The biggest flute bang, for the lowest price...

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:39 pm

My vote goes to Doug Tipple, and here I am adding the lip plate and the Fajardo-Tipple wedge.

For performance versus price, can anybody top that?

C'mon!

sbfluter · Post by **sbfluter** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:49 pm

I have to agree, although my sampling is a bit limited.

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:59 pm

Doug has it,

given that Pat O. has quit making bamboo flutes

sbfluter · Post by **sbfluter** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:44 pm

Let me add that the drawbacks to the Tipple flute are:
1) Holes are really big and far apart
2) People make a lot of comments and ask a lot of questions. "That looks like PVC pipe" "Is that really PVC pipe?" "I think I'll go home and make one of those! How hard could it be?"

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:10 pm

suffering the uninformed builds character

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:01 am

Not played a Tipple yet, but my vote has to go to M&E (what else?). Even though I've played numerous top notch flutes including McGee, Hammy and Grinter, I'm constantly amazed at the great bang of the M&E. The only thing I have against it is the looks, but for $400 (or whatever it is), come on! Can't top that.
Another consideration, I'm not listing this as a drawback because it really isn't, is the old style tuning. Great for solo stuff, but if you get into recording and stuff with a band, then a modern scale is a lot easier and cleaner. That's also the reason why I play a Seery for all band work these days.
If I buy a fancy-pants, top notch instrument, it's going to be mostly for the looks...

Jack Bradshaw · Post by **Jack Bradshaw** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:43 am

Hard to top my M&E...but include bucks and Tipple has it ...no contest !

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:51 am

In 'bang-for-the-buck' category, Tipple is unsurpassed. I like some other flutes better, but if I had never found them, I'd be just fine with the Tipple. It costs about the same as a tank of gasoline.

CranberryDog · Post by **CranberryDog** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:31 am

I should receive a Copley delrin in the next few days. It sells for $350. I say, should receive as it is the same flute that went missing in the mail. Yesterday, Doc got it back from USPS and the package was marked "unclaimed".

I will be glad to follow up with a review. The only flutes I can compare it to are a Copley session flute and a CB Pond & Firth. Cyril.

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:55 am

Great!

The idea here is to generate a list of high quality yet low cost flutes as currently available, especially with the person in mind who is looking for a first flute, but who doesn't want to make a large commitment of money.

Your opinion, please!

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:08 am

sbfluter wrote:Let me add that the drawbacks to the Tipple flute are:
1) Holes are really big and far apart
2) People make a lot of comments and ask a lot of questions. "That looks like PVC pipe" "Is that really PVC pipe?" "I think I'll go home and make one of those! How hard could it be?"

Thanks, everyone, for the positive comments about my flutes. With regard to the second quote above, there is nothing that I can do about the plumbing pipe comments. Sorry about that, folks.

I do want to say something about the first comment. The recent thread on the flute forum about flute finger hole sizes and layout got me thinking more about this. I get a lot of questions about how difficult my flutes may be to finger for a prospective buyer. Rather than having to answer each person in full on every occasion, I have a FAQ page at my website where I attempt to answer the most common questions. I just finished writing another page about this subject, and I have the link to that page below, if you are interested. I am open to public feedback about the page, as well.

http://dougsflutes.googlepages.com/flut ... comparison

dhamilingu · Post by **dhamilingu** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:35 am

This discussion also seems to be a discussion about materials used - some types of material are obviously cheaper than others, which lowers the overall cost. So, on that note, let me put in my vote for the Casey Burns Folk Flute - arguably the best wooden flute at an entry-level price point. Certainly excellent "bang-for-the-buck" if you want wood.

Peter

sbfluter · Post by **sbfluter** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:48 am

Despite the holes being big and far apart. I went at this flute saying to myself every day "I will get this". And I did. I can now play the flute no problemo. But I have to admit smaller and closer holes do make some ornaments much easier for me. Strangely, my fingers sometimes get stuck, like suction cup stuck, if the holes are smaller.

eilam · Post by **eilam** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:49 am

i'd go with the M&E, i have a Seery that gets more play time, but tone wise, i like the M&E better.
Sweetheart is a good bang for the buck as well, but they are not very consistent, you'd have to pick on out of a pile.

Il Friscaletto · Post by **Il Friscaletto** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:14 am

I have a pretty wonderful bamboo flute from Billy Miller ($65). The drawback is, of course, it can't be tuned. It plays great, though not incredibly loud (get's a bit lost in a session). It's beautiful to look at as well.