[ving]

Hi folks,

I was looking at Marc Jean sax ligatures today and came across this product on their site:
https://www.musiquedemarc.com/En/tornado_flute_booster.aspx

Anyhow have any thoughts or experience with it?

 

[Taragot]

No experience - just some thoughts: The advertising text argues with the effect of altering the shape of the tube in a detail, which is a good thing imo. No crown from a different super material or the like, which does it's magic somehow - a different form of the end plate. If they would not come out with the richer sound through gold plating thing ...
Perhaps the shape of the plate alters the sound a bit - who knows.....But I don't think, that the reason they give is true: A ring of saliva at the cork-plate indicates, that there is little wind cirulation - but I don't buy, that this is a thing which could be improved. At the end of a closed pipe is per se no air circulation because it's a nod imo.
One could test the effect with a bit of sugru. I strongly doubt that it has an effect which justifies the name "tornado flute booster"
Adjusting the cork could be an issue.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

1. I don't blow saliva into my flute. I blow moist air. I collect saliva behind my lower teeth, beneath my tongue, and swallow it at a suitable time.
2. So if I play in a warm room and there is consequently no condensation in my flute then there is no improvement in my sound after half an hour? Wrong! The improvement comes from practicing - perfecting the embouchure and breath pressure.
3. In some substandard student flutes similar things have been tried on the end plate. They are still substandard student flutes.
4. This is such an obvious thing, and makers of professional flutes, for a long time, have been adjusting ever last detail to get that final spec of improvement. Why have they not all settled on this amazingly simple so-called improvement?
5. I totally agree with Taragot. The acoustic science does not back it up. Nothing happens at that surface other than tiny changes of air pressure at the surface. No air movement.

IMO, just more snake oil! 30 mins practice is what makes the difference.

 

[adamk]

Maybe make it totally parabolic?

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

Current cost price of 10 Karat gold is around $13 per gram.
The advertising says the gold version contains 4.2 grams of gold.
That is around $55 worth. So why does the gold version of this thing sell for $228 more than the the non-gold version.
Similar reasoning for the silver one.
I suggest that this device is aimed at the gullible flute-player market that seems to be happy to oblige makers in paying 4 times the going price for gold, for no improvement in their instrument.

 

[bruce bailey]

Your wallet will have a lighter sound.

 

[chilehed]

Total rubbish.

 

[ving]

Ha! I agree with the above comments, seemed like a questionable device. I had my leaky head cork replaced after noticing poor performance on a show a few years ago. That was a positive difference, but that made sense and didn’t require any sort of meteorological-named gadget!

 

[turf3]

• The Tornado effect created by the TFB ease playing flute substantially.
• The air jet introduced by flutist is redefined to spin faster and rotate freely.
• The TFB adds power and definition to all flutes.
• Higher notes are way easier to play and lower notes sound larger.
• Harmonics are amplified without being affected.
• Add projection of all notes in all registers.
• Accelerate and define attacks. Improve staccatos.
• It can easily be installed and removed for testing comparison.
• It can be fixed permanently, very quickly and without any tool.
• The TFB can be transferred to another head joint. The head crown will then have to be removed.

Yep, it's getting easy to recognize the smell of snake oil.

At least they didn't claim it'll make you taller, richer, smarter, or get the crab grass out of your lawn.

My guess is that when you slide it down there, it has the same effect as pushing in on the cork, which alters slightly the tuning of the octaves to each other. If you have decided that it's going to make the flute sound better, then that slight actual change due to the thickness of the dingus you will interpret as "better". Then by the time you pull the cork out and permanently affix the dingus to it and reinstall at the standard position (compensating, now, for the added thickness), you'll have forgotten what it was like before (since it was damn near identical except for some extremely subtle effects from the added thickness in the "temporary installation test").

 

[turf3]

Current cost price of 10 Karat gold is around $13 per gram.
The advertising says the gold version contains 4.2 grams of gold.
That is around $55 worth. So why does the gold version of this thing sell for $228 more than the the non-gold version.
Similar reasoning for the silver one.
I suggest that this device is aimed at the gullible flute-player market that seems to be happy to oblige makers in paying 4 times the going price for gold, for no improvement in their instrument.

Yep, even the otherwise well respected Carolyn Nussbaum makes claims about the supposed tonal effects of special "jeweled" flute crowns - you know, the thing whose only real purpose is to cover the unsightly threads on the cork assembly? Well, if you buy them with a decorative stone embedded, it $uppo$edly make$ a difference to tone and the $pecific nature of the$e tonal change$ i$ different for each different kind of decorative $tone. Funny how no one will ever say anything like "buy our special flute crown made from cheap cast pot metal and finished with crappy spray paint, because our testing showed that this combination of materials gave the best tone". No, always always always it's the more expensive materials that sound better. Yep, it's always silver and gold, never die cast aluminum or molded polystyrene.

By contrast, Bob Taylor once built a fantastic sounding acoustic guitar from a wood shipping pallet!

 

[Roundmidnite]

So... this tornado can take you to the "OZ" of flute playing? I'm skeptical- maybe because I grew up in Kansas and know my tornadoes.

 

[Lambros]

100% agreement. You have to especially like the caveat of probable damage to your flute being highly likely with this that it is clearly acknowledged in the advertising. Jeez... that's rich...

1. I don't blow saliva into my flute. I blow moist air. I collect saliva behind my lower teeth, beneath my tongue, and swallow it at a suitable time.
2. So if I play in a warm room and there is consequently no condensation in my flute then there is no improvement in my sound after half an hour? Wrong! The improvement comes from practicing - perfecting the embouchure and breath pressure.
3. In some substandard student flutes similar things have been tried on the end plate. They are still substandard student flutes.
4. This is such an obvious thing, and makers of professional flutes, for a long time, have been adjusting ever last detail to get that final spec of improvement. Why have they not all settled on this amazingly simple so-called improvement?
5. I totally agree with Taragot. The acoustic science does not back it up. Nothing happens at that surface other than tiny changes of air pressure at the surface. No air movement.

IMO, just more snake oil! 30 mins practice is what makes the difference.

 

[mascio]

So... this tornado can take you to the "OZ" of flute playing? I'm skeptical- maybe because I grew up in Kansas and know my tornadoes.

Toto, come back Toto....................

i don't think Toto likes the flute tornado. :dontknow:

 

[Lambros]

Sonja isn't in Kansas anymore, Mascio

Toto, come back Toto....................

i don't think Toto likes the flute tornado. :dontknow:

 

[kymarto]

It's total BS. There is no acoustic advantage whatever to changing the shape of the space past the embouchure hole. As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted. The very fact that they talk about "wind circulation" in the flute shows they know absolutely nothing about the physics of the instrument.

 

[Roundmidnite]

Haha- I'm in Maine now, which is kind of like OZ, except not in January.

 

[MojoBari]

I have tried a few Bigio crown and stoppers. I kept one set that was on sale. I would describe their effect on playing as less than one would experience in switching ligatures on sax.

 

[Lambros]

Auntie M, it's a twister!! No Dorothy, it's just Sonja using the tornado flute booster...

Haha- I'm in Maine now, which is kind of like OZ, except not in January.

 

[milandro]

I would describe their effect on playing as less than one would experience in switching ligatures on sax.

less than nothing has to be very little

 

[saxomorris]

less than nothing has to be very little

I'm sure the effect is at least twice that much.