Best Neys & Best Ney Brands
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The Ney is a traditional flute that is blown at the end of the body. It is popularly associated with the conventional musical life of the Arabic world, most especially in Iran, Turkey, and Egypt and in other places in the Middle East and some parts of Asia.
How Different is the Ney?
The ney or nay (as it is also called) is one of the most straightforward wind instruments in the world. It offers less strenuous fingering techniques, and it’s a better option for lovers of flute who finds the conventional ones too challenging to master. However, ney flutes are not that easy as well, as the player may need some time to start making right notes.
What are the Neys to Buy?
2) Persian Ney By Master Saidi
- Bamboo reed construction
- Durable
- Perfect Feel & Convenience
- Standard Size
1) Turkish Woodwind Plastic Ney Nay Flute
- Plastic body construction
- Bright and loud sound quality
- Easy To Play
- Easy To Maintain
3) Turkey Very High Quality Woodwind Ney Nay Flute
- Made in Turkey
- Natural bamboo wood design
- Natural Sound
- High Quality
What Should I Look For?
That’s a good question. When buying your first ney, especially if you are just starting, take note that you can’t tell if the ney is good or bad by mere visual inspection. A professional is the only person who can tell the difference.
Therefore, the best way you can buy a ney is to read what real-users of the products are saying in their reviews, or by going through a friend who plays it or someone who knows who plays it. Also, blog reviews as this one help a lot as it contains information that you would otherwise miss on the product’s sales page.
What Types of Neys Are There?
There are two categories of neys in the market: the ones made with bamboo/wooden material and plastic neys.
While plastic neys tend to be more bright in tone, they fall short of the rich sound and resonance associated with neys featuring bamboo wood design. However, plastic neys are less susceptible to changes in temperature compared to their wooden counterparts, but both are relatively durable and performs well.
What Lengths Are There?
Neys comes in different sizes and is essential you take note of this before buying yours. A ney flute that is more than two feet in length is sure not going to suit the needs of players with shorter hands; they are made for people with larger hands.
Also, the larger the ney, the lower sticky notes tend to be while the higher notes become more comfortable to play. On the other hand, if the ney is small in size, the larger notes becomes difficult to play while the lower notes become more comfortable to play.
But, for neys within the Bb-C or F-Kuk-G-Kuk size category, the difficulty level is more balanced. Thus, we recommend this size/length for you.
Turkish or Persian?
Yes, neys from these two countries are the most dominant in the ney flute market. While Persian neys have tunes that are listed differently from their Turkish counterparts, the Turkish and Persian neys share the same similarities in features and quality, and that also include Arabic neys.
For instance, all of them feature the same natural reed (bamboo) or plastic body construction without a standard mouthpiece. However, we recommend Arabic neys in D key for beginners. For professional play, Turkish neys are crazy in resonance, and there is hardly a model that competes with Persian neys when it comes down to excellent pitch flexibility.
Nonetheless, whatever you chose will depend on your preference, as they all perform what they were designed to do.
5 Best Ney Reviews and the Best Ney Brands
1) Turkish Woodwind Plastic Ney Nay Flute
If you are interested in a ney that features plastic body construction, you have just found it.
This ney originates from Turkey. It measures more than two feet in length, meaning, it is not that suitable for a beginner to play. In other words, this Turkish woodwind ney flute is strictly designed for the sole interest and playing comfort of people with large hands.
However, the most fantastic thing about it is that while it is a simple instrument, the sound it produces is quite amazing.
Thanks to its plastic material construction, this ney generate a bright and loud sound quality that is just great for its design.
The ney is easy to play, and the response from it is very consistent in the entire course of its range.
It is easy to maintain, compare to a bamboo ney, and the sound makes it a much better buy to its bamboo counterpart.
2) Persian Ney By Master Saidi
If you want to add to your collection of ney flutes, it would be ideal to get some from Iran. Iran has some of the superb neys in the market.
The unique thing about this Persian ney is that it is available in every tone and tune you can probably think of– from A, B, Bb, C, C#, D, E, and more.
The Persian ney comes well tuned. The packaging itself is highly professional, and the ney is the perfect option for beginners.
The body features Bamboo reed construction, which is durable. It resonates amazingly for its quality and size. The keys on this one are named differently from their Arabic and Turkish counterparts.
The bore of the ney is extensive, and the nice trimmed body provide a perfect feel and convenience for the student player. As you play, the tuning turns up; this is just right for a beginner.
Talking about size, this is the standard size, as shown in the picture. With the Master Saidi ney, nothing stops you from enjoying the best ney instrument in the market.
3) Turkey Very High Quality Woodwind Ney Nay Flute
Here is another long-size instrument for people who have more extended hands. As the name implies, this ney was made in Turkey. The body features a natural bamboo wood design that produces that natural sound and response known with wooden ney instruments.
However, while this flute is suitable for beginners, it must be noted that some of the holes seem to produce muffled notes due to inconsistent air passage. Nevertheless, that largely depends on the player and the skills doing the playing.
The significant aspect of this ney is the elemental sound produced by the highest quality bamboo material. It feels so natural when playing this, and the simplicity of the design makes it suitable for established players to generate a wide array of colorful pitches.
Another excellent benefit of this ney is the affordable price range it offers. The size is standard for beginners and professionals, so nothing to worry about.
4) 100% Turkish Samandag Bamboo Reed
The Turkish Sanmandag ney flute is one you can rightly describe as a professional nay flute. It features top quality and genuine bamboo reed wood, which excels in a rich, lovely and natural sound.
As a Turkish ney flute, you would have expected that it comes with an excellent balance between high and lows, and this model didn’t disappoint at all. Tuned to the tune of B, this ney has a perfect balance, and the character it possesses makes it ideal and enjoyable to play.
The mouthpiece is excellent, and it adds to the extension of the ney flute that is already well over two feet. The most exciting part is that this flute comes with a hard case where you can store it when not in use.
The quality is just perfect and every beginner can find solace in using this model.
5) Turkish PlASTIC Ney Flute 22″
Plastic neys are some of the reliable options for people who want something other than bamboo neys. The good thing about this ney is that it is extremely portable and secure in the sound it produces.
The ney is made in Turkey by one of the best handcraft dedicated companies called Saz. The average length of this ney flute measures 22 inches, with the overall body dimensions standing at 23.6 x 0.4 x 0.4. , when shipped, it weighs just 4 ounces. These features make it extremely durable and easy to use.
The response is excellent, and the movement between high and lows is just perfect, talking about sound range. The good thing about this ney flute is that the sound it projects is controlled in a more better technique when compared to the ones found in Persian ney flutes.
Apart from using the finger holes, you can easily adjust the pitch as well by using the embouchure. This ney is very good for beginners to start practicing on.
Choosing the Best Neys
The ney as a wind instrument was less known in the western world of flutes some years back. But today, the story has changed, and the ney has become famous for obvious reasons, the likes of which we have covered above.
2) Persian Ney By Master Saidi
- Bamboo reed construction
- Durable
- Perfect Feel & Convenience
- Standard Size
1) Turkish Woodwind Plastic Ney Nay Flute
- Plastic body construction
- Bright and loud sound quality
- Easy To Play
- Easy To Maintain
3) Turkey Very High Quality Woodwind Ney Nay Flute
- Made in Turkey
- Natural bamboo wood design
- Natural Sound
- High Quality
Neys are quite affordable, and you shouldn’t bother about prices. There are three types of neys in the market, and they are Persian, Turkish, and Arabic neys. Investing in a ney can be one of the wisest decisions you will ever make in adding to your collection of musical instruments. The ney is simple to play, available in different sizes and produces excellent quality in sound and response.
The neys we reviewed above represent some of the best in the market. You will do well to invest in one of these, or make some more research so you can get the one that suit you the best.