doesn't hurt to check it . this reminds me when i was in india one month ago and i met a bansuri flute maker on the street. cause many people there sell not so good flutes on the street at first i didn't pay him any attention. then we talked and i invited him to drink one coffee. he opened the bag with the flutes and started playing different ones. his flutes were looking more rustic than the usual ones in the shops, more organic i would say. so when he played a bit i understood a master player was sitting at the table bringing master flutes in the bag. i went to the guest house and brought the two shakuhachi i carried which i made by my self. i played also a bit. you know what happened next? the guy took a tuner out from his pocket and checked me playing my instruments if they are well in tune/hopefully they were/
then one by one showed me the perfect tuning of his flutes. he is a great maker and player with some 20years of experience i understood after.
so i always wear a tuner even if i dont care so much for concert pitch. it shows me what we are talking about...
"how dear sir did you cross the flood?" "by not halting,friend,and by not straining i crossed the flood."
"but how is it,dear sir,that by not halting and by not straining you crossed the flood?"
"when i came to a standstill,friend,then i sank,but when i struggled,then i got swept away.it is in this way by not halting and by not straining i crossed the flood"
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#3 2008-07-30 11:05:41
Re: McNeill Art Flutes
Funny postscript to this story. I was back up in Big Sur right after the fires, and found those flutes again. Maybe they were different ones. I say maybe because WOW, they sure sounded better--tuning was excellent except for the 'ro' on one of them was a little sharp, relative to the other pitches (or all others were flat). 
It couldn't possibly have been due to six months of practice.
I did have my tuner up there but not on me! My tuner is a gigantic blue clamshell--the Stroboflip. I love it. It's fussier than a chicken on Ritalin. Super precise, and portable, but not pocketable.
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