Having recently traveled with my wooden flutes I quickly realised how fragile they were. Does anyone own a Hammy practice flute? whatch think?
I haven’t tried one, but I do have a PVC Tipple, which is great. I remember threads that compared the two, and both were viewed favorably. The Tipple breaks down small, and doesn’t trigger metal detectors! 
Dear Dr. Jazz,
I had a Hammy Practice flute and thought it was a very good player! 
Hammy has some type of taper in the head (like a Boehm) that makes the intonation very good. The tone reminded me very much of my old ALBA Low D whistle, not the airyness, but the resonance of the aluminum tube.
I think Doc still has some in stock! 
I received mine yesterday 
Bought it from TotalMusicSupply.com from the UK. I’ve played it for just about an hour today, but I really like it! I haven’t played Irish flute before (just for a few seconds at festivals) but I’ve played some other oriental sideblown flutes and I think that’s a huge advantage especially for my embouchure. I can play the two octaves now without very much problems. I find it really easy to play and it has a very nice sound. I’ll try to post a clip tomorrow.
I, also, have a Tipple D flute, 3 piece, with the T-F wedge and lip plate. I love this flute. The flute is $70.; the lip plate head is $20; and the wedge is $10. This is a little cheaper than the Hammy. I will, most often pick it up, even before my other flutes. Also, it breaks down for easier transport, and is tuneable…two features that the Hammy does not have. I’ve never tried a Hammy, but you’d love the Tipple.
I’ve never tried a Tipple, but that was another one I was very interested in, but because I had my eye on the Hammy for a very long time (even before I heard of the Tipple flutes) and I’ve played the Hammy before for a short time on festivals I choose this one. I think I’ll buy a 3 piece Tipple, because it’s easy to transport, industructable and it’s tunable (Hammy isn’t).
Provided that you have the lip plate, try it without the wedge. 
(Doug often ships his flutes with the wedge “loose”.)
Cork,
What would taking the wedge out, do?
Lyn
I have three of Doug’s D flutes, and in my experience, his flutes play just as well without the wedge, provided that the flute has the lip plate.
The added “chimney” height of the lip plate makes the difference.
But does it do anything to the sound? Without the wedge, does it make it sound better, or just the same? I bought it used and it came this way.
i thought the wedge main feature was to make the second octave in tune…
I had a tipple with a lip plate. For me it played
flat at the top of the second octave without
the wedge, easier to blow in tune with
it. FWIW.
@ Lyn D
First, I’m assuming that the wedge on your Tipple flute is not somehow permanently attached to the flute, that is, on all of the flutes I’ve received from Doug, the wedges can be removed by simply sliding them out the foot end of the flute.
Then, let me touch on some history, here. For instance, the Fajardo wedge was developed many years ago, basically to allow a cylindrical wood head joint to be adapted to a cylindrical Boehm flute, as the Boehm head joint would normally have a taper to it, and the wedge effectively substitutes for that taper. Moreover, the purpose of both the original taper and of the substitute wedge has to do with the internal tuning of the flute.
Now, provided that you have the lip plate, I’ve suggested your trying the flute without the wedge, and, moreover, this has little to do with the tone of the flute, yet much to do with the tuning of the flute. Naturally, that calls for some explanation, so here’s the essence of it. For instance, a flute can be played both loudly and softly, yet it is also known that the harder one blows into a flute, the sharper it plays, and vice versa. Therefore, to compensate for any sharpness, the player then blows more “downward” into the flute’s embouchure, and just the opposite holds true when playing softly. Well, in doing so, the player is actually focusing their air stream either lower (to compensate for sharpness) or higher (to compensate for flatness) against the chimney, and because the lip plate creates the extra chimney depth, the player then has enough vertical chimney height (and depth) to allow them to fully compensate for any tuning issues, without having to use the wedge.
Sometimes that chimney is known as a riser, and the far side of the chimney, the side one blows against, is known as the strike wall.
Moreover, the strike wall is a critical feature of any flute, and Doug’s lip plate is what does the trick.
Thanks for this info, Cork.
I got this from Doug’s website:
The the lip plate creates more depth in the embouchure hole, thereby, strengthening the lower octave, and increasing blowing resistance, which makes it play more like a traditional wooden Irish flute.
The T-F wedge improves second octave intonation.
Doug said, that, in his opinion, his best and most-frequently ordered flute is the 3 piece low D with the lip plate head-joint and the wedge.
Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but this clears it up for me.
Cheers’
Lyn
Right, the lip plate creates more depth in the embouchure hole. Moreover, because that depth allows for greater tuning flexibility, a good player simply doesn’t need the wedge to improve the intonation of the second octave, indeed, doesn’t need the wedge to improve the intonation of the flute, at all, and that’s exactly the point.
Bottom line: Get the lip plate, and you won’t need the wedge.
I already have the lip plate and the wedge. The flute came like that. It was pre-owned.
I agree with what Cork has written, but let me see if I can add something here. I originally developed the wedge to compensate for flatness in the upper part of the second octave of a cylindrical-bore flute. If you are interested, I have a page about this at my website.
http://dougsflutes.googlepages.com/thetipple-fajardowedge
In addition to adjusting the intonation of the second octave, the wedge also tends to add complexity to the tone of the flute, although, in my opinion, the flute is a little easier to play without the wedge in the headjoint. I have people who like playing with the wedge in the flute and those who don’t.
Other than using a wedge in the headjoint, the upper notes of the second octave can also be improved if the tuning cork is moved closer to the embouchure hole. Moving the cork away from the standard position of one bore’s length from the face of the cork to the center of the embouchure hole causes a slight change in the overall intonation of the flute (that is the flute being in tune with itself), but this change can hardly be perceived unless you are staring at a tuner at the same time.
As Cork says, on my pvc flutes adding a lip plate (thickness = .070") to the headjoint with a wall thickness of .125" makes an embouchure hole chimney depth of .195", which is deeper than most wooden Irish flutes (average of .157"). The chimney depth on my lip plate flutes is nearly as deep as a modern Boehm silver flute @ ~ .205". I also have a page about this with audio samples at my website.
http://dougsflutes.googlepages.com/optionallipplateheadjoint
I have experimented with various embouchure cuts with the lip plate headjoint. I have found that cuts with a steeper strike wall do not really need the wedge to improve second octave intonation, as the upper second octave notes can easily be played in tune. However, this configuration requires a greater volume of air to play the flute and provides less back pressure. I think that most average flute players, as well as ITM players, would prefer an embouchure cut that provides more back pressure and takes less air to blow. I attempt, therefore, to cut the embouchure strike wall at a less steep angle to arrive at a balance of ease of playing and suitable backpressure. I consider this my standard embouchure cut, and I still recommend a wedge to improve second octave intonation with this embouchure cut, although a good player would have no trouble playing the flute in tune without using the internal wedge in the headjoint.
It’s hard to go wrong with a Tipple flute. I’ve become a real fan. It’s nothing less than amazing just what a piece of plumbing plastic can do!
If your Tipple flute somehow has its wedge permanently installed, then I wouldn’t worry about it. After all, the wedge does work, just fine.
Thank you Doug and Cork.
Doug, I have two questions.
First, my wedge is placed so that the edge of it is even with the bottom of the embouchure hole, like, completely on the side of the flute…not like your picture. It came that way and the seller told me it’s glued, but just with white glue. Should I move it to where yours is?
Second, both the joints are loose. Is there anything that can be done to fix this, other than putting tape on them? If I pick the flute up by the foot, I can feel the joint wobble. If I hold the flute vertically, by the headjoint, with the foot towards the floor, and move my hand, the rest of the flute slides half-way off the headjoint tenon.
Thanks in advance.
Lyn
Doug,
For some reason, the email link is telling me the topic requested does not exist. I can’t access any replies. I PM-ed you.
Lyn