I need your wisdom again, my dear fellow fluters.
What is the difference between a fully lined head and a partly lined one? Which one would you choose (in a small holed boxwood flute), and why? How does it influence tone and ease of playing? Is there any other important point to know?
Probably lined will be somewhat louder and
articulate ornaments a bit more crisply.
Partly lined will be somewhat more woody
in sound.
Some say that the partly lined is less likely
to crack.
Boxwood has a lovely woody sound,
I have a couple entirely unlined
and they have good volume.
So, if it were me, unless I was
needing lots of volume, I would
maximize on woody and go partly lined.
However others may have more to say…
P. S. The difference physically, as I understand it,
is that , while both have a slide, the metal lining
occupies the whole headjoint on the lined
flute, but stops after the slide on the partly lined
one, leaving most of the headjoint, including the
embouchure hole, entirely wood. In effect,
on a fully lined flute, you are playing on
a metal headjoint wrapped in wood.
This works very well, in fact, and is
woody, and partly lined
is more woody.
I have flutes cracked where the partial lining ends. Why should they not ?
I bet the player makes much more difference than the headjoint.
I doubt if Mr Tipple has this trouble ! ( Or, I trust, any others ! ).
The theory, as I reckon you know, is that
in a fully lined head, the wood and the metal
may expand or contract at different
rates; hence the allegedly greater risk.
However this theory is controversial, certainly;
nor would its truth be any guarantee of a partly
lined head’s not cracking.
I have two flutes with fully lined heads
and I’ve never had any problems, FWIW.Personally the cracking issue wouldn’t have
much to do with my decision one way or
another.
I must agree with Andrew that the theory is flawed. There will inevitably be a point at which wood surrounds metal, or metal surrounds wood. You’ll see cracked unlined heads, cracked lined heads, and cracked partially-lined heads. One could argue, just as vehemently, that the lining of a lined headjoint protects the timber of the headjoint from the moisture of the bore.
I personally think you should make the lined/unlined decision solely on the basis of what you like. Unlined and partially-lined headjoints are lighter (weight-wise) than lined ones. They have a subtly different sound as well, but the chief determinant of any flute’s sound is the player’s lips.
If playing in an ensemble is important to you, then you probably should have a slide. As for whether or not the headjoint is lined: try to play both or feel both.
Stuart
When given a choice, I always go for the porcelain head with the flush mounted.
djm
I presume you’re asking about boxwood because you like the sound of boxwood. I think the fully-lined head really detracts from that buttery sound. I agree with the sentiment that a lined head gives a more focused sound; I just don’t think that goes with box.
I agree with Charlie: If you’re buying going box for the sound, go partially lined or completely unlined. As Stu and Andrew have said, heads crack, lined or partial lined, although the completely unlined heads do seem to crack the least.
Also, Boxwood is so much more dimensionally unstable than Grenadilla and most other commonly used flute woods, that you have that extra dimensional volatility fighting the liner as well… a recipe for disaster, really.
Loren
Is the partial lining necessary if you want to have a tuning slide??
Yes.
Tuning slides are good, in my opinion.
I’ve got flutes with and without, I
can get by without a slide, but
it helps if one is playing with others.
As I absolutely need a tuning slide, I will go for a partially lined head then.
Thanks to everybody for your advice.
Someone mentioned to me that lined may be a bit better because if there is a crack in the head joint, but not through the embouchure, that the flute will still be playable. With partial or unlined, it would not, at least not until it was repaired. Just a thought, J.
However that takes us back to the old “Which came first, the liner or the crack” debate 
Loren
I seem to have just read the question " is a partially lined headjoint necessary if one wants a slide “, and Loren says yes. (After an unaccustomed 3 pints Bathams wonderful ale I am not quite sure ).
There must be some basic misunderstanding here ! Loren cannot mean that knowing what he does.
Of course most slides have full lining tubes, which make cracks more likely, perhaps, but less important when they happen.
There do not seem to have been many old makers who used partial slides. Monzani and Gerock spring to mind ( from about 3 feet away ).
Do not forget all the Monzanis he sold, and are out there for your delectation , which were made and sold with two headjoints, one unlined, and the other partially lined.
One such of mine was illustrated under " what cocus looks like” I seem to remember.
While Hills had something of a reputation for not all playing too well, though so well made, Monzanis I have come across seem to work. Perhaps that was down to the genius of Cornelius Ward.
I suppose the point was that a lining, either partial or full,
is necessary if one is to have a tuning slide.
Yes, Jim. I should have read it as, " at least a partial tuning slide ".
Batham’s is a wonderful brew.
Almost like champagne !!! Hic
( Though I have recently come across people telling me that the adustment on the French style one piece heads affords sufficient tuning ! ).
Sounds quite nice!
‘For malt does more than Milton can,
To justify God’s ways to man…’
A. E. Houseman
Still room for a can of Milton !
Claudine,
Who’s making the flute?
Doc