Bass Cm Side-Blown Mesquite Flute W/Spalted Tamarind Accents

Mesquite Side-Blown Cm Flute

Mesquite is a popular wood in the Southwest for not only cooking delicious steaks, but the larger pieces are used to make furniture, flooring and indoor trim for buildings. It also makes a mighty fine flute. This wood is from the Acacia family. It is very hard and durable. Finding Mesqite in pieces this large and without defects is a challenge. The trees are usually small, gnarly and scrub-lilke. However, there are trees that grow large enough that can produce lumber in the sizes needed for a flute this big. They are rare.
I have constructed this flute to be much easier to play. Since the mouthpiece is on the side, it's not necessary to stretch your arms out so far to reach the holes. Also, the holes are staggered making them even easier to reach. This configuration can take a little getting used to, but once your fingers learn where the holes are, it is much more comfortable to play.
The mouthpiece and end cap are made from Spalted Tamarind, which comes from Southeast Asia. Sandwiched between the end cap and the flute is an Ebony layer. This flute has a big, low tone. The lower pitched flutes will require more breath control, especially on the lower notes. If you are looking for a deep tone, but have had issues with the size of the lower pitched flutes, this side-blown version may be just the solution to this dilemma. The overall lenght is 26", about 4" shorter than my regular Cm end-blown flutes. The diameter is 2" and it has a 1 1/4" bore.
Links to sound samples of this flute can be found below.

Listen to this flute here.
Listen to this flute with reverb (canyon sound) here.