Has anyone had any experience with the PVC Irish flutes made by Jason Burnfield of Norman, OK http://www.theburnfieldcastle.com/irishflutes.htm ?? I heard an interview with him on the Celtic Oklahoma Podcast, and I fell in love with the sound of his flutes. I’m heading down to Oklahoma next spring for work-related training and I was contemplating picking one up while I’m down there. I have no flute experience (my preferred instrument is the Great Highland Bagpipe), but I am learning the tinwhistle, so I’m hoping that the Irish flute shouldn’t be that big of a stretch from the whistle, at least in terms of fingering.
Any opinions/reviews would be greatly appreciated!
Im sorry to sound harsh or mean but those things look like a mess.
Judging from the images the workmanship looks very poor.
Ergo, I would doubt the tuning and emb cut… in fact you don’t need to doubt. You can hear it in the audio clip.
Just about anyone with of the net plans, a drill and 50 cents worth of PVC can get that close.
Don’t waste your money.
If you want a well finished, tunable, low cost PVC flute that will be in tune get a 3pc Doug Tipple with a wedge and lip plate. They are good enough that you could resell it if you ever care to get rid of it.
Kevin, if you are a good piper and can play whistle well, do yourself a favor and get a good flute. You have mastered two of the three prerequisites to being a good player if you are already good on the two instruments you cited - fingering and air supply. Embouchure is all that remains, so don’t shortchange yourself. If you like whistle, you will absolutely love flute. What most whistle players find challenging is how much more air the flute requires, but it’s small change for a piper, trust me.
Well, It looks like the Tipple flute is the way I’m going to want to go! I did some searching about the C&F boards and I don’t think I’ve found a single negative post about Mr. Tipple’s products and nothing at all (except my post) about the Burnfield flute. The nice thing is, I pass through Indy on my way to Oklahoma next February, so I’m hoping to pick up one from Doug on my way through when I’ll have a little extra $$ to spend on one. It sounds like both the wedge and the lip plate will be necessities!!
One question, although this risks drifting off of my own topic, what’s the difference between the two-piece and the three-piece D, other than the number of pieces?? Any advantages/disadvantages to each??
Oh, in response to Cubitt, the only thing I can do on the tinwhistle right now is play a scale, so I’m maybe 1-1/2 out of 3!! My teenage daughter plays the keyed flute in her high school band, so I’m sure she’ll have lots of advice/criticism for me once I get started!!
He probably does know what he’s doing, but after seeing all of the positive reviews of Doug’s flutes AND emailing him, I want to spend a little extra $$ and get a known INSTRUMENT, not take a chance on something that may or may not play well…
My teenage daughter plays the keyed flute in her high school band, so I’m sure she’ll have lots of advice/criticism for me once I get started!! 
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