Ordering

Ordering and other matters

CURRENT STATUS AS OF September 8, 2024!

(From the July 16, 2023 update) Please contact me first to discuss your order, unless you are ordering a Folk Flute. In that case, simply order on the Folk Flute page using the Buy-it-Now buttons.

Cost for the basic flute with tuning slide and bands is $1600. Keys when these are made still cost $450 per key. Usually I request a 25% deposit to place you on my queue. The balance due plus shipping is requested up to a few months before completion. If you were looking for something less expensive, you might consider my Folk Flute which can be ordered directly at www.folkflutes.com.

All sales are final. Usually when the flutes arrive they fit well into the players hands. Once in a while these require further adjustment, or the flute may have tuning or performance issues. In this case give this some time, and contact me for further instructions. Sometimes its simply a matter of the flute being too dry and loose, or out of adjustment cork-wise. Commonly the player has to adapt to the flute, instead of the other way around

International shipping through the US Postal Service is now very slow, putting my instruments at risk. I am setting up to ship these through DHL which is reliably faster.

I have over 5000 flutes out in the world. I have a recurring nightmare where these all develop cracks and people expect me to fix these as soon as possible. At this point in my career, cracks rarely happen. Unless your flute was recently delivered in the last year, you will have to find someone local to handle these repairs, or do these yourself. Usually the local band instrument repair workshop can attend to this type of work. For the DIY, I will eventually have a page at laurentflutes.substack.com and will post links here. There will also be video showing how to rewrap and care for your tenons and service the tuning slide, tighten loose rings etc.

Frequently I get this question: "Do you buy flutes back?" Apparently the people who ask this fail to see the "All Sales are Final" above. For one thing I do not have the money to offer any kind of refund, especially for something purchased in the last century. I am in the business of selling the new flutes that I make, instead of used ones that may have several years of mishandling and abuse. If you have a flute you want to sell, contact the Irish Flute Store online, sell it on eBay or consign it with your local folk music store.

Legacy Flutes: Occasionally I get contacted by the relatives of previous clients wanting guidance about the flutes that were left behind when their loved ones passed away, or commonly wanting to return these to me without any refund expected. If you are in this situation, please email me. I am here to help. Usually I regift these flutes to the needy or retire them, depending upon their condition and quality. A few of these are useful for documenting my career path and may end up in a museum or in the Dayton Miller Collection at the Libary of Congress. There are also a few instrument lending libraries that will accept these.

These flutes are usually robust. Problems usually happen due to mishandling. I will discuss any necessary maintenance or repairs on a case by case basis. Read your Care Instructions - you will find most of the answers about oiling etc. there. I will be posting a Care page that you can refer to. DO NOT send me your flute to have repairs done without talking to me first!