The Powell Handmade Alto

Powell's Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, has seen Powell flutes and piccolos of all ages and styles cross her bench over the years.  This week, however, she had the chance to work on something that she had never seen until now -- a Powell Handmade alto flute.

The flute (serial number 5006) was made in 1977 and was in the shop for a C.O.A. (clean, oil, adjust).  Looking back through the Powell Bible, we discovered that only 34 Powell alto flutes had been made in the history of the company.  The production of these flutes spanned from 1930 to 1990, with a large majority (15) being made between 1976 and 1978.  This particular alto was also one of only four that were made with gold lip plates.

Indeed, this was a special and memorable moment for Rachel. Speaking about the actual C.O.A. process on the alto, Rachel said it was pretty much the same as it is for C flutes.  She said, "same oil, same pads -- just things are a bit bigger." Although the flute originally had felt pads, we noticed that it now has Straubinger pads, so we could see her point about the similarity!

In terms of differences, this particular instrument was definitely one of a kind.  Rachel told us that when it comes to models (like altos) that were made in small quantities, you can find slight design differences among them.  She admired the keywork for its aesthetics and noted that both the body and mechanism were sterling silver.  She was particularly fond of the pointed arms and small points in the middle of the key cups which you will see in the photos below.

Although we did not have information on the actual karat of the lip plate, Rachel said that it is most likely 18k, as this was quite common during the time when this flute was made. Today, Powell offers alto flutes only in the Powell Sonaré line--the AF-60 and AF-70. Both models come with an all sterling silver Powell headjoint made at the shop in Maynard, Massachusetts, and a choice between straight or curved headjoints. Click here to find more information about these models on the Powell website.

Telltale Sounds?

Even handmade professional flutes have normal key or mechanism noises.

As much as we might not want to fix something that suddenly becomes noisy, chances are that the noise is an indication of a problem.  For instance, if you are driving and hear a strange noise, it's very possible that the car needs a repair.  So, we wondered -- what about flutes?  Are there noises that might indicate something needs to be fixed?  We spoke with Powell's repair technician, Rachel Baker, to find out...

Rachel said that in the natural course of playing flute, most people begin on a student flute and eventually move up to a professional level, handmade flute.  The student and intermediate (or step-up) flutes will generally have mechanisms that are "noisier" than handmade flutes because of differences in materials and mechanism.  For instance, she told us that the tolerances on the student mechanism do not need to be as high as on a handmade professional model, so the mechanism itself is usually "noisier."  Student flutes also use adjustment screws that can produce a metal-on-metal noise.  However, these noises are normal, and flutists become accustomed to theses sounds, so if they move up to a handmade flute, they may not even notice any "unusual" noises.

With handmade professional flutes, there are a few things that might indicate issues that need to be repaired.  Noises to look out for include "sticking" noises from sticky pads.  In this case, it might also be an indication that the flute itself needs to be cleaned since the sticking noise could be from "grime" on the pads, tops of tone holes, or both.  Also, if the mechanism hasn't been oiled in a while, you might notice a "clanking" noise.  If something like a paper adjustment or key tail felt falls off, this can produce a noticeable  metal-on-metal noise.  And, if you hear a buzzing noise, Rachel said it could be a loose mechanism, loose solder, or pretty much any number of things.  She said that noise from something that needs to be repaired will definitely become more obvious as time goes on...

However, professional handmade flutes do have their fair amount of normal noises that are certainly no cause for alarm. She told us that any normal "noise' would not be heard over your own playing -- and definitely not by the audience.  As always, if you do hear something unusual, make sure to contact your repair technician sooner rather than later!

Padding the Powell Sonaré PS-750 Piccolo

PS-750 in Tuscan Umber

We've had a couple of dealer inquiries about padding the Powell Sonaré PS-750 piccolo, which is understandable given the very different "look" of the instrument.  It has square keys and a stainless steel mechanism.  So, how do you pad it?

Well, the answer is quite simple.  Powell Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, tells us that you "pad it like a normal piccolo."  The mechanism itself has square keys, but if you look on the underside of these keys, you will see regular, round, felt piccolo pads.  How are they held on?  Well, there is actually a circular groove cut into the key, essentially creating a "key cup" for the pad.  Also, the actual tone holes in the body of the flute are round.  Rachel says she uses the very same scoring process and shellac as with the Custom and Signature piccolos to help seat the pads.  We wrote a post on piccolo padding that you can read by clicking this link.

But what about the stainless steel?  Does that require a different heating process?  Actually, Rachel tells us that she heats them just as she would heat round, silver key cups.  She says that stainless steel transports heat the same way as silver, and heating these metals takes the same amount of time.  So, she says you simply, "heat it and float it" when you seat a pad on the PS-750.  For more details on this piccolo, click here to visit the PS-750 page on the Powell website.

Underside of square keys has a round grooved "cup" to hold round pads.

Closer view of underside of keys.

Round tone holes.

Close-up on the tone holes.

Powell Sonaré Repair

Powell Sonaré 505BOF

When we stop in to see our repair technician, we usually see the whole range of Powell models -- Signature, Conservatory, Custom.  However, Powell Sonaré flutes rarely come in to the shop here.  Why is this?  Well, Powell Sonaré flutes are mostly serviced by repair technicians at the dealer location where the customer purchased the flute or by other local repair technicians in the customer's area.  There are numerous dealers across the country who sell and service Powell Sonaré flutes and many independent technicians.  For Powell models, there are fewer dealers in comparison.  Each Powell dealer must have a Straubinger-certified repair technician since Powell models use Straubinger pads.  Since there may not be a Powell dealer close to every customer, or Starubinger-certified independent technician, many customers send their flutes directly to Powell for repair.

Although Powell's repair tech, Rachel Baker, doesn't see many Powell Sonaré flutes on a regular basis, we were still curious about differences in repair between Powell and Powell Sonaré models.  She told us that essentially, the repairs she does are pretty much the same -- replacing pads and adjusting the mechanism.  These are the essentials which she does on all flutes.  The only difference, she tells us, is time.  She says that the time it takes to repair a Powell Sonaré is less than it would take on a Powell.  Why is this?  Well, there are a couple of differences.  The Powell Sonaré models have felt pads and a different mechanism.  Specifically, the tolerances on the Powell Sonaré and Powell models are different, and this is what accounts for the difference in repair time.  You may notice tolerance levels in the "feel" of the mechanism.  Since Powell Sonaré flutes are designed for younger players, the tolerance levels do not need to be as high as they would on the Powell models. Mechanisms with very high tolerance levels will take much longer to adjust.

You will find a complete list of Powell and Powell Sonaré dealers on the Powell website at https://powellflutes.com/dealer.  Powell repairs may be scheduled directly through the website at https://powellflutes.com/repair-doctor/schedule?destination=repair-doctor/schedule/repair.

Powell Sonaré 505BOF (far left) and other Powell models in the testing room

Alto Repadding

We stopped by Rachel's repair office here at Powell and were pretty excited to see something different -- an alto flute!  It's not every day that this instrument crosses her bench, but we lucked out, because she was in the midst of repadding the instrument.  Straubinger pads are not an option on the alto, so the Powell Sonaré alto uses felt pads.  Brand new felt pads have never been in the key cup, so once they are screwed into place, the skin can wrinkle a bit from the new amount of tension.  How does one solve this problem?  Well, oddly enough, it is quite similar to a wrinkled piece of clothing -- it gets ironed!  Rachel has a special "pad iron" to iron the pads.  She takes it, dips it in water, and then uses it to wet the pad skin.  She then heats the pad iron with an alcohol lamp and irons the wet pad with the heated iron.  This is repeated on every pad.  Since the pads are already wet, Rachel then clamps them to get an impression of the tone hole crown on the pad.  She lets it dry overnight with the clamps in place, and then in the morning, the impressions will be set.  The impressions help Rachel seat the pads, because she can see where they may be a little closing too lightly or too heavily on the tone hole -- and then she can shim the pads accordingly.

As usual, if your flute needs repadding, it is best to take it to a professional.  Obviously, there are many steps in the process from taking a brand new pad out of the bag to making it fit and function perfectly in the cup!

Getting ready -- pad iron is the metal device to the left of the flute.

Dipping the iron in water.

Going to wet the pad.

Heating the iron after wetting the pad.

Ironing out wrinkled pad skin with heated iron.

Clamping pads to get impressions.