Thank you for visiting my webpage. Please note: I make an effort to promptly reply to every email inquiry about my flutes. However, if you receive no reply from me, please check your spam folder, as my reply may be there. I sometimes find inquiries from potential customers in my spam folder, so I try to check it every day to recover those emails.
Please scroll to the bottom of this page for contact information and how to order a flute. Update, June 2022: People have been asking me whether I am still making flutes, and the answer is yes. At 78 I am still making flutes every day, and I currently have an inventory of over 100 flutes in the most common keys (G, F, E, Eb, low D) ready for quick delivery. For the past several years all of my flutes have been made from coal black premium furniture-grade pvc pipe with high impact strength and excellent UV resistance. However, due to the rising price of these materials and other costs in the general economy, I have decided to raise my prices to reflect my rising costs. I still consider my flutes to be an excellent value. During this past year my flutes have been used in musical productions on both sides of the USA, and I continue to have an ongoing international interest in my flutes. I have taken my time with every detail on these flutes, and I consider them to be the finest flutes that I have made in my twenty year flute-making career.
I also have a YouTube channel with several videos of tunes played by experienced players. Please see the audio files page for details. In addition to feedback listed on the “Customers Comments” page on the sidebar, here is some feedback that I also have posted on my ongoing ebay ad for my most popular 3-piece low D flute: (July 4, 2015) “I am very happy with the flute! I’m surprised with how easy it is to play. Despite the large bore, the flute easily plays well into the second and third octaves. The lowest octave can also be honked fairly enough. I was also surprised with the effortless finger stretch. Despite having a stature of 5 feet and 5 inches, playing with the fingertips was very possible. The ergonomics, in addition to the light weight ensures comfort in long lengths of playing. With regard to the tone, I find it very flexible; ranging from deep and throaty to birdlike and sweet. While it is not exactly as complex sounding as a conical wooden flute, it’s tone is beautiful in its own right. I’d say the identity of a Tipple flute tone is sweet and open with a touch of complexity. It is much like a cross between a wooden Irish flute and a western concert flute. The flute also looks and feels amazing! The tone holes are beautiful finished. Lovely work. Thank you very much for the wonderful flute! All in all, it is probably the best value for money flute on the market. I’ll be sure to refer Tipple flutes to those in my music circles. More feedback (September, 2019): Anders Bostrom, a NYC jazz flautist, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, and a principal flautist for several Broadway shows sent me a recommendation: “I have used several of Doug’s flutes in Tarzan on Broadway, in Amazing Grace on Broadway, and playing substitute flute in The Lion King on Broadway.. I have also used these flutes in concerts in Europe knowing that not only would they sound great and tune to any band, they would not crack in any extreme temperatures or create any problems going through customs that you might have with bamboo or wooden flutes. All in all, I am very happy with my Tipple PVC flutes and will continue using them on and off Broadway and on recordings.”
I have an ongoing ad on ebay for my most popular low D flute. Search for it on ebay with Doug Tipple’s Irish Flute (pictured below, a 3-piece, 6-hole black low D flute with an oval embouchure (no lip plate), offset finger holes for small hands, installed Tipple-Fajardo wedge, and optional brushed silver rings @ $90 + shipping and paypal fee).
The following flutes are arranged in order from the smallest size (highest pitch) to the largest size (lowest pitch). Optional lip plates are (+$35). The Tipple-Fajardo wedges (once recommended @ +$10 ea.) are no longer listed as options and are included in the price of the flute. Please see the page “Sorting Out the Options” on the sidebar.
Flutes that I am currently making (Jan 8, 2021):
Large bore, medium size flutes, bore dia 21 mm or 13/16 inch:
Three-piece, tunable six-hole G flute @ $100
Three-piece, tunable six-hole F flute @ $100
Three-piece, tunable, six-hole E flute @ $100
Three-piece, tunable six-hole Eb flute @ $100
Three-piece, tunable six-hole low D flute @ $100, $135 with lip plate headjoint
Low flutes (please see the page My Low Flutes on sidebar)
Three-piece, tunable 6-hole low C#/Db flute @ $105 with standard headjoint, $140 with lip plate headjoint
Three-piece, tunable 6-hole low C flute @ $110 with standard headjoint, $145 with lip plate headjoint
Three-piece, tunable 8-hole low B flute @ $115 with standard headjoint, $150 with lip plate headjoint
Three-piece, tunable 8-hole low Bb flute @ $120 with standard headjoint, $155 with lip plate headjoint
Three-piece, tunable 8-hole low A flute @ $125 with standard headjoint, $160 with lip plate headjoint
Accessories for the flutes:
Tipple-Fajardo wedge installed in the headjoint are now included in the flute price.
Optional lip plate with either embouchure design @ + $35, available only for the low D, low Db, low C, low B, low Bb, and low A flutes. Please see my comments on the page: Optional Lip Plate Headjoint
Faux rings (brushed silver or brushed gold vinyl tape), decorative only, if you request them, @ no additional charge
All flutes come with a hand-made flannel-lined cotton bag for the assembled flute and a long steel/cotton swab that lets you swab out the flute with taking it apart.
Flute Specifications:
The pipe that I use to construct the large-bore flutes (G, F, E, Eb, D, C#/Db, C, B, Bb. and A) is schedule 40, 3/4″ PVC plumbing pipe, which has an ID (internal diameter) of 21 mm, .800″ and a wall thickness of .125″.
For the low D flute: The 6-hole low D flute is 23 1/2″ long and weighs 6.2 oz. All flutes are available with offset or inline finger holes (please specify). Unless you have large hands, I recommend offset finger holes for the larger of the above flutes. The choice between inline or offset holes also depends on how you plan to hold the flute. Inline finger holes may be a better choice with the piper’s grip. Please refer to the separate page “Flute Finger Hole Comparison” for more details.
Flute Colors: I offer all of my flutes in white and coal black, both priced the same. I give my recommendations on my FAQ page. I should say that since I started offering the black flutes, nearly all of the flutes that I have made are black flutes. People are universally pleased with the appearance of both the white and the black flutes. The black flutes have a striated matte finish and very much resemble blackwood. The white flutes have a polished matte finish that resemble ivory. At this time all of the flutes in my inventory of completed flutes are black flutes, so I will need extra time to construct a white flute.
Flute embouchure: For the first ten years of my flutemaking (over a thousand flutes) I have used one embouchure design, a smaller round embouchure hole (about 9.5 mm in diameter) for all of my flutes. Recently, however, I have been encouraged to also offer a more conventional embouchure for the modern Irish flute. Please see the separate page, “Flute Embouchure” for more details, photos, and my recommendations. Update, June 2015: for the past two years nearly all of the flutes that I have made have had the oval embouchure. At this point I can confidently recommend the oval embouchure for players at every level.
In the USA I ship the above flutes by insured USPS priority mail with tracking at $10 or less to anywhere in the USA. Multiple flutes can be shipped together for slightly more (please inquire). I like to ship international orders by insured USPS 1st class airmail with tracking (if available), and the shipping cost is $25 for most places in the world, $18 in Canada.
In the USA I accept payment by personal check or money order or by paypal (3.5% fee). For international orders I accept payment by international money orders in US dollars drawn on an USA bank, American Express, Western Union MoneyGram, or Paypal (add 4.5% to offset my paypal fee).
To place an order or to ask further questions, please send me an email. My email address is: dougsflutes@gmail.com
My mailing address is:
Doug Tipple
2010 Sandhill Court
Indianapolis, IN 46217
USA
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