Greetinga friends,
I am looking for a nice, inexpensive travel flute that sounds good and was attracted to the Hamilton Practice flute.
Any opinions or experiences with this instrument will be most welcome.
Thank you,
Jason
Let me be the first to say “Tipple”… The 3-piece version almost fits in a pants pocket and it plays better (imho) than the Hamilton. If you get the Tipple, get the wedge for sure and maybe the optional lip-plate. Doug is a member of this board as well…
CAUTION: This is MY opinion only - you will get differing opinions! (Lots, probably)…
Pat
I had one. It’s better than one expects but less good than what I needed.
Also it doesn’t break down.
the Tipple is darn good, I’ve not had a go at Hammy’s practice flute
Hammy has been aboard member for over 15 months longer than Doug 
Doug does waste more time here though!
Got one and love it. It’s surprisingly powerful, and seems to respond more like a conical (traditional) bored instrument than any other cylindrical bored flute I’ve played. Hole spacing is comfortable, it’s light, and it’s bombproof. I’ve played it in a session, but got a bunch of funny looks (likely the player not the tooter). I also love PVC flutes, so I’d get both were I in the market. Also consider that the Tipple is tunable while the head of my Hamilton is attached rather robustly. On the other hand, the Hammy seems comfy at A440 regardless of conditions.
The head of the Hamilton practice can be now separated from the body :
Ooops. I’m out of date. Thanks!
an’ he’s a new web site… http://www.hamiltonflutes.com
here’s the practice flute page
Thank you all for the helpful opinions. I really appreciate you folks taking the time for me. I like those tipple flutes. I was thinking that perhaps because of the largly metal construction, the Hamilton practice flute might be a bit more strident or maybe crisper in sound then pvc. However, I am not sure. I like playing traditional music, but also enjoy playing a bit of jazz too.
… practice flutes …
My Hammy practice flute was my second simple system flute (my first was the inexpensive Dixon). I like it a lot for what it is–it is easy to play, very nice embouchure (sp?), sounds pretty nice. It’s not a wood flute, and I now prefer larger holed flutes, for a variety of reasons, but it’s not at all a bad place to start, imho. Someday, I’ll try to buy a “real” Hammy–he seems like a really nice guy, but as a practice/intro/carry in my car flute, it’s cool.
Best,
Jaydoc