5-Key Pratten Style Flute

Condition: Restored & reworked by luthier Jonathan Walpole

Note from Jonathan:

"This Pratten-style Irish flute, made of ebony, with 5 nickel keys, brass-lined head and rings, tuning slide has no maker's mark. Based on some of the finish details, I suspect that it was originally a fairly inexpensive flute. It is no longer in its original state though. Its bore profile has been reworked significantly, by re-reaming the entire flute with the reamer I use to make my Pratten-style Irish flutes. The tone holes have been tweaked, via undercutting, to dial in tuning, the keys have been repadded with high quality leather pads, and the key springs tweaked to improve performance. Basically, the acoustic heart of this instrument has been transplanted and its performance is now on a different level than it was before.

It is now a dramatically better playing and sounding instrument than it was originally. It has a powerful voice, plays at modern pitch with slide extended about 3/4", and is offered as a lower cost option for players who are on a budget but would still like to get into a keyed, session-capable flute that actually plays well at modern pitch. The embouchure was originally cut a bit on the large side, but I did not go so far as to insert a bushing because it can easily be partially covered by the lower-lip while playing to dial in the desired tone/tuning and breath requirements."