The flutes you find here may be new and still available, or may have sold and remain on the website as part of our portfolio. All of our flutes can be “Made to Order”. Just let us know what you’re interested in and we’ll be right with you.

If a flute is listed as “Available”, let us know you’re interested. Include any specific questions you might have, and we’ll be in touch with more information on that particular flute. Please make sure to include any shipping and handling information. We do accept Visa, MasterCharge, American Express and Bank Transfers.

If a flute is listed as “Made to Order”, you can first get more information on the materials we work with and available finishes below. Please include any specific questions or requests in the form. We’ll be in touch with more information on the process, and to get more information from you. Orders generally take four to six weeks and are subject to the availability of the materials. See “Made to Order” below.

Custom and Made to Order instruments are designed to fit you. Orders include an exchange on design, detailing, ageing, photos of work in progress and final audio samples. No deposit or pre-payment is required. However, it generally takes four to six weeks, and is subject to availability of materials. Exact delivery times can not be guaranteed.

Most of the materials we use are sourced locally. We try to work as much as possible within the community, and with care and stewardship towards the environment, land, and animals we all depend on.

We want every instrument to be unique yet genuine, and the materials we choose help make this possible. The traditional use a particular material is important to us. So we are partial to Bone, Tobacco, Sunflower, Agave and Carizzo (A. donax), but also work with two or three sustainable hardwoods common in Peru. These include Tornillo, Copaiba, and Nogal (walnut).

The tobacco, Toco and other plant stalks we use all grow naturally in the surrounding area and are harvested naturally. We let them flower and go through their full life cycle to seed. The agaves flower and are left for the following year to be sure they have dropped all their seed. Then harvested and brought down the mountain before the next rainy season starts.

We use various leathers, natural fibres, ceramics, silver and copper; in dressing, weathering and finishing our flutes, cases and bags. We try to source as many materials as possible locally. Most are native to the Central Andes and Pacific coast of Peru.

EnviroTex®, Crystalline Resins provide durability and stability, while augmenting sound quality and improving playability. All of the resins and coatings we use are food safe. They are generally acrylic compounds, water and alcohol resistant, and provide some degree of UV protection.

You can special order a flute using only natural products including, glues, sealers, tints, waxes and oils (subject to availability of materials). There is however a commitment to care and maintenance that comes along with all natural products. Please be aware, water, heat and chemical resistance (including alcohol), are much lower or absent all together, when using only natural products. This can effect the life of the instrument.

There is a lot of information available about wood density and hardness; and how this effects sound, playability and durability in flutes. The argument over materials, has been around as long as the flute. From a practical standpoint, and from a maker that appreciates primitive flutes and traditional materials, here’s our take.

Harder or softer materials effect “timbre” — the voice of the flute, as distinct from pitch and intensity, and pretty dramatically. This is fairly subjective, especially in primitive flutes. Do you want it to sound a bit deeper, or brighter? Hollow, or more distant? Here are are some things to think about with our flutes.

Copaiba, Nogal, and Bone – offer a bolder, brighter sound. These woods are durable, but heavier to handle especially in larger flutes that require an extended reach. Important if you play or practice a lot. *They also tend to be more effected by temperature and humidity.

Tornillo, and all Stalks, Reeds and Bamboos – offer a warmer, more resonant sound. They are lighter to play, but less durable, and if left untreated require more care in handling.

Using resins we are able adjust hardness and timbre, keeping our flutes light while improving strength and durability. This is especially important for our stalk flutes, leaving them as strong as hard woods of the same wall thickness. Resins improve durability, and reduce care and maintenance. They are food safe, and water and alcohol resistant.

*A note on hardness, resins and humidity. Even rim-blown flutes can be effected by humidity that can condense in the bore, altering sound quality and ease of playing. This is especially true in cooler temperatures, with harder, highly finished woods, and resin teated materials. The issue easily solved by passing a swab through the flute to remove excess condensation.

Our flutes are generally tuned to A at 440 Hz. Although, working with traditional materials, perfect pitch is not always possible or even practical, especially across two octaves. This is, more than anything else relevant to what you will use the flute for. Concert tuned instruments are usually recommended for people who want to play along with tuned instruments.

Having said this, it generally applies to other fixed pitch instruments, possibly to a friends flute, but not necessarily to other “tuneable instruments”. For example, a friends guitar and many other instruments, can of course always tune to your flute. In this case, even if your flute is not tuned to concert pitch, your flute is ‘tuned to itself’ and will sound fine.

With rim-blown flutes, blowing style makes a substantial difference to pitch. Blowing obliquely, you can easily have over a semitone of flexibility depending on embouchure. So, fine tuning is not something to worry too much about. Practice makes perfect pitch.

We always have flutes in stock and in progress that are not listed here on the website. If you don’t see what you’re looking for please contact us for a full list. Join KunKuMan to be notified when new flutes of interest to you go online.

While those flutes listed here on the website are often still available, others may have sold and remain on the website as part of our portfolio. Anything you find here on the site can be “Made to Order”. It takes a bit of time and patience, but it’s a great way to purchase a flute. In the end, the instrument is truly yours.

Custom and Made to Order instruments are designed to fit you. Orders include an exchange on design, detailing, ageing, photos of work in progress and final audio samples. No deposit or pre-payment is required. However, it generally takes four to six weeks, and is subject to availability of materials. Exact delivery times cannot be guaranteed.