About M and E Flutes
What
We Do:
Tucked into a corner of County
Mayo, Knockmullen View is the home of Michael
and Evelyn Cronnolly.
As a young flute player, Michael built his first flute from an oak wheel
spoke. ("The Spoke", as it is fondly referred to locally, is
on display at the Michael Coleman
Irish Music Center, in Gorteen, Mayo). Over the past thirty years,
Cronnolly has moved beyond woods and has developed designs and processes
for constructing traditional Irish style flutes using durable polymer
materials. Cronnolly continues to experiment with new designs,
materials, and techniques for providing
rugged flutes with
excellent
sound at affordable prices.
Our Flutes:
M and E Flutes specializes in keyless Irish flutes in the key of D,
the standard flute for traditional Irish music. Our D flutes are
modeled after the classic Rudall & Rose style
of traditional Irish flute. Michael also makes flutes in the keys
of F and Eb, and can also provide keys
on the standard D flutes. We usually have several polymer keyless
D flutes that can be sent as soon as your order is received . Other
versions are built to order - please contact
Michael directly for delivery time. You can order all of our keyless
flutes by mailing in our order
form or by contacting Michael Cronnolly
by phone or e-mail. Go to our Products
page for coplete descriptions of all of our instruments. For keyed
flutes, see this note.
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Our Materials:
<>Irish flutes are typically made from woods like African blackwood.
But all woods eventually warp and crack. The polymers
used by Cronnolly are almost indestructible under even extreme temperature
and humidity conditions, and produce flutes which can last lifetimes with
virtually no maintenance. In addition to exceptional durability,
the inherent uniformity and dimensional stability of polymers mean that
M and E flutes perform consistently and stay in tune under all playing
conditions. Polymers are lower in cost and more easily machined than
hardwoods, allowing our polymer flutes to be more reasonably priced.
That being said, Michael does make wood flutes and whistles. These
instruments are recommended only for players that live in a relatively
stable climate or with experience in caring for wood flutes. Please
contact Michael to determine what wood
types are available at the time of your order.
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Our Processes:
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M and E polymer flutes are machined from solid polymer rod stock.
Tools and techniques used to make our polymer flutes are essentially identical
to those used for our wood flutes.
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Our Customers:
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M and E polymer flutes are especially well suited to beginners, students,
and younger players. Durability, consistency, and the excellent sound
and range of these flutes insure that the student's progress is not limited
by an inferior "beginner" instrument. These features also eliminate
the need to move up to more expensive flutes as the student's skills improve.
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M and E polymer flutes are also an excellent choice for advanced players
and professionals. The reasonable price of these flutes allows accomplished
players to supplement their "prize" flute with a rugged session workhorse.
Advanced players are especially enthusiastic about the strength of our
flute's lowest notes.
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the Webmaster
Copyright 2005 ~ M
and E Flutes ~ All rights reserved