Ruby Aurumite

We debuted our newest Aurumite® flute, Ruby Aurumite, at the August 2014 NFA Convention and realized that we hadn't written about it here on the Flute Builder blog, so we wanted to share more about it!

Since we've taken the Ruby Aurumite to shows and flute fairs across the country, it has certainly gotten a lot of attention and a great response from those who have tried it.  Flutists have found Ruby Aurumite to be a flute that is very responsive and easy to play.  One of the questions we hear quite a bit is, "So, what's different about the Ruby Aurumite?"

Aside from the ruby in the crown, there are a couple of differences between Ruby Aurumite and the other two Aurumite flutes -- Aurumite 9k Conservatory, and the Aurumite 14k Custom.  The Aurumite 9k Conservatory has 9k rose gold on the outside and silver on the inside.  Ruby Aurumite is similar in that the gold is on the outside, but it is 14k rose gold.  Our Director of Service and Quality, Rebecca Eckles, says that she finds Ruby Aurumite to have a darker sound than the Aurumite 9k Conservatory.  Ruby Aurumite flutes also have soldered tone holes, and the Aurumite 9k Conservatory has drawn tone holes.  So, Rebecca feels that Ruby's soldered tone holes give it more depth of sound.  She agrees with what our customers have found in terms of response -- Ruby is definitely responsive right off the bat and very easy to play.  In comparison with the Aurumite 14k Custom, the Ruby Aurumite is the "opposite" configuration.  Aurumite 14k Custom flutes have silver on the outside and 14k rose gold on the inside, whereas the Ruby Aurumite is the reverse.

Lindsey McChord, one of our flute finishers who also cuts headjoints, shared her thoughts on the Ruby Aurumite.  Lindsey works mostly with Ruby Aurumite when she is cutting headjoints.  She does not always have a complete Ruby set-up, which actually gives her a chance to see how Ruby Aurumite flutes respond and sound with headjoints of different materials.  In general, Lindsey feels that the Ruby Aurumite is a little warmer and darker that Aurumite 14k.  In terms of working with Ruby Aurumite headjoints, she tells us they are more like working with gold.  When she has tested the silver headjoints with a Ruby Aurumite flute, she feels that the silver headjoint brings Ruby back to the brighter side, closer to the Aurumite 14k.

Rebecca's perspective is that Ruby is darker than Aurumite 9k but not as dark as the Aurumite 14k.  Lindsey feels the Ruby Aurumite is darker and warmer than an Aurumite 14k.  So, as you can see, differences in sound are really quite subjective.  From a technical perspective, the type of tone holes on a Ruby Aurumite is the same as an Aurumite 14k (soldered) but different from the Aurumite 9k (drawn).  So, if you have the chance to try a Ruby Aurumite, see what you think -- there is definitely no right or wrong answer!

Building the White Gold Flute - Part 3

This week, we spent time with Custom flute body maker, Alex Shtyrkov, once again.  He was preparing to silver braze the tone holes,  Now, we realize that this type of tone hole is referred to as a "soldered tone hole," but Powell actually silver brazes its tone holes.  What is the difference?  Well, brazing requires a much higher temperature than soldering, and the flute is put through an oven for the brazing process.  We have a previous post on brazing and soldering at http://www.flutebuilder.com/2012/06/why-solder-matters.html.  In the video below, you will see Alex prepare the tone holes with a brazing paste and then put the flute through the brazing oven.

After the flute comes out of the oven, Alex removes the small fixtures that held the tone hole rings on to the body for the brazing process.  At this point, the actual holes need to be made in the body, which is referred to as "milling tone holes."  It is basically a process of cutting through the metal with a rotary device to make the hole.  After the holes are milled, Alex "faces" the tops of the tone hole rings so that they will be the proper height and shape.  You will see the milling and facing in the video below:

Check back next week as we the body making process continues...

Building the White Gold Flute - Part 2

We're in week 2 of our white gold NFA Custom flute's journey to being completed.  When we last saw the flute, it was in raw material form -- body tubes and components in the body and stringing kits.  As the body and stringing kits were being assembled in the materials department, the body tubes (center and footjoint), were sent over to Powell production team member Jason Sherman.  Jason's role is to drill very small holes in the tubes.  Each hole is the center of what will actually be the full tone hole.  As with the entire process, accuracy is key.  In order to drill these holes precisely, Jason programs a CNC (Computer Numeric Control) to drill the holes into their exact locations on the tubes, as you will see in the video below.  He repositions the tubes a few times during the process to drill offset holes as well as holes on the side and back of the tubes.

Footjoint after initial holes were drilled.

After the holes are drilled, the body tubes go back to the materials department and are placed in the body kit.  The body kit is then picked up by the body maker, Alex Shtyrkov.  We spent a few days with Alex as he prepared each and every tone hole to be brazed to the body.  Before the tone holes are brazed on to the body, they must be prepared to fit the tubes exactly.  Alex goes through each tone hole, fitting them and shaping them by hand.  Once they are ready, he attaches them to the body to prepare for brazing.  The tone holes must be secured so that they do not move during the brazing process.  Securing the tone holes requires the use of small fixtures that go through the initial center holes that were drilled by Jason.  Alex secures each tone hole, and then prepares them for brazing, which we will see next week...

The Powell Scale

We received the following inquiry regarding the production process and how it affects the scale, and we thought many of you might have the same questions:

How do you construct the scale of your instruments? What are the advantages of having a flute with a handmade scale when compared to a mass-produced flute?

Powell Flutes are made today using the Modern Powell Scale, but over the course of 79 years we have used a few different versions of flute scales.  Our current scale is based on the Cooper Scale by Albert Cooper; but there are modifications that have been made to better suit a Powell instrument.

In theory, there could be no difference in the scale of a handmade flute versus a mass-produced flute.  The position of the tone holes on the tubing determines the scale of an instrument, and that is not a factor in determining whether a flute is handmade or mass-produced.

However, flute makers who offer handmade soldered tone hole flutes have been the quickest to make modifications to their scales to improve intonation.  Thus, most handmade flute makers offer a more even and in-tune scale.  In addition, handmade flute makers are more likely to continue to improve their scale based on the opinions of professional flutists.

Bodies with drawn tone holes.

Bodies with soldered tone holes.

Undercutting Tone Holes

You may have heard the term "undercut tone holes" or have read about "undercutting tone holes," but what exactly does that mean?  We spoke with flute finisher Karl Kornfeld and repair technician Rachel Baker about undercutting.  Rachel shared with us that undercutting tone holes is something that is fairly recent.  Both soldered and drawn tone holes can be undercut, although soldered tone holes would tend to have more undercutting.  Why is this?  Well, essentially, with soldered tone holes, a hole is cut into the flute body, and then then "tone hole" is soldered onto the body with the inside edges of the hole flush with the actual hole in the body.  Because the tone hole is soldered straight down onto the body, there could be sharp edges where the tone hole meets the body.  These sharp edges can cause turbulence inside the body and need to be rounded.  The rounding of these edges is what is known as "undercutting."  Less undercutting is needed on drawn tone hole flutes because the tone hole is formed by pulling metal up from the body.  Because the metal is not pulled exactly in a straight line, there is already a bit of rounding on drawn tone holes.

Undercutting is an extremely delicate step that takes care and precision.  If there is not enough undercutting, the player might feel more resistance when playing.  If there is too much undercutting, you can lose focus in the sound and definition between notes.  As Rachel reminded us, as air travels through the flute, there still need to be nodal points for the air as it travels.  Too much undercutting can disturb the air flow.  We've included some photos of two tone holes on a drawn tone hole flute.  One hole has been undercut, and the other has not yet been undercut.  It's difficult to see, but the undercut tone hole has a bit more of a reflection on the edge of the hole in the body.  The other tone hole is a bit more "'dull" around the edge.  Coincidentally, we caught up with a former Powell flute finisher who is now working on saxophones with soldered tone holes.  The tone holes are soldered with the same process that Powell uses on its soldered tone hole flutes.  Because the saxophone tone holes are so much bigger, it's much easier to see from that photo the difference between the undercut tone hole (smooth around the edge) and the one that has not yet been undercut (rough around the edge).

Many older flutes do not have undercut tone holes, so if yours does not, it's okay.  There are many types of flutes for many types of flute players!  If you have additional questions, always remember contact your authorized repair technician.

Red arrow points to undercut tone hole, orange to tone hole that has not been undercut yet.

Close-up of tone holes (top, undercut and bottom, not undercut)

You can really see the difference with these soldered saxophone tone holes.  Red arrow points to undercut.  Orange arrow point tone hole yet to be undercut (you can really see the rough edge).

Tone Holes - Drawn or Soldered?

The Virtues of Soldered Tone Holes  

By Steven Wasser, President, Verne Q. Powell Flutes 

When you think of a ‘professional’ flute, what features and options do you think of? If you’re a flute manufacturer, one important feature of a handmade custom flute is the type of tone hole used. There are two methods of creating a flute’s tone holes: drawn and soldered.

Most flutes offer drawn (or extruded) tone holes, primarily because they are efficient and economical to produce: using a machine, the tubing is pulled out of a small hole in the flute body into a tall ‘chimney’ to form the tone hole. It is then rolled over and flattened to create the surface for the pad to close against.

Soldered tone holes, on the other hand, have long been one hallmark of a handmade, professional flute and are featured exclusively on all custom handmade Powell instruments. Each tone hole along the body of the instrument is created by soldering separate metal rings onto the body tube. Soldered tone holes offer the flutist a number of advantages with relatively few downsides: 

·         Resonance and intonation:  Flute makers utilize a technique called “undercutting,” which allows them to make subtle adjustments in the flute’s tone, response, and intonation. The greater thickness of the soldered tone hole gives the flute maker more flexibility in making these fine adjustments.

·         Darkness and Depth of Sound: because of their thickness, flutes with soldered tone holes usually produce a darker sound than those with drawn tone holes. 

·         Response: the flatter the tone hole surface (where the pad touches) the stronger the seal and the more responsive the instrument. Where soldered tone holes inherently offer a more level surface, the sides of drawn tone holes are often weak and as a result, they are pressed down in the process of creating the rolled edge. This creates a slightly warped surface for which the flute maker must compensate while installing pads.

Soldered tone holes are flat at the top

Drawn tone holes have a bit of a rounded edge 

Recently, drawn (or extruded) tone holes have been characterized by many in the industry as being equal in quality to soldered tone holes. Here at Powell, we believe each type of tone hole offers different characteristics to the sound and response of the flute and as a result, we offer both types of tone holes on our instruments.

Is one type of tone hole better or worse than the other? Possibly. But at Powell, offering choice to our customers allows each individual artist to decide what sounds best to them.