Im teaching a beginner flute class, and Im going to purchase a few practice flutes to loan to students whilst they come to grips with the flute. The two I have been looking at are the Tony dixon tunable polymer flute, and the hammy practice flute.
Which of these would you advise? Or do you know of other flutes in this range?
Hammy
Tipple but yer in Belfast…
Why not just get someone who has a drill press to make some from PVC pipe and when the students get the hang of things, they can buy their own?
Tipple but yer in Belfast…
no, he is in galway…
marin
If they are complete beginners then I’d suggest ordering some Olwell Prattens
Sorry - It’s Friday 
I concur, wholeheartedly. I wouldn’t start with a cheap flute. You might as well start with a flute that will have good future resale value. And, oh yes, I’ve heard pretty good things about the Olwell flute, for what it’s worth, especially if you’ve recently won the lottery, or something equally as lucrative.
nice idea to have practice flutes to get people going in a class.
PS. the way I look at, I use my flute way more than I use my car (bus to work and mostly use the car for rehearsals, sessions, gigs, anyway, so it’s kind of a guitar, flute or PA accessory!) and I’ve yet to find a flute that costs what the car costs - so I reckon I might still be quids in with an Olwell a year (not that I’m planning on that strategy).
Cheeky Monkey!
R
Kids or adults? Seems like the Hammy might be easier with kids. Plus, if the flutes don’t suit, you know where Hammy lives … 
Serious answer - both Dixon and Hammy are plain cylinders and have the attendant tuning problems in the second octave. I would advise against them, though the Hammy is indubitably the better of the two. There was a recent thread on the Dixons. Tipples with wedges fitted are far preferable, but any of these pose issues of tone-hole size and placement for any of your pupils with smaller hands/narrower fingers. Having a go at making your own with wedge and lip-plate (flute size versions of my Simple Piccolos) from conduit tube would be a decent idea if you have the time/volition.
Kevin Jones’s eBay sales might be worth investigation - see this and other related threads: https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/introducing-kevin-douglas-jones-flutemaker/67652/1 (I have no personal experience of these!)
… 2 cents… in my experience with teaching guitars, the single greatest contributor to a student not following through with guitar playing was have a “less than very good” guitar as a first guitar. if the instrument was difficult to tune… or didin’t hold tuning… or had bad intonation… or was difficult to finger because of action height… or any other of a myriad of things that go wrong with less than very good guitars… students get frustrated and give up. however, if their first instrument is a good one, they tend to remain excited not only about the instrument but about the music as well… and the cost of a good instrument becomes an investment rather than a loss… i cannot say with certitude that this applies to flute, as well, but it might… 2 cents.
be well,
jim
to offer an oppinion contrary to that above:
if a student really wants to learn an instrument, they will be happy on a drain-pipe with holes in. - Learning on a bad and difficult instrument provides a reall confidence and ability boost when one finally gets a decent instrument, playing ‘through’ a cheeper flute makes incremental upgrades all the more rewarding and is a great benchmark of personal progresion.
My personal opinion is that it applies less to flutes. You can make remarkably good music with a cylindrical aluminum, bamboo or PVC flute. I’ve made decent playing (not looking) ones in my garage in 15 minutes. Tipple PVC flutes, particularly with wedge and lip-plate, closely approximate the sound of a good wooden Irish flute, and they’re a steal at Doug’s prices.
I would add that if you’re teaching children, size will matter. PVC flutes in ‘F’ or ‘G’ would be a good way to go. If you’re teaching an adult who’s likely to stick with it, go right for a good wood flute. He/she can always sell it if the muse eludes.
Speaking of guitars, I goes without saying that the action of the guitar needs to be adjusted so that the strings are easy to depress. This is true for any stringed instrument. You would think that the music stores would do this, but sometimes they don’t. It so happens that I spent part of yesterday afternoon doing just that with the 3/4 size guitar that my granddaughter got for Christmas. A common problem is that the nut is too high so that pushing a string to the first fret is really hard. That is a serious obstacle to learning or for playing, even if you are experienced. It is an easy fix with some needle files. It doesn’t need to be a great guitar for the beginner, in my opinion, but it does need to be setup so that it is easy to play.
I really wish Gary would get back to us to answer all of our questions. Who are the students? Why are they taking the class? Do these folks (children or adults) want to take the class or are they required or being made to take this class? Also, how rich is Gary? There is such little cost to PVC flutes, comparatively speaking, that Gary could get someone to make PVC flutes and also reward the students with practice flutes once they have shown progress and interest. Could Gary afford for a student to lose a flute? Who is actually paying for these flutes? Is Gary buying them and then selling them at cost to the students? I always think everyone is of modest means and I’m often mistaken.
I presume this is the practise flute Hammy makes with an aluminium body and a short polymer head? I remember him saying that he puts a taper in the head to help pull those top of second octave notes up…So his wouldn’t be a plain cylinder.
Garry
The Hammy practice flute has no noticeable tuning issues in the 2 octaves, and for me requires no special lipping with the embouchure to play in tune. It has an embouchure cut that will necessitate very little adjustment for moving to a wooden flute. It is ugly, the tone is surprisingly good and it hits a nice hard bottom D. My Tipple with the lip plate and wedge has the older round embouchure cut, which is quite different from any wooden flute I’ve tried(I haven’t tried all that many). It too has surprisingly good tone. The fingers on my D Tipple are quite a bit larger and more spread out than on the aluminum/delrin Hammy, so that could be an issue if the kids are younger, just as it could be on many wooden flutes. The newer Tipples have a more traditional embouchure cut that I would love to try but haven’t, as I have for the most part devoted myself to playing one flute for the time being. Either of the two is better for me than the 3 piece conical flute made by Dixon. Barring finger size as an issue, The Tipple or the Hammy would be perfect for your purposes.
I don’t think that he said it here.
And it isn’t mentioned on the Practice Flute page on his site.
Apologies for not getting back, but unfortunately teaching music is not my only means of making money, and I was stuck in work all day. The students are 7-10 yr olds, and they go to the class by choice, not requirement. It is my idea to get maybe 3 or 4 practice flutes so that interested students can borrow one, and try it out for a term. it is hard for parents to justify the cost of a flute, even the very reasonable M&E flutes, when the child may not stick at it. I had a bad experience of having a Ganley flute as my first flute, which was incredibly hard to play, and I do not wish this experience on any child!
Hello Gary,
It has already been mentioned that my flutes have larger tone holes, and the low D flute probably would not be the best choice for 7-10 year old students. I make smaller flutes in a variety of keys that would be better for students in that age group. Jem Hammond in Wales also makes a very nice high D piccolo for not much money that might be perfect for your needs. Best wishes.