Since the introduction of our new KT Aurumite® 9k Signature headjoint last month, we’ve had the pleasure of working with lots of flutists comparing the KT headjoint back to back with a standard sterling silver Signature headjoint. The first question we always seem to get after a flutist sees the new KT head is, “Is the gold on the outside just for looks, or does it actually change my sound?” The answer is…BOTH! The 9K rose gold on the exterior of the KT headjoint offers qualities that are both visually and acoustically unique. Since gold is a denser metal than silver, the addition of gold to any component of a flute offers a warmer, darker tone quality. Gold also has the tendency to offer more resistance, which is a highly desirable trait for very powerful players. Flutists can put a great deal more air into the headjoint before the sound “cracks”. And, on top of all of this, the KT Aurumite® 9k headjoint is BEAUTIFUL! For more information on Aurumite, click here to read our previous post, Aurumite® Patented by Powell . If you are thinking about purchasing a Powell Handmade Custom flute, there are several options and material choices that truly customize the instrument to your preferences.  Today's choices go well beyond silver and gold to include grenadilla wood and eight different metals.  In addition to the body choices, you also have different options for the mechanism material on flutes with 10k, 14k , 19.5k, platinum, and grenadilla bodies.  Whereas soldered tone holes are available on all metal flutes, drawn tone holes are also an option for silver flutes and most gold flutes (with the exception of 14k white gold). Each Handmade Custom flute is also made with your preference for key cups (French or American), G keys (offset or inline), pitch (A-440, 442, or 444), and footjoint, (B foot with or without gizmo, or C foot).  Metal flutes may be ordered with either a pinned or pinless mechchanism.  Further customizations include the option of a C trill, D roller, split-E,  and G-disc. engraving, 10k or 14k tone holes, and a 14k "package' of 14k tone holes, posts, and rings. The chart below (click it to enlarge) lists materials, options, and customizations for Powell's Handmade Custom flutes.  To view more information, download the full Powell brochure at https://powellflutes.com/sites/powell.mervideo.com/files/2015_vqp_brochure_1.pdf . Powell Signature Flute and Signature Piccolo Thinking about purchasing a Powell piccolo?  Wondering what models are available?  Powell currently offers two models, the Signature and the Handmade Custom.  We thought we would take a look at the two to find out more about their features and options... Powell Handmade Custom Piccolos in Kingwood (left) and Grenadilla (right) In terms of materials, the Signature piccolo is available in grenadilla wood with a sterling silver mechanism. The Handmade Custom piccolo is available in either grenadilla (with a sterling silver or 14k rose gold mechanism) or kingwood (with a 14k rose gold mechanism).  The Signature piccolo is pitched at A-442, and the Handmade Custom piccolo has pitch options of A-440, A-442, or A-444. Both the Signature and Handmade Custom piccolos are made with 10k white gold springs, feature the Modern Powell scale, and have the option of a split-E.  The standard headjoint for both the Signature and Handmade Custom piccolos is the Classic style, but there are additional options: the Wave (for the Signature and Handmade Custom) and the Profiled (for Handmade Custom).  One additional feature of the Handmade Custom piccolo is that the tone holes are reinforced with phenolic inserts. At first glance, it may be difficult to distinguish the two models -- especially if you are looking at the Signature and the grenadilla Handmade Custom with silver mechanism.  However, as you look closer, you'll notice that there are two slight differences on the outside: the rings, and the text under the logo.  Both the Signature and Handmade Custom piccolos have rings on the bottom of the body, bottom of the headjoint, and top of the headjoint (below the crown).  However, the styles of these rings differ.  The Signature rings have a flat style with a slightly elevated edge.  On the Handmade Custom, the ring at the bottom of the body is curved, and the rings on the headjoint are flat (but without an edge like the Signature's headjoint rings). Also, looking at the logo at the top of the body, you'll notice that both have the words, "Verne Q. Powell Flutes" and "Boston," but the Signature model has "Signature" added directly under "Verne Q. Powell Flutes." To learn more about the Powell Signature and Handmade Custom piccolos, visit https://powellflutes.com/piccolos. Close-up on the Signature ring and text under logo. Handmade Custom has a curved ring at the bottom of the body and flat rings on the headjoint. Another view showing both headjoint rings on the Handmade Custom. Powell Heavy Wall Handmade Conservatory Flute In 1928, Verne Q. Powell published his very first brochure, offering flutists the choice of two models of sterling silver flutes -- the Handmade (with soldered tone holes) and the Commercial (with drawn tone holes).  The Commercial model had a long 60-year production history and is still a prized possession of many flutists today.  After the last Commercial model was produced in 1988, Powell continued to receive requests for this popular style. In 1993, Powell launched a completely resigned version of the Commercial model, the 2100.  In 2002, the 2100 was redesigned as well, marking the introduction of the current sterling silver Handmade Conservatory model to the public. Today, we celebrate a particularly historic milestone for the silver Handmade Conservatory flute.  In addition to having drawn tone holes, the original Powell Commercial model had a body tubing thickness of .018".  Over the years, the Powell drawn tone hole models shifted to a medium thickness of .016".  For flutists who prefer the .018" "heavy wall" tubing, this option has only been available on Custom Powell models.  We are pleased to announce that the sterling silver Powell Handmade Conservatory model is now available in either .016" or .018" tubing. The new heavy wall Handmade Conservatory offers flutists an even greater selection of options while celebrating the model's original predecessor, the Powell Commercial model ( click here to view our previous post on the original Powell 1928 brochure ). If you are interested in trying a heavy wall silver Handmade Conservatory, follow this link to our online dealer locator page . For those without a Powell dealer in the area, contact Daniel Sharp at dsharp@powellflutes.com . Powell Sonaré PS-601 We recently had a customer inquire about the model number of his Powell Sonaré flute.  Going back through our serial number files, we discovered that the model he owned was the Sonaré SF-5000, which was actually a very early Sonaré model.  We knew this from the model number and prefix, which have changed over the years as the line itself has... Powell introduced the Sonaré model flutes at the NFA Convention in 2002.  The history behind the concept is explained by Powell's President, Steven Wasser, in a previous post here on Flute Builder titled The Sonaré (R)evolution ( click here to read the post). The very first Sonaré model was the SF-6000, which had a sterling silver body and Y arms.  Two SF models followed -- the SF-5000 and the SF-7000.  The SF-5000 had a nickel silver body with Y arms, and the SF-7000 model had a sterling silver body with pointed arms.  Each of these models had a Powell headjoint which was made at the Powell shop in Massachusetts.  The bodies for these instruments, which had drawn (or extruded) tone holes, were made overseas in China.  In 2006, Powell developed a new patented technology for extruding tone holes.  The new patented process, named "Zinki," was then used to produce the Sonaré bodies at Powell as well.  Powell's President, Steven Wasser, wrote: During the first few years of Sonaré’s existence we wound up using 4 different scales made by our Chinese partner.We ultimately standardized on a single scale – the one we though was best – but were still not satisfied.Since the acoustics of the flute are determined first by the headjoint and secondarily by the scale, we decided to focus our engineering talents on the body.To make a long story short, in 2006 we came up with a technology we’ve called “Zinki,” that allows us to economically extrude tone holes at Powell with our Modern Powell Scale.  Since then we’ve used Zinki to extrude all Sonaré flute bodies, as well as our Conservatory and Signature flutes.  Even Custom gold flutes with extruded tone holes are done on Zinki This body production change also marked a change from SF to PS in the model numbers.  Model numbers are engraved on the barrel of the Sonaré flutes, and you will see in the photo below of the PS-601. There have been several Sonaré flute models over the years, including the 301, 501, 505, 601, 708, and 709, as well as the AF-60 and AF-70 alto flutes.  The 301, 708, and 709 have been discontinued.  Additional options for the PS-705 models will be announced in the next few weeks.  For more information on the Powell Sonaré models, visit https://powellflutes.com/flutes/sonare-flutes . Steels are not visible from the outside -- they are inside the mechanism tubing. We've written several posts that include the term "steels," but have you ever wondered what "steels" are exactly?  Well, steels are a very important part of the flute mechanism, but, once the flute is finished, you really won't see them -- because they are inside the mechanism tubing.  In a previous post, Powell's President, Steven Wasser, summed up the function of steels quite nicely: The “steels” for a flute mechanism are the axles on which multiple keys rotate so that tone holes can be opened and closed. If, for example, there are 4 distinct keys on the right hand of the flute, we don’t want all these keys going up and down at the same time, yet it would be impractical to have 4 separate steels, one for each key. There are different ways of creating independent motion of multiple keys on one steel, which include building pinned and pinless mechanisms. ( Follow this link to read the full post, "Pin Pals - Part I . ) We stopped by flute finisher Matt Keller's bench while he was finishing a 10k yellow gold Powell Custom.  This gave us the opportunity to see the steels completely separated from the rest of the mechanism.  In the photo below, you will see the complete set of steels for the 10k flute taped together with scotch tape in the flute kit: As one might imagine, the steels are made of steel and are small rods that run through the inside of the outer mechanism tubing. As you can see from the photo above, there are several keys, and these keys are soldered to the outer mechanism tubing.  The keys (with tubing) must be