This is Jay Ham's large-hole Rudall model, the same model Blayne Chastain, owner of the Irish Flute Store, plays himself. It has a strong, dark tone and remarkably good intonation, with great power and great nuance alike, and the response is impeccable.
For a large-hole flute it sits very comfortably in the hands, and it suits players with smaller hands too. The left hand is especially comfortable, including the reach from hole 2 to hole 3, and the third hole is slightly offset.
The body is cocobolo, with silver keys, tuning slide and rings, and the head joint is unlined. The keys are hand forged and block mounted, and the foot uses Ham's Boehm-style mechanism for low C and C#. The crown and foot ring are decorated with Ham's rose engine work.
The flute comes in Jay Ham's handmade hardwood case with decorative inlay, fitted to the flute, along with a turned grease pot.
About the Maker
Jay Ham makes flutes by hand in Asheville, North Carolina, to his own designs drawn from 19th-century originals: a large-hole Rudall model and a smaller-holed Rudall he calls the Wylde, both in D, alongside a Bb based on early Rudall Bb flutes and an Eb influenced by a Boosey 8-key. Any of them can be fitted with up to nine block-mounted keys, forged by hand rather than cast, and his foot keywork uses a Boehm-style mechanism. He decorates his silver with hand engraving and with guilloché cut on a hand-operated rose engine lathe. In 2026 his waiting list was approaching six years.
Condition: Used - Excellent
Condition: Details:
