Instrument maker

NEWS

- 5th October 2010

The Austrian radio station OE1 presented me as an instrument maker in their programme Radiokolleg – "Klang aus Meisterhand". You can listen to the broadcast here:

Radio programme ORF OE1 (in German language)

My first flute repair job was quite unique. After searching for a long time, I finally found a Low-Whistle with a beautiful sound and excellent intonation. During our homeward journey, we took a short break. My daughter opened the car door in order to exit. My wonderful flute rolled out of the car and onto the street and was promptly run over by a passing car—flattened flatter than a pancake! I was horrified! It took me a while to regain my composure, but when I had done so, the technician in me came to the surface. I decided on the spot to apply my knowledge and experience as a trained tool maker and mechanical engineer, and attempt to save the tragic remains of a once-beautiful instrument. It took me an entire night of painstaking work in my shop to bring that wonderful flute back to life, but I succeeded. To this day, it remains one of my favourite instruments. As a result of this experience, I was motivated to try my hand at building my first, very own, metal Low-Whistle, which is exactly what I did.

I was unsatisfied with the first Irish Concert Flute which I purchased—unfortunately, not a very good one. The workmanship and tone quality left a lot to be desired. An additional problem was the long waiting time for quality brand flutes, which can be up to six years. This fact was a significant influence leading to my final decision to produce my own flutes. That tipped the scales for me, and I decided to produce my own flutes. I began studying old wooden flutes, and conducted a series of experiments. The result was the creation of my own flute, an instrument which had the quality I wanted and needed. I showed my instruments to some fellow musicians. They were so excited about them, that I decided to make them available to others.

My Bodhrán Sticks are designed to fit the human hand more naturally and as well to achieve greater performance accuracy.

The Bodhrán Sticks depicted on this page are examples of my standard models. However, we would be glad to modify the sticks for those of our customers who have specific needs or requests.