At the last NFA convention in Albuquerque, I encountered a rather interesting little mechanism called Valgon rings, which I tested on my flute and they seemed to have a significant impact on how it played. Does anyone else have any experience with these gadgets? What were your opinions? I'm also interested to hear what you folks think of the Foster extensions available from Carolyn Nussbaum.

<Added>

I already have formed my opinions on these two products, but for the sake of not biasing the discussion, I'll reserve my judgement for later. If you're interested in what I think, message me, and I'll be glad to discuss them with you.

I haven't tried them but a friend of mine just bought a couple and will visiting next month and said I could try hers. My first initial reaction to them was, "Oh here we go again, another flute gadget for gullible buyers to waste money on." But, I guess I shouldn't judge until I have a chance to try one out myself. I know that I would not buy one because I don't want to put anything else on my flute that may add extra weight. I have enough hand problems.

Not ever tried them...but please share your thoughts. I am interested. Also, do you have any idea on the prices for the foster extensions? I found prices for the Valgon rings, but not the foster. Give us a review if you can...after you pick everyones brains! Thanks

Just giving this topic a bump to the top, as I'm hoping for more responses.

Hey I tried tying to a piece of yellow wool around the end of my flute and the yellow color made it sound so much more warmer. Hey.. I might just start marketing these. Maybe I could offer them in different colors and charge more too!

You should Kara. I've started a side business of boiling flutes in sugar water to make them play more sweetly. The charge for this service is $799, or $2500 if your flute has Straubinger pads.

Careful, don't mention that on the Galway board, they might actually try it. lololol!!!

<Added>

Sorry, after I wrote that I realize there are probably people on here that post on that board. I was just joking, I really didn't mean any disrespect. I only said it because of all the gizmos and gadgets being talked about on there all the time.

They look so dumb I don't think I would put one on my flute even if they did work which I dought.

Well, now that any discussion of Valgon rings and Foster extensions has died down, I thought I'd give my $.02...

When it comes to the rings, I can't say I buy the marketing jibberish about WHY Valgon rings work, but they certainly seem to have an impact. After some blind testing of the Valgon rings (including among the testers a college professor, several of her students, a recording artist from out CA way, and myself), the consensus seems to be that they definitely change the feel of the flute for the player (most reported feeling some increase in resistance), but perhaps more importantly, they can make subtle differences to the sound, and oddly enough, effect projection (the college professor described it as making the player seem as if they had portable acoustic shells around them that just shot the sound out to the audience). They're really rather neat little gadgets,though they certainly aren't suitable for every instance.I would think as a soloist or in a chamber setting, they could be very useful.

As for the Foster extensions, I was far less impressed, though there was a subtle difference there too, mostly in where the sound seemed to originate (it seemed to move the sound off to the right of the player). If it weren't for the $700 price tag, I would be far more willing to experiment with them, but as it is, I don't consider them particularly useful or impressive.

So with the Valgon rings does the flutist only hear a difference or does the audience too? They have to add weight to the flute making it impossible to do a fair blind test by the person trying them on their flute I would think. They are ugly and I am vain, so I wouldn't buy one. lol!!

They're extremely light, and don't add any noticeable amount of weight to the flute. The blind testing was about as far as we could make it....Certainly playing a platinum head against a silver head would it would be much easier to tell the difference than it would be to tell when the rings were on and when they were not. But anyway, the Valgon rings also project a noticeable difference to the audience, though what that difference is will depend on how well tuned a listener is. Almost anyone can hear the change in projection, but there is also a subtle change in how the flute sounds, which some folks may miss.

<Added>

Should read: "about as fair as we could make it"

<Added>

Should also read: "depend on how well tuned a listener's ear is..."

I haven't heard much about the Valgon Rings but I have had the chance to try a Foster Extension at a convention. I also visited Carolyn Nussbaum at the Albuquerque convention and was able to try the extensions in a private room. To be honest, it really just depends on the player on whether you should purchase one or not.
I found that I had an increase in projection, especially in the low register. Consequently,with the extension, playing softly in the low register it was easier to keep the notes from going flat. Also, if you are going to experiment, I would suggest trying different combos. I only tried silver extensions, but many endorse using one of each or two of the same metal. For me, personally, I didn't feel the need to purchase the extension, but if I had more money, it would be a nice addition to my flute collection.
Also, the price of the silver extension is actually $300 according to their website. I think that was the introductory price, but the gold extension definitely went up due to the rise in gold prices. The website is www.flute4u.com