Verne Q. Powell 1928 Brochure

Since 1928, flutists around the world have enjoyed playing Powell flutes.  Throughout the years, we've seen different models, and today there are so many choices for options and materials.  The three Powell models currently produced are the Signature, Handmade Conservatory, and Handmade Custom.  If you've ever wondered about the earliest Powell flute models, we've uncovered the very first Verne Q. Powell Flutes brochure from 1928.  During that time, two models were offered: the Hand Made and Commercially Made.  The major difference between the two was that the Hand Made had soldered tone holes, and the Commercially Made had drawn tone holes.

Prices today vary due to the changing costs of precious metals -- and they certainly are different from the 1920s!  So, just how much would a Powell go for in 1928?  It may be a bit difficult to tell from the scanned photo of the price listing in the 1928 catalog, but the prices were as follows:

Silver Flutes
No. 1 – Hand-made, French model (open keys),

either closed or open G#, A440…$250                       

No. 1A – Hand-made, American model (covered keys),

either closed or open G#, A440…$250         

No. 2 – Commercially made, French model,

either closed or open G#, A440…$200        

No. 2A – Commercially made, American model,

either closed or open G#, A440…$185         

Flutes made to low B (optional)…extra $25

C# trill………………………….......extra $18

Flutes made with 18 karat gold embouchure (optional)…extra $25

Gold Flutes
Hand-made, French model (open keys), either closed or open G#,
14 karat gold throughout……………...............$900

Hand-made, American model (covered keys), either closed or open G#, 14 karat gold throughout……………$900

Although the prices seem considerably lower than today, we realize that those amounts were of a much different value than they are in 2013, so it all pretty much balances out!  Of course, without question, they were (and still are) as the brochure says, "a work of art...as mechanically perfect as it is possible to produce."

Cover of the 1928 brochure

Listing of models on the right column

Photos and prices

The 2100

The 2100 model flute has a very distinctive, modern look inspired by the turn of the millennium.  It was introduced in 1993, and production continued through 2003.  It was also the predecessor of the very popular silver Handmade Conservatory Model.  The 2100 was made of sterling silver, and the 3100 was an aurumite model.  Because these models were produced for a limited period of time, we usually see the 2100 and 3100 in for regular maintenance in our repair office.

The most distinctive feature of the 2100 is the shape of the key cups. The concept was very modern and futuristic, so they are quite distinctive. We've shared photos below to compare the 2100 with its successor, the silver Handmade Conservatory.  As far as the mechanism, they only other major mechanical difference between the two is that on the 2100, the feet of the key tails hit tabs on the ribs -- whereas the key tails on the Handmade Conservatory touch the body.  In general, the key arms, especially at the points where they wrap around the mechanism tubing, are "flatter" on the 2100 when compared with a more traditional, "double beveled" shape on the Handmade Conservatory.  Our repair technician, Rachel, said, "The 2100s may look a bit funny, but they play so well."  So, if you happen to see a very distinctive looking Powell with very different key cups and more angular stylistic elements, chances are it is the 2100!  

Key tail hits tab on rib.

Side view of key tail in contact with tab on rib.

On a Conservatory, the key tail touches the body.

Comparison of 2100 on the left and Conservatory on the right.

2100 has key shapes that are more square, flatter key arms, more angular style in general. 

Thumb key comparison.

Foot joint comparison. 

Close-up on key cups.

Even the rings on the barrel are different.

"What's the Powell Flute?"

Verne Powell

Continuing on from the excerpt we posted last week of Les Waddington's 1984 interview with Edward Powell (Verne Powell's son), we learn a bit more as Edward recounts the reaction to Powell flutes in the earliest days of the company:

Les Waddington: Well, we continue our discussion, and Ed, you were about to carry on from the point where your father had pulled away (from the Haynes company) and had set up a plant.  I need to know some dates...

Edward Powell:  Well,  I think I mentioned earlier, it was 1926, when I took off for Lido, Venice, with the Harvard dance band.  He was making the change then, and having a rather hard time of it.  Then, upon my return and during the next couple of years, I was busy.  I had to keep playing to earn money, and finishing some school, and taking a course at MIT.  I wanted to catch up on some electrical engineering mathematics.  But, this period, over the crash, you know between '27, 28, '29, and up to 1935, during that period, he had a struggle.  He was having a hard time, and what flutes he made were mostly, well, in this period, he got to the Boston Symphony with his flute and satisfied Laurent from France, that he had something that was as similar to, or equivalent to, or equal to, or satisfactory as the (Louis) Lot flute.  So, this was my dad's whole aim -- to carry on the Louis Lot tradition, and not only tonally, but also aesthetically.  He turned out a lovely looking instrument and knew how to handle the precious metals, polish, and the keywork, and patterns, and this sort of thing.  And so by 1935, he was well grooved in his designs, patterns, and little production, and had moved out to Huntington Avenue -- opposite the New England Conservatory.  At that time, the people working for him were, well, when he left the Haynes company, a couple of the leading men from Haynes moved in with him, especially John Schwelm who was an excellent flutemaker and mechanic, and Hans Haugaard, who was a plodding padder, and I mean plodding.  He could not pad one flute in a whole day, where my dad could do two a day.  But the importance of it was such, and Hans was such a devoted person that the team worked, and they were beginning to produce flutes.  In the meantime, we engaged a young guy out of mechanical school, Northeastern, or something, Austin Nickerson, who was a good shop man.  He could handle the lathes and tools, and punch press, and things.

Verne's Bench

That's about the time that I took off for New York, following the burgeoning of the radio network business, and I was fortunate in the sense that I was in the right place at the right time, and I moved into New York, April, 1935.  And within six months, I had 5 substitutes working for me, there was so much work.  But my principal achievements or recognition lay in my being part of the Kostelanetz, the CBS Symphony Orchestra, and of the, well, numerous radio programs at that time, when freelance and radio was the big thing, just coming into its own.  I won't bother with naming those things, but the point is that I moved ahead so fast that it was almost dizzying to meet that much success in such a short time, but the point is that the Powell flute was relatively unknown in New York.  And in the meantime, old man Haynes had set up an office, a little extension of his showroom, right next to Radio City, and he was attracting all the flute players, and at that time of course, doublers were numerous.  Now, I immediately ran into people who would say, "What's the Powell flute?  Never heard of it."  But in a very short time, they were coming to me because I had, let's say, come out of the ranks of the George Laurent school of flute playing, the Paris Conservatory method let's say.  And it was catching on.  People liked it.  I was getting all the playing offers I could handle.  And other flute players were coming to me about advice for flutes, which I passed right on to my dad.  And his big spurt in production and success began from the moment I went to New York.  And I don't like to say that in a bragging sense, but time wise, it just happened that way.  So, I gave great boost to my father's business and success, and reputation, while in New York, and daily, spending hours next to, sitting with, playing with Julie Baker and John Wummer, and Arthur Lora.  I played with all these people.  And it gets around fast, you know, that, well, it's time to switch to a Powell flute.  So, this was a booming thing from 1935. 

Huntington St. Building.  Vern Powell's original shop was on the second floor in the corner office.

The Spoon Flute

Barrel engraving

We recently caught up with Richard Powell, Verne Powell's grandson, at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair.  He shared an interview with us that his father, Edward Powell, gave in 1988.  The excerpt below is Edward's account of the development of Verne Powell's very first flute, "The Spoon Flute" -- along with a short recap of his path from Kansas to Boston.

This goes back to Fort Scott, Kansas, where I was a small boy, and my dad was a jeweler, had a jewelry store, and played a wooden piccolo in the town band.  Among his works of jewelry, he made himself a medal which is the source of humor when we bring up the subject.  But, he played the flute.  This is when they had already experimented with, more than experimented with, making silver flutes or flutes of other materials and precious metals in combinations in Europe -- in Germany and France.  But, in the United States, it was mostly old fashioned wooden flutes.  And the chief manufacturers at that time were in Boston.  The names of the companies who were excelling at it were, first of all, Bettoney.  Bettoney was a bigger name than Haynes, but this story has to tie up with the Haynes Company.  My father happened to be in Chicago on some business trip when he went to hear the Chicago Symphony.  There was somebody there like Barrere, old Georges Barrere, who was playing on a silver flute which made my dad, Verne Powell, "flip" (in the vernacular).  He could hardly wait to get home to his jewelry store and make a silver flute.  Now I was, say, 10 years old.  I was in and out of his jewelry store, and I loved to go in the back room there where he had a hand rolling mill, rolling out this silver.  He melted up old spoons and coins and jewelry and parts of watch cases.  Melted it up, and I remember rolling.  I even had a hand in turning the rolling mill to thin out this metal for him to make his silver flute, which of course had to be twisted around an arbor and hard soldered.  We could make a story out of that for anybody who technically wants to know more about getting the curvatures in there.  But I remember Sunday mornings, my dad sitting at home, with a little leather mallet, and hammering out the taper of the headjoint of a flute.  And so quite a laborious job to create the handmade flute, which he ended up engraving -- being a master engraver -- and inlaid the keys with little gold buttons.

The Haynes Company at that time was a second rate company, but George Haynes was the brains and talent of the Haynes family.  William S. Haynes was the businessman.  It came to Bill's attention that my dad had this handmade silver flute.  So, he wrote to my father to see if he would send the flute for examination.  And immediately following that, he made him an offer to bring the flute and the whole family, and whatever he could -- and sell his jewelry store.  Haynes and my dad got together on an agreement, and my dad was to go there as the foreman.  Then the whole family, all six of us (one brother and two sisters), piled in the drawing room of a Pullman and made it to Boston.

D# Cluster

G# Key

Trill Keys

Headjoint Engraving

Changing the Crown

We recently opened up a discussion on our Facebook page inviting readers to post questions for our blogs.  The question selected for this week's Flute Builder came to us from Cara West.  She asked, "Could changing the headjoint crown be a good alternative to changing a headjoint?"

We checked in with Rebecca Eckles on this one.  Rebecca told us that there are several things that could make a difference with your headjoint, including the cork assembly.  She said that many people haven't had their headjoiut corks changed in a long time, so it's possible that air could be leaking from a loose cork.  When this is the issue, once the headjoint cork is replaced, the headjoint seals properly, and air flows freely.

As for the crown specifically, Rebecca tells us that it is a good place to start -- especially if you do not have the money for a new headjoint.  Obviously, there is a big difference between a few hundred dollars and a few thousand dollars!  However, the effects of changing the crown are really subjective and depend on the player.  Rebecca tells us that crowns are "different things to different people."  When it comes to headjoints, a new crown can certainly "give it new life."  She says, "Sometimes the crown is called the magic button."  We thought that summed it up perfectly!  So, if you are curious, try some different crowns, and see what they can do for you!

Many headjoints without crowns in the testing room!

A few crowns to try on the headjoints in the testing room.

Left Hand Low B

We stopped by the Powell repair shop at the end of this week and were surprised to find a flute with two keys for the left hand pinky.  Of course, one was the G#, but there was another -- a left hand low B!  Multiple keys for the left pinky are no stranger to other woodwinds, but we usually do not see them on a flute.  So, just what is the purpose of this key?  Well, it gives you an optional fingering for low B.  It also could be used in place of a gizmo key.  So, you could use the left hand low B key instead of the gizmo, and it would have the same function.  The left hand low B is built into the low B key mechanism.  The left hand low B key mechanism has additional tubing, posts, and ribs that connect it to the body of the flute. When the key is pressed, a lever section next to the low B mechanism on the footjoint is activated and closes the low B key.

Although there is additional material for the key mechanism, it really does not change the weight of the flute overall.  Our Repair Technician, Rachel, tells us that this left hand low B key is not as common today as it was in earlier decades.  Aside from this key, Rachel mentioned that she has also seen a left hand low C# -- but flutes with these left hand pinky keys are a pretty rare occurrence in her shop today.

Left hand low B is below to the G#.

Left hand low B is built into the low B mechanism.

Close-up on the bridging lever portion of the mechanism.

Front view.

Close-up on left hand low B key.

Additional posts (and ribs) are at the top and bottom of this mechanism. 

Front close-up on the footjoint.

Flute Scales

By Steven Wasser

  

The flute scale determines how well the notes play in tune to each other, octave to octave, and also determines the timbral balance of the notes.  From a mechanical standpoint the flute scale is a function of the following:

• the diameter of the flute tube or “bore”
• the size of each tone hole
• the linear location of each tone hole along the flute tube
• the height of each tone hole

Theobald Boehm developed the basis for today’s flute scales.  Verne Powell initiated an improved scale when he started producing his own flutes with the Powell Scale in 1927.  The next major improvement in scale design was accomplished by Albert Cooper in 1974.  Powell was the first major flute maker to introduce the Cooper Scale, and did so in 1975.  There are several other “modern” scales in use today, including the Bennett Scale used by one Japanese flute maker, and the Deveau Scale used by Haynes. 

Today Powell uses a modified and (we believe!) improved version of the original Cooper Scale which we call the Modern Powell Scale (or just Powell Scale, for short).  When testing instruments for scale we strongly recommend that you consider not only intonation, but timbral balance as well.  A new flute should sound like one instrument, not three separate instruments.

Scale should not be confused with the pitch of an instrument.  Pitch relates to which “A” the instrument has been designed to produce (e.g., A-440, A-442, etc.)  Powell instruments made for the U.S. market are typically pitched at A-442, and play well in tune from A-440 to A-444.