Just to cover the bases…I have two ceramic flutes (D and F …tapered bores) that stand in the corner w/ the Delrin and are also ready to play etc etc…can’t say I’d want to try whacking them…but they were the least costly of all !
all thing$ being equal
That was cocus. I included it in my rendition of his argument.
It of course carries through to the conclusion. It’s prudent to
go for a wooden flute as one’s first (all things $being equal)–
unless (like Denny) one has extraordinay needs.
You’re rt that it doesn’t follow that it’s prudent to go for
a wooden flute as one’s first. If a delrin flute (or a plastic)
is the only one you can afford, and there is no competing
wooden flute in your price range, it’s prudent to go
delrin or plastic. Under 250 dollars plus I can’t think of a wooden
flute that would do what yours do.
Again I’m not sold on this argument–the premise that strikes
me as weakest is the claim that delrin sounds less good than wood.
I think some delrin flutes sound better than some desirable
wooden flutes–I’d prefer the seery to the folk flute, though
the former costs more. There’s actually a range, I think,
where wood is cheaper than delrin.
My reccomendation for a starter flute is the CB Folk Flute.
I do think, personally, that the fragility of wooden flutes
is over emphasized. Tough critters, in truth. And easy
to care for. Routinely
advising delrin due to ease of care and durability
may fail to adequately count the fact that blackwood
and mopane, say, are tough enough. And often sound better.
honestly, i’ve recently tried some flute in a festival. Some plastic flute, wood irish flute, wood french flute … and comparing each sound, i’ve no reason to be shamed of my pvc M&E …
I think it’s better to take time to practice the enbouchure in place of arguing of wood and pvc … try a flute and if u like it, buy it …
I’ve been vocal about my reasons for choice of flute. I simply CANNOT use most wooden flutes. Well, I could if I wanted to fall over and stop breathing.
Honestly though, I play my Seery Delrin and I’ve heard what it can do in the hands of an honest good player. Perhaps you can do better. However, the price you would have to pay to sound better…even disregarding my wood allergies, I question if it’s really worth it.
I’ll NEVER outgrow this flute. I don’t play professionally, nor do I intend to. I play for enjoyment. I know it’s more than enough flute for me. Why the heck WOULD I want a wooden one over that? I could pay more for what I don’t need? OH BOY! That sounds great!
It would be interesting to see if you ever need to wait a half hour for the swelling to go down on joint after playing on a Delrin flute before separating the two sections or if rings ever fall off of them.
I had the ring fall off my old style M&E, but I just dropped it back with a drop of superglue and all was well.
Of course, when it happened, it’s because I dropped it…two stories. Flute + Drunk = BAD MOJO
Oh man!!!
It took a two story fall and all that happened was a ring fell off?!?!? 
Dang.
–James
While I agree with Jon, I must add that
I have never beaten a dead horse…
mighta poked a couple of live ones 
Last I knew, which was a while ago, a Bleazey was in the $200 more range vs. a M&E polymer. I’ve owned both and still have the Bleazey.
I’m on both sides of the argument.
I’ve owned polymer flutes by Dixon, Seery, and M&E. I really liked the ease of play of the M&E and Dixon, and the sound of the M&E and Seery. I wasn’t crazy about the sound of the Dixon; found the Seery difficult to play (just because it was on the Prattenish side of the equation, everything to do with me, nothing to do with the quality of the flute), and the M&E waay to head-heavy, and a bit lacking in the finish quality. I still own an Aulos matte-black Grenser traverso, which I greatly enjoyed playing when on a camping vacation recently. It’s a damn nice flute.
So I understand the lure of polymer flutes. They’re easy to care for, they can be well-made in the right hands, and they can be damn good all-round flutes. Plus, if you leave one in a car, which can get really hot in the summer around here, you don’t have to worry. Cars do get an awful lot hotter than the weather. I really don’t wanna put a $1500 wooden flute in that environment, even if it can be repaired. I also wouldn’t leave one of my nicer wooden flutes in the car for hours if the temp was 20 below.
OTOH, I took a wooden flute on vacation, too. A Bleazey – a flute a really enjoy playing, but if it did crack, I wouldn’t feel as bad as if an Olwell or Cameron cracked. Just the way I feel.
I’ll confess, I keep a wooden flute assembled all the time (not always the same flute), on which I do toot a tune or two now and then. It’s not moisture you don’t want in the bore of a flute, it’s beads of water. Tooting on a flute for a couple of minutes won’t make enough condensation to do any harm unless it’s REALLY cold, in which case you’d want to warm up any sort of flute.
In the end it’s all really individual preference and economics.
delrin flutes contribute to global warming
So does the CO2 whenever we blow into our flutes…
I still maintain it’s the player that matters…play what you like.
And, I’d bet quite a bit Turloch Boylan sounds better on his polymer flute than Cocusflute on his wooden one. Then again, there are precious few of us on this board who wouldn’t find their time better spent playing whatever flute they have rather than arguing the merits of the wood vs. polymer issue again (including myself).
Eric
if it’s inexpensive and earth-friendly you’re after, it’s hard to top bamboo.
Turlach plays an old ebonite flute, it’s actually quite striking in its appearance.
And yes, he plays it quite well.
–James
Well, ebonite is all right! Especially when it turns green.
Played a lovely ebonite F flute at Ralph Sweet’s once.
My impression is that it may well sound better
than delrin or PVS plastic.
It’s nothing but a very early kind of plastic…made from rubber.
–James
Wooden flutes contribute to tropical deforestation. 
Looks like the world is doomed no matter what we play.
Doc
Right. It’s vulcanized rubber resin. May have
interesting acoustical properties.
Plastic vs wood vs ivory vs crystal vs concrete vs composite vs metal…
Flame bait. It’s clear there are advocates for both synthetic and wood, for timbral, aesthetic, and practical (and environmental) reasons. I say bring forth conclusive objective / scientific data and analysis, which of course will prove nothing where personal tastes are concerned, but will likely offer an excellent diversion.
Party pooper! 
Vulcanised rubber it is…and good old Rockstro thought it was the bees knees when it came out mid C19th, not coz it was some fancy new technology, but precisely for its tonal qualities; he thought its durability compared to wood was good too, mind you. Last year I acquired a Rudall Carte & CO. 6-key piccolo made of ebonite - probably c1920s vintage - it has a lovely sweet, clear, well rounded tone (when I get my piccolo embouchure warmed up!). However, I have never played another instrument that suffered so much from condensation build up to the point of swamping - not a noticable problem in wood pics I have known. I’ve no extensive playing experience on an ebonite flute to see if it is a regular feature of ebonite.