Hey Karl,
Here’s a shot at a fun to toot flute, for not a lot of loot! 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Phil-Bleazey-Blackwood-D-Flute-for-irish-celtic-folk_W0QQitemZ130172964054
Hi Diane,
I was interested in what you said about your folk flute having a strong bottom end. I have found quite the opposite. I can get a huge dirty honking bottom D out of my Tipple, but the folk flute is extreamly weak. It starts to get strong at G. This may be down to me being a beginner though? Or maybe the flutes come out different?
Karl
Thanks Jordan. When I searched ebay nothing came up. I just put Bleazey flute in again and the ebay search engine didn’t find it even though it is there! So thanks for this.
Karl.
A few thoughts:
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My GLP has the improved elliptical embouchure. I haven’t tried the other ones Terry offers. I have stuck a few other headjoints on the flute for fun (despite them not being quite the right length for the flute), but to be honest, the quality of the flute was not hugely changed by this. This included sticking my Windward (pratten) headjoint on the flute (which fits, though the slide is a bit too long).
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The GLP can be capable of a lot more volume than one thinks. However, the large holed Windward flute (and probably the Skip Healy too) is capable of more still. This may be a result of more higher overtones in the tone carrying better rather than an absolute volume increase, but it certainly sounds subjectively louder to me and to others and when playing with other instruments. And, in this sense, a Boehm Flute is even louder… And for all of these flutes, unless you’re a pro already, there will always be more to get out of the flute than you can currently find.
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My folk flute has a strong bottom end once I made absoultely sure that there were no leaks at the joint and that the cork was correctly positioned. I also made myself a “tuning ring” out of plastic pipe which fills the wee bit of space in the bore made by tuning the flute to A=440Hz when being played by me. Before tweaking these factors, mine also had a suspiciously weak bottom end - I don’t know which of these fixes cured the problem.
Take up the offers to try out any flutes you can - be prepared to travel a bit to take advantage of such offers - you are thinking of spending a considerable amount of money on a flute and time invested now will make that investment of money much more effective for you. Ask every flute player you meet if you can look at/try their flute - be a bit sensitive here! If someone is possessively cradling their lovely new treasure that they just got last week and they have never seen you before, then don’t ask. But if you’re in a session clutching your own flute and obviously seriously interested in flutes, then a surprising number of people will have no problem letting you try a flute out even if only for a few moments between tunes. Some may let you examine the flute but don’t want you to play it. Some may want to try yours…
Obviously time and opportunity limit what you can find out. Try to work out a set pattern for trying out any flutes you get to, e.g. a tune you know well, some arpeggios, octave jumps, fast ornaments (e.g. rolls/crans), dynamics (loud/quiet). All of the above at the bottom, middle and top end of the flute’s range. Try to at least do the same on every flute you try to get a valid comparison. And be aware that if you try four flutes in a row, then you should at least go back to the first once you’re finished since by then you will be warmed up (or tired?) and playing differently to how you started.
Even if you cannot play the flute or can only try a few notes before having to give the flute back, you can compare things like weight, finger hole size/spacing for your hands. If you can only play a few notes play a quick arpeggio (D-F-A-d-f-a-d), a couple of low Ds, middle Bs, middle Ds and a high a or b (can be done in about fifteen seconds). And play a couple of notes loud and a couple soft. Pay attention to the owner - if they are looking nervous about your treatment of their flute then give it back. Most owners also appreciate a discerning complimentary comment about some aspect of their flute e.g. “Wow she’s loud!”, “Nice low D!”, “light weight!” - be honest though. And if a tune has started that the owner wants to play then give them their flute back too!
And apart from anything else, trying out other flutes is fun - one of the nicest things about going the Boxwood flute festival this year was the number of new flutes I got the chance to blow into. And the more flutes you have tried, the better the opinion that you can form of the next one.
Chris.
Hi Karl. You’ve been given some pretty sound advice in this thread - particularly Chris Cracknell’s.
I’m afraid I don’t know much about the Birmingham scene, just that it is supposed to be quite good (produced Kevin Crawford and Chris Wilkes!) A friend with whom I’ve rather lost touch moved there a few years back and, while we were still corresponding, told me she’d been to some good ones - that was 4-5 years ago. Here’s what The Session has - might be worth trying to contact the person who has made the recent updates vis the site’s pm facility.
The Telford area Comholtas session was held for many years at The Boat Inn in Jackfield - I went there a few times myself, but not recently. Last I heard, The Boat was permanently closed (the Severn floods it regularly!)and the sesh had moved, but I didn’t know where to. This is the link to its The Session listing, but there don’t seem to be any live links or recent comments about it.
EDIT: I’ve just done a Google search on"Telford Comholtas" and got this link - looks like The Boat is back on again. They also run a Sunday lunchtime “practice session” - details on the website.
The Hereford session I go to perhaps 3 or 4 times a year as I can meet up there with an old friend (fiddler) who lives in the Forest of Dean. It is usually a fairly small session with a medium-high standard. Very nice, and at least one flute-playing regular (she has a very early Chris Wilkes flute). It is alternate Wednesdays (there’s one tonight, Nov 14th 2007) in The Volunteer (The Session link), which is a little hard to find, but the link has a Google Map location for it.
I know there’s a decent scene in the Cheltenham/Gloucester area too, which isn’t too far for you - English trad sessions as well as ITM ones. Some things in the Forest of Dean/Monmouth area too or further North in The Marches towards Newtown etc.
The Session even has one sesh in Worcestershire!
As well as The Session, Folk Orbit is a useful resource to try to trace sessions, though like all these listings, on the web or in magazines, it depends on people sending in and updating information, so it is usually a good idea to follow up contact info before travelling anywhere!
You really would do best to make the investment of time and effort before the money one in researching your options!
ATB. Jem.
It all comes down to personal style. A flute doesn’t have a strong bottom, the combination of a player and flute have a strong bottom. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with finding the low end of the Tipple stronger than the low end of the Burns.
I don’t know how much of the archives you’ve perused, but when you read the archives you might want to pay especial attention to posts from people who have made the transition from a Tipple to another flute. If lots of people who started on Tipples are saying good things about a particular flute, you might want to consider that flute.
I’m not too sure how long it would take you to get down the M5 to Bristol, but the Hibernia Centre (see http://www.hiberniacentre.co.uk/) is in Avonmouth every fortnight on Saturday morning. You might like to pop down, and for £5 you get a mornings tuition in a group, and people generally don’t mind letting you try their flutes. There’s all sorts (Olwell, Hamilton, M&E, etc.), and while I currently play a Glenn Watson, I have a Phil Bleazey in blackwood that you could try (as well as my Watson).
Let me know if you’re interested, and the next meeting is on the 24th November.
With regards to volume, I have used a tuner on my computer that has a decibel output, and there’s very little between my Bleazey and Watson (and even my Dixon plumbing pipe!), but people tell me they think the Watson sounds absolutely superb. I like playing both (and the pipe too when the kids aren’t walloping something with it!), but I do think that the Bleazey would be more of a lateral step from a Casey Burn’s Folk Flute.
Andrew.
I have just wrote this naming names but it was getting to big so I have deleted it and started again!
Thanks to everyone who has responded to my cry for help. I certainly have a lot more to think about than I thought! Not sure what to do now but I think an attempt at getting my hands on a couple of flutes seems to be the way to go before buying anything. I know this is not going to be easy but I have followed the links to the sessions (thanks for those) and will try and get my hands on some there.
Thanks again
Karl.
PS - don’t take the above thanks as me closing this subject down, please keep posting 
My Folk Flute has a strong bottom end compared to my boxwood. Whether it’s strong in comparison to all other flutes I have no idea. I’d say it’s pretty much equal for me to the Tipple for me anyway. But much easier to play because it’s smaller.
I am an ameture flute player so take this with a grain of salt.
I have a Bleazy and a GLP BW.
My Bleazy (they are handmade and probably varie a bit unlike the McGee
s are more machine made) still made by a master craftsman of course, more consistant than a Bleazy…ok.
The Bleazy has more of a round embrochure and has a darker, readier tone. It is heavier and thicker than the Glp and the intonation is not as precise (just ask the Dill meister!)
The GlP is lighter, good embrochure in the hands of someone who knows how to play. Plenty of volume for an experienced player. I have the improved elliptical, MTD version. The endcap is nice because it is easy to adjust by just twisting the cap. This will help you dial in the second octave but it is very well in tune regardless!
The Bleazy was cheeper at the time but personally, I would go with the GlP..even a Delrin one so that you don’t have to spend so much time swabbing and oiling it. Humidifying it in a dry climat like Colorado.
Nate
the best advice I can think of is to recognize that reading about a flute is nothing like playing it, no matter how hard one tries.
Money invested now in going to some sessions and trying other flutes, frequently, will give you more perspective than even the best, most useful posts. Ideally, you want to try to play something for more than 5 minutes b/c 5 minutes isn;t long enough to get to know any flute. But 5 minutes exploring with a live flute is much better than five days spent reading about one.