The Bottom Line

What you need to consider before buying an M and E Flute

What's "traditional" about our traditional Irish flutes?

"Traditional" flute can mean lots of things to different people. For example, traditional can mean "keyless", as opposed to a flute with keys. It can also mean a wood flute, rather than a metal flute. Or it can mean a flute in the key of D, which is well suited to playing most traditional Irish music (whatever that is defined as!). Whatever inference to "traditional" that you want to use is fine with us. For us, "traditional" has mostly to do with the sound of the flute. The bottom line for M and E flutes is this: If you want to sound like James Galway playing with Yanni at a laser light show at Newgrange, then forget about an M and E flute. But if you want a solid flute that won't get lost in a no-wimps-allowed session, then you should think about purchasing one of our flutes.

In the old days, many traditional Irish flute makers and players often went for a rough, rather than sweet, sound. M and E flutes can play sweetly, but Cronnolly purposely "tunes" his flutes to play with a more traditional "edgy" sound. For example, the low D is purposely tuned a bit flat to allow the note to be overblown, a technique that some traditional flute makers use. These flutes can play loud and strong over their entire range, and are especially noted for their strength in the lower ranges. M and E players also remark on our flutes being well-tune to themselves over their entire range. Check our Sound Bites page for samples of M and E flute playing.

Polymer vs. wood - what's the rub?

Using polymers rather than wood allows Cronnolly to provide extremely durable flutes at reasonable prices without sacrificing excellent sound quality. However, polymer is not wood; it doesn't look like wood, and it doesn't machine like wood. Your polymer M and E flute will not look or sound exactly like an African blackwood flute. Not better, not worse, just different. Not much different, but different. (Check this out for more on the subject of polymer vs. wood.)

If you want a flute that looks exactly like wood, then you should consider a wood flute. If you want a reasonably-priced workhorse flute with excellent sound quality, then think about our polymer flutes. Each has its pros and cons, each has its place in traditional Irish music.

Thanks for hanging in there!

We hope you'll consider purchasing an M and E flute, we hope you'll enjoy playing it if you purchase one, and we hope you'll let us know if you're having problems with your flute.

If you purchase one of our flutes but could not recommend it to another player, we'd much rather have you return it to us for an exchange or full refund, as opposed to just telling others of your dissatisfaction. Please help us keep our reputation good. If, however, you enjoy your instrument, please tell others about us. We can't possibly tell everyone about our flutes, and have to rely on you to help us spread the news.

We think our instruments can bring Irish music to people that might otherwise not have the chance to get involved. You wouldn't be reading this right now if that wasn't important to you, too.