Thinking of buying a Dixon

[mike.r]

I have a question regarding a Dixon flute I,m thinking of purchasing.The flute is ebony and does not have any extra tuning holes.It appears to be reasonably well made although the finger holes look a little rough around the edges and are non-radiused.The embouchure looks OK and the friend of mine who played it for me thought the tone,tuning and playability was quite good for the price although not very loud.There is what appears to be a single worm hole next to the embouchure and the head does not have a brass bore.The price is around 3oo EURO.Would it be a reasonable first flute or would a Dixon carved Polymer model be a better option?Do tuning holes on the end of some flutes contribute to the fullness in sound,or are other factors at play here? Peace,Mike

[eskin]

In that price range, I'd seriously consider a Rudall model M&E polymer flute... I've got one and am very pleased with it.

[drummerboy]

You also may want to try a seery. Nice sold sound and hard to beat up. And for around 300.00 you cant go wrong

[toddyboy50]

And here's another opinion ... I have found the Dixon 3 piece polymer at about $175 US to be a great deal, particularly for a first flute. Relatively small investment and can sound really nice. Hope this is more help than further confusion... - Tod

[kevin m.]

hi, im new to this site-having'lurked' for some time! I agree with toddyboy- I bought a 3 piece polymer from tony Dixon almost a month ago,following recommendations in a recent thread. although i have little experience,having previously played metal Boehm flute, i have found it to be an ideal 'first irish flute' No maintenance worries,unlike wood.The workmanship is good on mine,the finger holes are very neatly finished.Soundwise, its very easy to fill,with a sweet sound overall,and quite a 'reedy'bottom end.At £150 sterling i think its a bargain! Also tony's customer service is top notch- very nice guy to speak to when i placed my order,and he got my flute to me within 3 working days!

[CraigMc]

I have the Tony's 3 Piece Polymer and really love it. Although I have had a bamboo flute, I'll say that I really didn't start actually Playing the flute till after I got my Dixon. I don't think you can beat it at the price and would recommend this over any non-tunable flute.

- Craig

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: CraigMc on 2002-04-08 12:11 ]</font>

[LeeMarsh]

I too, would like to reccomend the Tony Dixon 3 piece polymer flute. I've had mine since December and love it. I like the tone which has a reedy texture that I like hearing in Irish music. It has smaller finger holes than make it easy to get good seals. I'll probably want larger holes in the future to more easily bend the tone and add texture to my ornaments, but for know these work fine. I like the Dixon pretty much for all the reasons other folks have posted.

In addition, I think the other reason I like it is that it's worry free. The solid construction, means I can take it anywere without worrying. I expect, that in a year or two, I'll want to get a tunable wood flute. Even then I plan on keeping the Dixon. I can take it camping, for a walk in the woods, out on a lake in a canoe, or down to the park on hot days, humid days, dry days or cooler days; No worries. No worries also means, more play time, the durability makes it easy to throw in my backpack, to be pulled out and played whem my wife is 20 minutes late picking me up at the train station (again); Or, when I need a lunch break, out in the park; or any time I need to get away and into a tune or two. I think this is the reason, I like the Dixon as a first flute. Even as you progress to more expensive instruments, it can still fill a long term role. For Under $200, its a great deal.

[mike.r]

Thanks everyone for helping me out.The Seery and Rudal sound like good deals but as the Dixon 3 piece polymer will soon be available in my local music shop,and is so highly regarded,I,ll most likely get this one instead of the hardwood model.Peace, Mike