I don’t have a lot of time to go into detail right now, but first impressions:
1. I was nervous about the orange color, but in person it is actually quite stunning and tasteful. The 12 year-old Mickey might have wanted a bright orange flute, but I’m not 12 any more and this is really eyecatching in a good way.
2. The mechanism feels effortless. Admitedly, the flute I’ve been playing on since high school isn’t exactly a marvel of flute-making technology, but the New Voice is sooo much easier to play from a technical standpoint. I haven’t had a ton of time to fiddle with it, but I whipped through a few chromatic scales and felt like my fingers were flying. We’re talking about moving a few milimeters against a tiny amount of resistance, but even in that limited rage of motion the change was dramatic.
3. The headjoint is not nearly as resistant as the one on my old flute. Throughout the entire range of the instrument, notes are very easy to produce. There’s no need for a split E mechanism when the note can be played so effortlessly. I also found harmonics much simpler to produce than on the silver flute. The low end is nice as well. The lowest notes are consistently easy to produce, although it may take some more adjustment on my part to get a fatter tone in the low register.
4. I will be honest in saying that up close this flute looks and feels like a toy. It does not sound like a toy. The incredibly light weight will really come in handy as I work on Ambidextranata (Gary Schocker). It’s a piece for flute and piano, one player. Basically you play the flute with your left hand and accompany yourself on piano with your right hand. The balancing act of playing a C# with one hand will be much simpler with the lighter flute.
That’s all I have time for right now. I’ll have to see about getting some decent audio files up so that people can judge the sound quality for themselves. The Grenaditte model should be here in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll be able to make more comparisons then.
Hi Michaela:
Does it sound like a regular sliver flute? and what does the key made of? I check the price on the official web….that price tag is very unfriendly.. it almost coasts like sterling flute. Do you think it worths the money?
The New Voice sounds very much like a traditional sliver flute. The keys are black plastic with a synthetic pad that looks like a grey sponge. The people I have played with in the months since I got it have all been very impressed with the sound. If anything, based on the appearance, they assume it is wood until they get a chance to hold it and inspect i more closely.
As for whether or not it’s worth the money…the way I looked at it was that for what I payed for the New Voice, I could have gotten a new mid/low end sterling flute or a better grade used model. I already have a mid grade silver flute, and a used flute doesn’t come with any guarantees that it will hold an adjustment (a problem with my silver flute). So, for the money I had to spend, I got a new flute, with a very good sound, great intonation, and a conversation starter to boot. It has taken some tweaking and getting used to, but I am happy with the purchase.
Hey ive been looking at this flute for a while. Right now i am in my freshman year of highschool so i have been checking out step up flutes. What brought me to this flute was the material it was made of. I like it because my current flute has a couple of bent keys and a few scratches. Since i am slightly ocd i cant live with that and i read that this flute is NOT metal so it doesnt leave markings from handeling. So i was wondering where you purchased this flute because i really want to test this flute possibly along with the black grenaditte flute.
Hi, Jeremiah. I got mine from http://www.theflutefarm.com. If I were you, I would definitely try it out for a bit before you purchase. It took me a couple of days on both the New Voice and the Grenaditte to adjust my embouchure to get the round tones I’m used to playing.
The material is definitely forgiving as far as fingerprints and scratches are concerned, but that’s not to say that it’s something you want to be rough with. If you’ve got bent keys on your current flute, I don’t think the keys on the New Voice would hold up much better. It’s not a delicate instrument, but excessive force will still be a problem.
Hi Mickey,
I bought a New Voice flute several months ago, and although I like it very much, I still have difficulty playing the lowest notes unless I press the keys of the right hand extra hard. I think it’s because of the pads that are used on this model — they’re very spongy and the holes don’t seem to seal completely unless the keys are depressed with extra force. Have you experienced this as well? The person I purchased the flute from said that I could have the pads replaced with more traditional firm pads if I thought it was necessary. I might end up doing just that.
I haven’t had any trouble with the pads not sealing, but I tend to be a bit of a white-knuckle player and put a lot of pressure on the keys anyway (much to the dismay of my flute teacher). The only issue I have come across with the New Voice is a buzzing in the mechanism on the lower end of the flute. It happens around E natural in the lower and middle octaves, usually when I am approaching it quickly from above or below on the scale. I was advised to oil the mechanism, and that has helped, but the buzz tends to come back every few weeks. Not a deal-breaker, but kind of annoying.