I’m looking for genuine opinions of the Dixon bottom of the range keyless flute & piccolo.
Obviously not going to be a ‘best buy’, but as as starter.
How do they compare to other non wood keyless?
Are they usually reasonably accurately tuned?
Does anyone actually play one regularly?
Any other info?
By “Dixon” I assume you mean Tony Dixon Flutes, right?
I’ve been playing a Tony Dixon 2-piece flute pretty consistently for the last year. I play it at a weekly session. Three people at the session have complemented the sound of the flute, but I myself don’t feel confident about the flute’s tone, which negatively impacts my playing.
I originally started by playing bamboo flutes a few years back; which actually resulted in me having a good solid tone when I switched to the Boehm flute (I think because my bamboo flutes did not have any helps or special embouchure cuts). But when I switch to my Tony Dixon, I felt like I had to work to make it not sound like plastic.
To answer your questions:
Overall, the flute seems in tune. Though, C natural is a pain: if I use the OXX OOO fingering, it is not flat enough. OXX XOX flattens it further, but I’m still not used to using that fingering and it still doesn’t sound right to me. As a result, I play songs with C naturals on my Hamilton Low D Whistle instead.
Comparing similar flutes…
There was a recent discussion where a few people talked about options of a low-budget flute; I mentioned about my experience with my Tony Dixon flute there too: https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/newbie-question-delrin-v-wood-on-a-budget/97626/1 . I don’t have experience with other flutes of that range. However, were I to buy my first flute intended for Irish Music again, I would have gone with one of Casey Burn’s Folk Flutes. Yes, they are a bit more expensive, but I would have been happier with it earlier and longer than I was with the Tony Dixon.
I have both (my first flutes ever)… The fife (plastic, not tuneable) is ok, intonation not to bad etc. In my opinion the aluminum flute is a complete disaster in the field of intonation. But maybe a better flautist than me would be able to make it play in tune 
I would rather spend money on a more expensive but acceptable delrin flute.
kr,
Peter
Thanks fellas, so not a total waste of money. 
(Thanks for the link to the other thread, Aaron.)
Just want to try out a keyless, without forking out a lot to start with.
If I get more comfortable with a 6 hole than my Boehm, I’ll probably get a better quality one, (maybe one of the Thompson made ones), but I’ll come back for opinions & suggestions on that at a later date.
I have a Dixon piccolo in D and I do not recommend it, it’s very hard to play.
David
To balance @sligofluter I have a Dixon D piccolo and find it very pleasant and responsive to play.
I wouldn’t choose it over my old Ralph Sweet as my daily driver, but it sits next to my computer and I happily give it some air every other day or so.
Thanks for your comment, Steve.
It probably boils down to embouchure, which I will have to figure out anyway.
I have the three piece Dixon flute. I’m assuming it’s just me, but I simply can’t get any sound out of it. Playing just the head joint, I can eventually find a spot that makes a reasonable noise, but as soon as I add the other sections, it all goes away.
It’s probably embouchure too, but right now I’m tempted to just sell it and stick with whistles.
Everyone is different, it takes a bit of time to find the right embouchure - I wouldn’t give up too soon.
I used to just about be able to play a couple of tunes on my Boehm flute, then I lost my embouchure through lack of practice, so I know it’s possible to play it, but I’m still having trouble re finding it. 
Each instrument likely needs a slightly different embouchure too, so what will work on flute, will need adjusting to work for piccolo. 
Update.
My Dixon flute & piccolo arrived this morning, & whilst it is difficult for me to get a good embouchure on either, I’m getting on better with the piccolo already, which I’m really pleased about.
The Low D flute, on the other hand, I’m finding a bit of a handful, quite literally. 
I can get some of the upper hole notes, but when I try to go lower, I start losing my embouchure. 
Lots of practice needed, but I feel that it will be possible.
Great. Keep us updated.
I started playing whistles about two and a half years ago at the age of 58. After about a year I decided to take a chance and order a Tony Dixon D Piccolo as I was always very happy with the Dixon whistles that I own. Maybe I should not have given up on it quite so quickly but after a couple of months I could barely raise a tune from it and found the second octave near on impossible. Now it’s in my whistle case untouched. I would be really interested to hear how your progress goes as I think in the right hands they would be a nice instrument. Sadly though not mine.
The first two months can certainly be a struggle, and your experience is not unusual.
I think the piccolo requires a much more focussed embouchure than a flute.
Check in with a teacher; a classical flautist is a fine choice for this.
Also, be aware that it might be something you can’t diagnose on your own. After a month of blowing crackers in the second octave, I realized (almost by chance) that my lip shape is teardrop and I needed a different approach.
My second octave on the piccolo isn’t always there when I practice either, it seems to need a slightly stronger blow, & possibly a quicker attack to get the notes to sound.
More practice needed.
My flute on the other hand, is a bit of a problem at the moment, as my finger stretch doesn’t seem to be enough, even if I use my pinky instead of my ring finger on the bottom hole - so I’m trying some stretching exercises for that - it would be nice to be able to play it soon too.
Hi fatmac, I really don’t know anything at all about the flute, but when I play the low D whistle I need to use “The Piper’s Grip” to cover the holes, which basically means using the middle of your fingers instead of the fingertips. I’m not sure if there is a flute equivalent of this but it may be worth having a look on YouTube to see if anyone has covered this subject. Without The Piper’s Grip the low D whistle would also be a huge stretch.
Regards,
Reeldin58
Hi, yes, thanks for your comment - that is what I am trying to achieve, but am still finding it somewhat of a stretch - in fact, I just gave it another go right this minute & managed to sound the lower notes - so I think my stretching exercises may well be working.
How is it going with the flute, fatmac?
How is the switch from Boehm to simple system flute going?
I’m finding the piccolo easier, so am concentrating on that, & some high whistles that I bought - getting familiar with the hole fingering - then I’ll go back & try the flute again later.
Each time I thought I’d got my embouchure, on the flute, I’d lose it when I tried getting the lower holes, which was a bit frustrating/annoying.
But I’m making some progress overall.
Actually, I felt a bit guilty after reading your post, so I went & grabbed my (simple system) flute & gave it another go - I was terrible again!
But…I gave it another shot, (about an hour later), & actually managed to go up & down the low octave a couple of times - I noticed that I had been gripping it quite hard before, so I think I need to try & relax more - I guess it just comes down to practice & familiarity.