Flute for Beginner: Dixon 3-piece or Tipple?

[Doc Jones]

Doug speaks the truth.

If we spent more time in the woodshed and less time shopping for flutes* we'd soon be amazed at what sorts of acoustic wonders might emanate from a Tipple (or Dixon or Hammy practice flute).

I also agree that they are the sorts of flutes that one ought to keep even when he does "upgrade" so that one can toot in venues unsuitable for $1000 tooters.

Get any of the three and play the heck out of it. I started with a Tipple. COuld have started with either of the others as well. The Hammys and Dixons "feel" a bit more like a conical flute but they all sound good if you have the chops.

One note: If you get a Dixon, get the three-piece conical one. The cylindrical model is not nearly of the same acoustic caliber as the others mentioned.

Doc

*Disclaimer: Doc Jones sells flutes and in no way wishes to disparage the noble and enlightening pursuit of excessive shopping for flutes. Please disregard any irrational rantings he may have shared in this thread. We've increased his medications and have put him to bed. Carry on.

[doktor73]

Hello!
Thank you very much for your statements!

ANYway - my take on order of playability would be: Resonance, Tipple, Hammy, and Dixon.

Hi Pat, please try to explain: Why would you favour the Tipple over the Hammy?
I want to make up my mind concerning these two flutes...
Micha

[Denny]

Hi Pat, please try to explain: Why would you favour the Tipple over the Hammy?
I want to make up my mind concerning these two flutes...
Micha

while we're waiting for Pat



get on the bus

Doug speaks the truth.

If we spent more time in the woodshed and less time shopping for flutes* we'd soon be amazed at what sorts of acoustic wonders might emanate from a Tipple (or Dixon or Hammy practice flute).

Because he likes the Tipple embouchure more'n the Hammy?

As you've no embouchure at this point it is difficult to determine which you would prefer in a few years when you've gotten one. (assuming that you stick with it long enough to matter )
Ah, and what you like at any time in the next few years might be very quite different in the next season.

There are some of us that buy and sell constantly just so's we get to try out different ones.

Buy one of 'em now, buy the other when ya can (if ya still care). Have at it for a year. Get a couple of bamboo ones..... Try to develop your chops and your relationships with those that have ones you'd like to try.....



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Think_We ... n_This_Bus

[plunk111]

Tipple over Hammy? Not sure - it just sounds better when I play it! Easier to make a good sound on (for me) and has more of the feel of wood somehow. I've only played the Hammy practice briefly, though, and the Tipple a lot. You could probably get used to either of them and do fine. Not sure what I can say other than that. In actual fact, you could probably afford to buy both, pick which one you like the best, and sell the other for almost no loss.

Denny - if you're trying to ridicule me somehow, I don't get it! What's with the clown?

Pat

[Denny]

you? not at all Pat

I was going with Doc's response. It doesn't matter at this point which flute he picks, they are all reasonable instruments. The thing is to start playing. (get on the bus)

We're all Bozos on the bus. Read the last link, it's an old Firesign Theatre album.
Too young to remember the late 60s, early 70s?

[jvann]

I have the 3 piece Tipple with the wedge, lip plate, and offset finger holes and I don't see it as a beginner instrument at all from the standpoint that you would "graduate" to something better. It's a beginner instrument from the fact that for not a lot of risk you can find out if you really like the irish flute, but I don't why I would sell it. I believe the real quality of an instrument is the talent and passion the maker puts into it and you can tell from Doug's posts and the near universal acclaim for his flutes that he puts a lot into each one(not saying Dixon and Hamilton don't, I just see Tipple flutes a lot more on the forum). When I examine mine, I see incredible attention to detail and I sometimes shock myself that I, a beginner at the flute, can produce some very beautiful tones with it. Looking at it from another angle, I've played ukulele for a while and have some very nice and relatively expensive koa ukes. The one I play the most is a second hand Fluke that has a plastic back and a laminate top. Why? Because it has all the same capabilities as the more expensive ones, it sounds nice, but it sits on my desk where I can pick it up at any given moment and play. I use the Tipple the same way. It's always there, always ready, and my playing has improved dramatically over the past couple of months because I pick it up and play for a few minutes at a time. I also know from other players and videos that it has everything I need to produce beautiful music because Doug made it the right way. The rest is up to me.

[Denny]

I just see Tipple flutes a lot more on the forum

C & F is predominantly US

Because it has all the same capabilities as the more expensive ones, it sounds nice, but it sits on my desk where I can pick it up at any given moment and play.

you can get a delron for a bit over 4 times the price of the Tipple

Doug's attention to detail and workmanship would be two of the major the reasons his flutes are recommended.
The third reason is that it is priced below anything that is vaguely comparable.
Hammy's may be an exception for those in the EU.... (so far no EU person has answered me question )


The only other contenders, in the under US $100 category, are a few bamboo makers.
These are not particularly Irish.

[Doc Jones]

All three are capable of good tone. Get one and start developing embouchure.

In six months or a year you can fuss about what flute you really want. No sense getting "analysis paralysis" at this point in your career. Your headed for a great adventure. Start the journey with any of those three and you'll be fine.

Doc

[keithsandra]

For what they're worth, these are my experiences with a Tipple I've owned for 18 months and a wooden flute I've owned for just under a year.

I have the very shiny ivory coloured Tipple two piece with wedge, both heads with different embouchure holes, and the standard, comparitively large, offset tone holes. The three piece wooden flute's embouchure is one millimetre smaller, and it has smaller toneholes.

The Tipple is always ready to go and needs no maintenance or special care. It's easy to play, takes little air, and gives a reverberatingly satisfying sound. It's easy to hold and it's loud or soft in both octaves. Its tone has more complexities the more I play it.

The wooden flute's tone is somewhat sweeter but softer in both octaves. It takes a lot more time to get a clear tone. The embouchure has been harder to manage and is still not as readily forthcoming as either Tipple embouchures. It's low D has nowhere near the volume of the Tipple.

The wooden flute is heavier by several ounces and seems marginally more cumbersome. I can play it with ease now but its not as satisfying as the Tipple. And, sadly, I have concluded that the wooden flute is a comparative and continuing pain. It needs continual examination with a flash light to see if it needs swabbing, which it invariably does, and every month I have to oil it inside and out, fiddling with all the hole edges and making sure the joints gets attention without getting oil on the joint threads. Most of my music and desk papers have oil stains and I have a cleaning up rag that's so stained with oil I use it to wipe the flute before I put it away. So as not to squash the threads and give them time to spring back, I have to store the flute in three parts after every practice so the joint threads dont flatten and leak. I have to make sure it doesn't get too hot or too cold, and that it doesn't fall or get knocked. It's expensive to mail, insure and repair. It cost five times more than the Tipple.

With scientific research showing that what flutes are made of doesn't affect tone, and more professional conductors, musicians and filmmakers turning to Tipple flutes, IMO plastic whistles and flutes will become the norm soon, especially when they start getting inexpensive, newly designed and indestructible, low maintenance keys.

I was thinking of getting an $850 delrin flute to see if I could do better than either the Tipple or the wooden flute. Then I read a recent post by Doug and Denny showing me how to change my TIpple's wedge's position with a simple two second operation that now produces a sound that has, as another Tipple tooter says, changed my Tipple into a comparative Stradivarius ... So I've saved myself $850 and the future of my wooden flute is now even more uncertain ...

Just a few thoughts from a home hobbyist ...

K.

[Akiba]

KeithSandra,

I'm glad you're so satisfied with your Tipple. For the price, dollar for dollar, they are the best deal for a keyless flute, absolutely. But I think you are off-base with your overall assessment: I have yet to hear a Tipple sound anywhere near a professional quality Irish/simple system flute--not even close. Sad but true: if you want the best sound, you have pay for it. Not that I'm a great player, but I find wood flutes much more interesting and satisfying tonally than any delrin/polymer flute I've played, and I've played a lot of delrin/polymer flutes. Look at the top players--none play anything but wood and they only use flutes from the top makers.

[Flexismart]

I like to have a practice flute around - I don't have to clean it, and I'm more inclined to whack the cat
who's crawling up my leg, trying to get me to understand the concept of 'internal tuning'

[talasiga]

......
I have not played a Hamilton Practice Flute, so can't make a fair evaluation of it;
.......

Mate, thats a stretch.
You can't make ANY evaluation of it, let alone fair, bad or any other adjective.

[hans]

Hammy's may be an exception for those in the EU.... (so far no EU person has answered me question )

What was the question?

I've sold a few PVC flutes in D, Eb, C and B.
For small handed persons and anyone who wants a flute with easy grip I've got a nice playing Eb model with offset holes 3 and 6.

Dominic Allan offers wooden conical bore student flutes for £150, which can be part exchanged up to 70% when ordering one of his regular flutes. I think that is a very good deal for someone starting on flute.

[Denny]

no, sorry. It was back in this post and was purely an import question.

70 Euro'd be about $89 ~~~ so $89 vs $60 (Doug's 2 piece, tunable)
'course at that price range ya might as well go all out and get a 3 piece for $75...

How much is both (buyer & seller) being EU worth? (seriously, I've no idea, I'm not even on the same ocean )

As to the relative merits of the, under $100, offerings of the combined EU makers I've no idea.

[keithsandra]

AKIBA:

Regarding your assertion that most of the best Irish flute players choose to play on conical-bore wooden flutes:
Well, maybe for the time being, but as the reputation of plastic flutes and whistles gathers strength, surely this will change; is in fact changing as we speak?
The older generation might have a prejudice against anything "plastic", but the young in general, and our young designers of cars, planes, space machines, instruments, office and home and home features etc etc etc, certainly don't.
The present attitude against plastic versus wood is going to puzzle future generations if current scientific evidence that says the materials used on wind instruments have no different effect on tone or musicality is correct.
The present attitude that wood is best seems suspiciously like personal prejudice based on anecdotal evidence. If so, it's wrong, and plastic, or probably any other suitable material, is just as good as wood musically, and far better from a cost and use point of view.
This Wooden Emperor looks increasingly nekkid!
K.