Is there really a sonic difference between a soldered-tonehole flute and a drawn-tonehole counterpart? Some would say yes; some would disagree. For us, soldered toneholes are a point of craftsmanship which we will not abandon. We also think they sound better, and they enable us to lock down the intonation of every flute more precisely than if we stamped holes out a tube - and razorlike intonation never bothered anyone we know.
Soldered Tone Holes
One of the "dead giveaways" as to whether or not a flute can be considered handmade is the style of toneholes. Mass-produced flutes typically employ a "drawn tonehole" punched out of the body tube by a machine. On a handmade flute, the toneholes are actually a separate unit, carefully sculpted from heavier stock and soldered directly to the body.
As an aside, an improvement
on traditional soldered-tonehole technology is in the works in our shop. Using
advanced computerized fluxless welding technology, all our toneholes will
sooon be fused to the body tube in a permanently filleted joint that will
never loosen. Besides aesthetics, an advantage to this type of fusing is the
elimination of pinhole leaks which can develop as the flute gets older.
Please see our Research page for more interesting information
on fluxless welding.