First I filed the end down to get a slight angle. This helps me bring the quena in without jamming it into my chin. Unfortunately this also means I’ll lose that awesome interior rounding this flute had, but it’s a price worth paying since I think these changes will convert this flute from decent to top level (for me).
With the dark stain, the above image can show with decent clarity where material was removed.
Once the end of the quena was ground down to the approximate 3-5° angle I like, I moved on to rounding the outside edge. These two changes together can convert a Pinto quena into Cadillac, seriously.
And now that I had a good round on the outer edge I laid the file flat on the body of the flute and, using only gravity to apply force, I ran the file in a gentle circular motion around the mouthpiece. The idea here is to slowly remove from the surface to create a natural looking fade into the newly reshaped end.
So anyway, yeah that’s the Kototo. The end result (get it!?) is pretty subtle. This flute has been an absolute poster child for the joy of buying a cheap flute and making subtle changes to learn and even improve on its playability.
While this flute spent the last almost two years in the flute dungeon, it has rapidly climbed the ranks and is now one of my favorites of all time.
Thanks for checking out some more of my work! As always, I hope you enjoyed witnessing as much as I enjoyed creating!
© Photos and words by @albuslucimus
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