my supplier sent me an extra, one (I ordered 2 and got 3), I had never tried one out so I started playing on the extra one and was pretty impressed, I think it’ll be my new backup flute 
I’ve been a big fan of the Dixon 3 piece for quite some time now. I think Tony makes a very good no frills flute. The Casey Burns beginner flute may give it a run for the money as a starter flute, but it’s lacking the absolute indestructibility of the Dixon. Heck, I’d even let a bodhran play pick up a Dixon… 
Eric
Considering the recent price hike on the Dixon flutes, and the somewhat rough look of the new Burns flute, I’d say Fred Rose’s flutes may very well be the best bang for the buck in a beginners flute at the moment. Especially when you consider Fred includes a nice velcro closure soft case, a cleaning rod and swab.
Loren
Loren,
I liked the picture of your Rose flute on the flute picture thread (I’m at work, certain words are verbotten 
). What were its playing characteristics like? What other flutes have you owned/played that you would compare it to?
I’m really just curious right now as I’m happy tooting away on my Seery, but there are times when I’d like a flute made out of something with, well, woodgrain, and budget is always an issue for me.
Eric
Well, I think Stuart described the flute pretty well in the thread he posted when he got his Rose a while before me.
Basically the flute is very easy to fill and not particularly difficult to play. I’d say, on the Rose flute I had, that the bottom note or two required a bit more embouchure adjustment to get a really solid note than on some flutes I’ve played, reminds me of the Grinter I tried, in that respect.
The Tone of the Fred Rose flute is nice and woody. It’s not as powerful or flexible tone wise as an Olwell, Copley, or other top tier flute, but I found it quite capabable of being either reasonably pure or reasonably rough sounding, depending on what you want to bring out of it, just don’t expect one radical extreme or the other.
The materials and workmanship were top quality, far above what I’d expect of a flute in the price range. Actually, the final finish of the Rose flute I had was far superior to the more expensive M&E and Seery flutes I’ve had.
Loren
Thanks Loren - It does sound like a good deal.
I’m surprised you say the Seery you had was poorly finished. My recently made Seery (Frank picked it up in Ireland in September directly from Desi) is impeccably finished - no ragged edges, flaps of polymer, the bore is smooth throughout, no extra glue holding the rings in place, nicely cut embouchure, etc. It looks just as woodlike and as nicely finished as my session leader’s Williams flute.
Eric
Eric,
Just to be clear: I didn’t say the Seery was poorly finished, just that the Rose was finished better. I’ll clarify even more by saying this: The M&E’s I’ve seen have been dissapointly rough - especially with the ragged tone hole interiors etc. Seery polymer flutes seem to be quite well done, much better than the M&E’s I’ve had my hands on. The Fred Rose flute was, IMO, not simply well made, but meticulously well made and finished, putting it a bit higher on the scale than the Seery.
Having said that, I still think the M&E and Seery flutes are nice instruments, and I’d like to get my hands on an M&E Rudall one of these days as I’ve not had a chance to try one yet. I also would still be much more comfortable having a decent polymer flute to toss in my backpack, because much as I prefer the tone of the woodenflutes, I still get paranoid about leaving even $250-$300 wooden flute in an extremely hot or cold car for any length of time.
Bottom line, I just happen to think the Fred’s wooden flutes offer excellent bang for the buck if someone wants wood in that price range. I like the polymer flutes quite a bit as well, but I understand many folks just prefer wood, so here’s another option.
Loren
That does clarify things a bit. I, too, like the incredible durability of polymer - both my kid and my dog have knocked mine off of a table and shelf & the flute is fine.
Back when I bought my now sold Dixon, about a year ago, Dixon and Sweet were the only choices I knew of. Had I heard of Fred Rose’s flutes, there is a good chance that would have been my first choice because they sure look nice. Now Casey Burns has entered the fray, too, and we have multiple good starter priced flutes (although that funky cut embouchure on Casey’s flute really, well, bothers me for some unknow reason).
That said, with a firm embouchure, I still think the Dixon is a remarkably good, basic flute.
Eric
With all the talk about Fred Rose flutes, I looked him on Google to find a site for them but not available. The only Fred Rose on google is from Nashville, TN, a country song writer. Is Rose still making flutes? If yes then where is his site?
BillG
Maybe somebody can (before long) give us a review of
the CB beginners flute.
Bill: I sent you an email with some info from Fred.
-Brett
I tried out his prototype when I picked up my boxwood ergonomic pratten, pplayed really well, the only difference between the “beginner” model and his other flutes is just that the body is in one piece and it doesn’t have an endcap, other than that it’s the same as his regular mopane flutes.
I just realized that I need to make a fairly important correction to something stated early in this thread, namely that the Fred Rose Flute is an excellent beginners flute. Actually, based on the Rose flute I had, I do NOT think this is the best flute to start on for someone interested in later moving to a more expensive “Irish” flute. Why? I agree with what Stuart wrote in his review of the Rose flute - that Fred’s embouchure cut seems to require a different use of the lips than most of the more common top tier Irish flutes. I think that while Fred’s flutes should pose little challange for someone who can already get good tone from a typical wooden flute, learning on a Rose may make transition to other flutes difficult for a first timer.
So, what I should have said, and what I will likely edit my earlier post to say, is that I think Fred’s 2 piece flute offers perhaps the best bang for the buck in it’s price range for someone who already plays and is looking for a well made “inexpensive” wooden flute.
Okay, enough on this subject already - my apologies to the original poster for totally hijacking this thread, I should have started a separate thread to share my thoughts on Fred Rose flutes. Bad Loren 
Loren