These are actual questions that people asked. Feel free to email me with your question if is it isn't listed. I may even publish your question here, but without your name.
What does a Swan Neck Headjoint cost?
Where can I buy one?
I do not know which one of your products I need.
How much is that in dollars/yuan/francs/dinar ?
How about a box?
How do I go about having my flute modified?
Can I trade in my existing headjoint?
Can I rent a Swan Neck or Vertical flute from you?
Do I have to pay BTW (VAT/ sales tax)?
Is there a waiting time?
Do you need a deposit?
Do you know the shipping prices?
How do I go about ordering one of your products?
Can I order an entire instrument from you?
So why dont I have a test set that can be blown to sound?
Do you know of any left handed flutes being made.
Can you also modify the keys of my flute?
Can you make a flute that I can play with [ only the right/left
hand/ without right 3rd finger] etc?
Can you make an adapted violin / guitar / sousaphone?
I have VERY small hands for an adult and fairly short
arms.
If I design a special key or adaptation for my flute
can you make it and send it to me?
Do you still make the Model-7 headjoint?
What are the differences between the vertical headjoint
you offer and the one made by Drelinger?
Can you make a headjoint for my Brand X flute?
Can your headjoints fit into my own student model flute?
Do you also make alto flute heads?
Also, do you make these for piccolos?
Can you make one with a wing lipplate?
How many have you made?
What material are the flute heads made of?
What if I have special demands (gold tube,platinum riser
etc?)
Can you make me a plastic one from ABS resin?
Can you make these in wood?
How do I clean my Flutelab headjoint?
I live in (USA, Japan, Iceland...) can I try one of your headjoints
somewhere?
Will the Swan Neck flute help me if I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
So you bend the original head joint into a swan position?
Will the tuning be different?
Can you make it sound exactly like my 1966 Haynes?
Can I play in all the same registers as with a normal
head?
How do I fix the thumbrest on my flute?
What is the tenon size of my flute?
Would you put a link to my site?
I do not know which one of your products
I need
If you have any questions at all, feel free to email
me. Also, I can send you a test set with dummy headjoints that you can try
out at home. Look here for the testsets.
What does a swan-neck headjoint cost?
For current pricing look here.
If you want, I can supply any flute with it, at a competetive price. Please
ask for a quote. If you own a good flute you want me to work on, that is fine
too. More often than not, some adaptations are neccesary to achieve optimal
position. This may include a device to adjust the left hand position or extended
keys. Also a thumb rest will be needed as the flute will tend to slide down
when you hold it at an angle.
price = head joint + other adaptations + shipping
Where can I buy one?
You can buy either directly from Flutelab, use the order form here, or see our dealer list here.
How much is that in dollars/yuan/francs/dinar ?
Look here.
How about a box?
The headjoints come in a box, its included in the price.
If I have modified your flute it will probably not fit its box anymore. I
can make you a box, not very expensive but a bit crude as I have to make them
myself as I don't have a good box-maker around here. If you can arrange
for a box yourself that suits me fine.
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How do I go about having my flute modified?
There are two ways to handle the procedure: one if you don't mind a trip to
Amsterdam, where I live. You would then visit my workshop, and I construct
a dummy adaptation on the spot. You will be able to judge and refine my proposition
then and there. I will then quote a price for the work to be done, and when
you accept, I'll make the requested headjoint/ adaptations.
Amsterdam is a gorgeous place, but I can imagine it's a bit much of a trip.
So the alternative option is to do things by email. I ask questions, You answer,
and I finally construct a dummy flute which I send to you by snailmail so
you can feel how it would be to play a swan-neck or verical flute. For most
people the standard test set dummies for Swan Neck/Vertical headjoint are
fine.
Can I trade in my existing headjoint?
I am afraid you can't. I am an instrument maker, not a headjoint shop.
Can I rent a Swan Neck or Vertical flute
from you?
I am sorry, that is not possible, unless there is a lot of demand. The problem
here is that after renting out a headjoint it is not brand new anymore, so
I cannot sell it as new. That means the rental price would be quite high.
Do I have to pay BTW (VAT/ sales tax)?
If you are a person from the EU you pay Dutch VAT. If you are a EU VAT-registered
business, or a not-EU customer you do not pat VAT.
Is there a waiting time ?
The avarage waiting time is 3 months. I try to keep it is low as possible,
but sometimes I have complicated jobs (like building one-handed flutes) and
then everybody else has to wait.
Do you need a deposit before sending
out a flute or dummy example?
There is no deposit required. Only when you order a very expensive flute you
may be asked to pay in advance for the flute.
Do you know the shipping price differences
between Fedex (full insurance) and Postal service (partial insurance)?
Postal: woldpack basic registered € 29. Fedex will be around € 80
How do I go about ordering one of your
products?
First, find out what you really want. You may want to order the test
set first (Look here). Ot you can email me with
your questions (Look here) . Once you know what
you want, you can order by email, snail mail order with the order page (Look
here).
Can I order a complete instrument from
you?
Yes, you can. Please ask for a quote. I do not built entire flutes, but I
can supply almost any make and model at a competetive price.
So why dont I have a test set that can be
blown to sound?
Well, if you to use that headjoint to assess the sound quality, I better send
you a pretty good headjoint. Problem 1: sending such an expensive product
up and down is very expensive both in shipping costs as in taxes. Problem
2 is that I cannot be 100% certain that that headjoint will be representative
of the final product you will get, as I can never make the same headjoint
twice. Problem 3 is that it may not fit your flute. If you order a headjoint
from me and you dont like the sound of it, you send it back to me. Simply
dont pay the bill, or I refund.
Do you know of any left handed flutes being
made.
Yes, it can be done. The big firms are not really interested in this sort
of work, but the individual flute makers may accept such a job.
Can you also modify the keys of my flute?
Yes, I can. I have a lot of experience doing this. You can see examples here.
Email me with you wishes.
Can you make a flute that I can play with
[ only the right/left hand/ without right 3rd finger] etc?
Over the years, I have made adaptive instruments thay people did not believe
possible. Look here. So there is a very good chance
that I can help you.
Can you malke an adapted violin / guitar
/ sousaphone?
I am sorry, only wind instruments, with a specialisation of flutes.
I have VERY small hands for an adult
and fairly short arms.
You may need some key modifications and perhaps a Swan Neck headjoint and
you will be all right.
If I design a special key or adaptation
for my flute can you make it and send it to me?
I will need the flute. Otherwise I cannot make it fit.
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Do you still make the Model-7 headjoint?
Yes, on special demand.
What are the differences between
the vertical headjoint you offer and the one made by Drelinger?
Every headjoint maker has his own qualities. I have never been able to compare
the two side by side, si I do not know how they are different.
Can you make a headjoint for my Brand X flute?
Yes, as long as I know the size of the tenon. The test set contains a measuring
instrument for this.
Can your headjoints fit into my own student
model flute?
Yes, no problem.
Do you also make alto flute heads?
Not yet, but I may in the future, if there is enough demand. But there is
a real problem here: bore sizes vary between brands. And having to make special
tooling for one or two flutes would become extremely expensive.
Also, do you make these for piccolos?
No, but the first vertical head were made long ago by Mr Wunnenberg, for piccolo.
Can you make one with a wing lipplate.
Yes, on special demand. It is a bit more expensive because I need to have
special riser castings made.
How many have you made?
That is a business secret! Let me say: quite a lot, as I have been making
them for over 10 years now.
What material are the flute heads made
of?
silver 925/000 (Sterling)
What if I have special demands (gold
tube,platinum riser etc?)
I can use some special materials for the embouchure (gold riser, etc. Not
for the tube, though. Only silver is so ductile that I can make it into this
shape.
Can you make me a plastic one from ABS resin?
I cannot make one of ABS. But I can make one with a plastic of wood lipplate.
I would normally use epoxy to fix the wood or plastic to the tube, but I could
use shellac. However, shellac is brittle and may crack. I can decide not to
plate anything, as I cannot guarantee every trace of the plating chemicals
is removed.
Can you make these in wood?
No, but I can make a wood embouchure. That will feel and sound very much like
a wood headjoint.
How do I clean my Flutelab headjoint?
You can use a flexible alto sax neck cleaner or just occasionally rinse with
water. Keep the blowhole clean with a cotton swab.
I live in (USA, Japan, Iceland...) can I
try one of your headjoints somewhere?
Not yet, but I ask me, and I will try to find a distributor near you. Any
suggestions?
Will the Swan Neck flute help me if I have
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
No. If you suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, email me and and I may be able
to make a support for your flute. Once you have a bad inflammation, only rest
will help.
So you bend the original head joint
into a swan position?
No, I make entirely new headjoints. First, I use a special bore taper that
compensates for the tuning imperfections caused by the bends.
Second, My tooling is may not fit your headjoint.
Third, I would have to unsolder the embouchure to make the flute go into the
bending machine, and fit it again afterwards. This is not a good idea.
Will the tuning be different?
Only to a very small degree. The oscillations inside a curved bore behave
a little different. Bends cause sharpness, but in the Flutelab headjoints
that effect has been compensated for in both bore size and diameter. The headjoints
are made to A=442Hz. If you want it different, tell me, and it can be made.
Can you make it sound exactly like my 1966
Haynes?
No, I can't. It is not possible to replicate the sound of another headjoint.
Each headjoint will sound like a Flutelab headjoint. Look here.
Can I play in all the same registers
as with a normal head?
Yes, you can. There will be some more resistence in the very highest notes
due to turbulence.
How do I fix the thumbrest on my
flute?
Simply push it on. If you first clean the flute with a solvent (alcohol, acetone)
it will stay on better.
What is the tenon size of my flute?
The
tenon is the part of the headjoint where it goes into the flute body. The
tenon must fit very precisely. To make sure your new headjoint fits on your
existing flute, we must know the tenon size to an accuracy of 0.01mm . Your
repairperson will measure this for you or you can use the tenon size measuring
tools that comes with the test set.
Would you put a link to my site?
Probably not. I only keep a small list of highly relevant links. Look here.
“I
take your questions very seriously. Everybody always gets an answer.”
