I have for sale an old flute / piccolo set acoustically in the pitch of Eb, which is a semitone higher than a standard flute (players of modern flute would call it Db). They were made in early 20th century. The flute is marked in gold DES / Kohlert / & Co. The piccolo has the same mark in gold but the serial number is on the back and reads 56714. The flute is a reform type with 13 keys (12 key holes). I´m not sure which metal they are made of, it´s definitely shinier than the usual nickel silver and it didn´t tarnish the same way. Could be silver or more likely silver plated. The body is made of very good quality African blackwood, tight grain, no cracks, looks new. The metal headjoints have an ebonite lip plate with what today is called wing embouchure that was introduced in 1904 by Otto Mönnig (he called it reform embouchure), it became quite popular with Böhm flutes at the time. An advantage of these materials is that there are no cracks whatsoever, and the edges of the embouchure are still sharp like new. Both flute and piccolo have no tuning slides, but the pitch is right and if required some small adjustments can be made on the tenon so that the headjoint is not fully pushed in. The flute and piccolo were in decent playing conditions when I received them, I just made some adjustments with some pads and a general cleaning and oiling. The flute plays very well with a rich and reasonably strong tone. Some notes benefit from some lip flexibility to be played in good tuning, mostly low G (fingered like F# on a standard flute) benefit from opening the E key (which corresponds to the Eb key on a standard flute) and low Eb (fingered like D) should be pushed or lipped up to bring it up to pitch. Piccolos in general are not so easy to play with good tuning but it is possible with some lip flexibility. Second octave Eb (fingered like D) in particular needs to be pushed/lipped up. This piccolo has a good sound, if your ears don´t mind the high pitch! The flute and piccolo are suitable for marching band repertoire, traditional Irish sessions in Eb and any type of music in this pitch. They come in a nice case that fits both of them. Here is a VIDEO of the flute. Please contact me for any questions. The item “Restored antique Kohlert & Co wooden flute / piccolo set in Eb (Db) with video” is in sale since Sunday, June 11, 2017. This item is in the category “Musical Instruments\Wind & Woodwind\Band & Orchestral\Flutes”. The seller is “lorenzoflute” and is located in Berlin. This item can be shipped worldwide.
