I want to buy a keyless, non-wooden, Irish flute that I can travel with and not have to worry too much about the usual wooden instrument care. Any recomendations? The main consideration is sound quality.
Thanks
Definately M&E R&R. Cheap, great customer service, instant availability, huge sound, easy to play. I’ve played one for years and I think it’s on par with the best flutes around.
But aren’t you in the wrong forum? You could have just done a search on the flute board.
Cheers
Ooops!
The M&E is an excellent flute, as is the Seery. The difference is that the Seery is closer to a classic Pratten-style flute, while the M&E is based on a Rudall & Rose. Which you prefer is really just a matter of taste.
I love my Delrin Seery. I swab it out after each time I play and every so often give it a bath in mild warm soap and water.
I have a Cochran Delrin (made by Jon C.) that I keep in my car. I’m there a lot these days so it gets more play than any other instrument and I’m constantly amazed at the sound quality. Can it really be synthetic?
I have an M&E (but it will be leaving in a few days) and I would recommend one, the only downside is that is feels and sounds like plastic.
I disagree, and very strongly! I think the M&E sounds as much like a wooden flute as any-it has a fully lined headjoint (with metal) so it probably sounds more like a lined head wooden flute than a partially or unlined head. But the tonal quality is there-it also depends on how you play it, and your embouchure.
The amount of tonal difference between a wooden flute and a polymer is negligible, depending on how well it is made, and how well it is played, in my opinion.
Sure, some wooden flutes are more responsive-just as some polymer flutes are more responsive than some wooden flutes. M&E’s and Seerys need make no apologies for not being wooden. I haven’t played a Cochran in Delrin as yet, but I bet they are on the same level in tonal qualities also.
Feel? Sure, wooden flutes feel more organic, but depending on the finish on a polymer flute, it can feel differently too, maybe just not wooden! Doug Tipple’s flutes have a sensual feel to them-and that’s a highly hand polished PVC finish-you can’t get any smoother than that, which would be hard to equal on a wooden flute.
Visually is where I think wooden flutes excel over polymers. There’s no denying the look of a nice grained wooden flute, which are found in various colors. If you close your eyes and listen, there’s not enough difference to worry about-but that has to be judged on an idividual basis, from flute to flute, and ear to ear. If the flute speaks to you, it doesn’t matter what it’s made from.
No problem with that. I don’t play Lined heads that is probably why. I admit it, I am a wood snob. I just think the plastic has more edge, that is my opinion.
I have a 3 pc Dixon polymer that has a decent tone, plus almost no care requirements. I like the sound and playability of my wooden Burns Folk Flute more, but the Dixon is nice IMO.
Judy
As somebody who has a Seery, I can say that I wouldn’t risk travel with it it there was a risk that it would ‘get lost’ or damaged.
I also have a couple of Tipple flutes, and take these traveling.
(2 piece low D offset holes - 3 piece low D in line holes - 3 piece low Bflat)
They sound great, especially with the wedge.
If you lose or damage the Tipple(s) then it’s no great loss fincially,
and believe me, they take something major to damage them.
So far one of mine has survived a fall from a roof top (don’t ask!),
a tumble down a cliff in a rucksack,
being sat on by a passenger in the back seat of my car,
being used to persuade an unruly teenager to see my point of view!
And it still plays well.
HTH
Thanks for all the input. Where would I get M&E or Seery flutes from. I DID try to search for a supplier but obviously lack a few grey cells.
Whoaaat!?
I read your reply, I just had to. 
I disagree very strongly with this as well. M&E, to me, sounds just as wooden as any wooden flute I’ve played, at least wooden with lined head. I’ve never played an unlined polymer M&E so I can’t comment on how they’d sound without the metal in there. I also disagree that it feels plastic. Of course, it is essentially plastic so it’s bound to feel a little bit like plastic. It doesn’t feel particularly wooden, but that’s something I’ve never thought about. It feels sturdy and heavier than a wooden flute.
Thanks! That’s all I need. 
E_D_F - live on the edge…pack up that Seery and take it on the road with you. My Seery has been all over the US (Dallas, Omaha, Des Moines, St. Louis & Baltimore to name just a few of the cities it has visited), travels perfectly in my carry-on on planes, and is sturdy enough I’d use the long middle section in a bar fight if need be. I wouldn’t leave it in a hot car in the summer for long, but other than that I never worry when I travel with it.
As for the sounds plastic comment on M&Es, I don’t think I’d ever think that. I was at a session in Baltimore last week and the guy next to me played an M&E and sounded, well, like himself - not too much different than the McGee across the way (that player though sounded much different than the last guy I knew who played a McGee). To the listener, a polymer conical flute will sound like the player more than anything, and every session I’ve sat in on thought my Seery was wooden based upon the sound and look until I corrected them and said it’s delrin.
Eric