Best Beginner's Flute

[keithsandra]

If you want a light, beautifully crafted and finished instrument with good tone and easy playability that you will still be playing regularly after seven years even though you have since acquired many more wooden and modern flutes, then you will buy a Tipple and discover that you will not resell or swap it at any price because of the penetrating volume, the reverberating reed like low D, and that reassuring pulse of breath at your fingertips. Tipples grow with you. You might not outgrow them; does anyone know? New Tipples cost just over $100 and when Doug stops making them, existing Tipples will be gratefully snapped up at prices four or five times their original price. They're keepers.

Best wishes,

K.

[Gordon]

I think it's a good idea to distinguish tween delrin and ebonite. Acousitically I really don't like the sound
of the former, FWIW, having played now most of the well-made ones. I don't know much about the latter, though
and have hopes for it.

Sure. Distinguish away. Same with boxwood or blackwood; they're different, and you, or anyone, might prefer one over the other for a number of reasons. As for ebonite - well, it's been used for flutes for well over a century, so, yeah, it has some potential...

Don't forget; we're talking about quality affordable beginner flutes here, not just which material is the most preferable, all things being equal. So, yes, personally I'd prefer a blackwood Olwell or Hammy as a regular flute over, say, a Delrin Forbes, for example. But the Forbes is half the price, and is not far off the mark in terms of playability and tone - quite a good flute, in fact. And unlike some flutes in that price range, it's truly tunable. So when someone like the OP asks what's the best beginner flute (which I assume means most affordable, ease of play, and best tone), many quality Delrin, ebonite, polymer flutes are suggested. Seems only fair, no?

[jim stone]

Of course it's fair. I'm expressing a personal preference, by now a marked one. I think delrin has a distinctive sound
that I've tracked now through a number of the well-made flutes recommended here.
I don't like it, and my antipathy to the sound
is greater than it is toward any wood, some of which I like more than others. Whether my opinion makes a difference
to anyone is entirely their department. Obviously a good number of people disagree with me.

[Peter Duggan]

I think delrin has a distinctive sound that I've tracked now through a number of the well-made flutes recommended here.

And I think you'd sound the same to me on Delrin as you do on all your wood flutes...

I don't like it, and my antipathy to the sound is greater than it is toward any wood, some of which I like more than others.

Balsa wood?

Whether my opinion makes a difference to anyone is entirely their department. Obviously a good number of people disagree with me.

And, much as I love my very special wood flute, I'm one of them!

[Jon C.]

I would say, go with a beginner flute that is some what in tune with itself, I have seen some low end flutes that have had horrible tuning. He will find a delrin flute is fairly user friendly, and does not need to be warmed up. Flutes turned in PVC will warp in a hot car. I would recommend a Copley delrin flute, good bang for the buck! You can also get a keyed delrin from him...

[Akiba]

Perhaps the best flute for a beginner is one that the person will want to play as much as possible, will "dig" the most. So if someone really likes wood and would feel more of a special connection to the flute and be more motivated to play it, get that. If the person wants a flute that maybe looks more like their teacher's, or is really nervous about owning a wood flute, etc., get a delrin. Bottom line is that the person plays / practices as much as possible. Wood or delrin is much more of a secondary consideration.

[jim stone]

I think delrin has a distinctive sound that I've tracked now through a number of the well-made flutes recommended here.

And I think you'd sound the same to me on Delrin as you do on all your wood flutes...

I don't like it, and my antipathy to the sound is greater than it is toward any wood, some of which I like more than others.

Balsa wood?

Whether my opinion makes a difference to anyone is entirely their department. Obviously a good number of people disagree with me.

And, much as I love my very special wood flute, I'm one of them!

Perhaps I would sound the same to you, and I did in fact test the flutes with audiences that testified to the difference
in sound tween my wooden flutes and my delrin flutes, liking the latter less. 'Presence' was an issue.


No, not balsa or plywood or.... Sorry if I was unclear.
I had in mind any of what are sometimes called 'flute woods,' that is, the sort of woods from which wooden flutes
are typically made. I like some of these more than others, but I really don't like delrin's sound. Quantum leap there, for me.
Hope to have a chance to
play an ebonite flute.

Yes, by all means disagree.

[3606317e]

Thanks for the help everyone! I'll be purchasing either the Copley Delrin or M&E Rudall & Rose in Polymer. I appreciate all the input!

-Jack's new flute student

[jGilder]

I had no idea this query would result in 5 pages. I hope this thread is useful to other people starting down the road of trad flute in making informed choices. Thanks again everyone for such a good discussion.

[Jayhawk]

That's because we're extremely helpful, yet nuts as well.

Eric

[Steve Bliven]

Or 'cause everybody knows the (different) right answer...

Best wishes.

Steve

[monkeymonk]

Or 'cause everybody knows the (different) right answer...

True.

But only 32 of the 70 posts were divergent of the OP's original question!
Not too bad for the ol' Delrin/ebonite vs wood debate

[Jan >^..^<]

I wanted to buy a flute that I could afford and that I could try out without spending a lot of money. I don't like plastic flutes. However, I was considering getting a Dixon dual head whistle/flute. After checking reviews here, I bought a Doug Tipple flute. Yeah, it's plastic. No, it does not sound plastic. It has a wonderful sound, is easy to play, well-tuned, and will last me a long time. I was totally surprised by the way it looks. It is black PCV pipe, but you'd never know it by the looks of it. It is polished and smooth. Finger holes are well crafted. I might not ever buy a wooden one. I do love wood, but this thing is really good! I am very happy with it.

I also bought a little aluminum fife off of Amazon for under $20 and that thing is remarkably well tuned. It's fun to tinker with when I want something smaller.

[Jayhawk]

We live in the golden age of cheap, but good, handmade beginner flutes! Gone are the days of having to find old German flutes, cracked and in the wrong pitch, at thrift and junk shops.

Jack - let us know what you think about your students new flute.

Eric

[jGilder]

I think she's going for an ME delrin because of what she can afford. She placed a WTB for a Copley here but no takers so far. I'm hoping whatever she gets will be playable and have decent intonation. I also like the tuning slide because she has friends she wants to play with soon. If she gets hooked I'm sure she will move to a nicer wooden flute at some stage and pass her ME to another beginner... or hold onto it for camping and underwater sessions. I'll let you know what I think of the ME if she gets one, but my opinion won't be worth much unless I had the other flutes mentioned in this thread to compare it with.