Doug Tipple's 3-piece Irish Flute in Low-D

Description

I am listing my most popular pvc Irish flute. I have sold well over a thousand of these flutes, and they are known for their good tone, excellent intonation, and superb craftsmanship, as well as their beautiful appearance. An Irish flute in the key of low D is the standard Irish flute. It is a fairly large flute and thus requires adult size hands to cover the finger holes and make the stretches. I am picturing the flute with ergonomic offset finger holes, which makes the finger stretch a little easier, however, I offer the same flute with inline finger holes (may be a delay in shipping, as I generally don't stock the inline holes). Not visible in the photo, a Tipple-Fajardo wedge is glued in the headjoint against the tuning cork to improve intonation of this cylindrical-bore flute. The flutes are decorated with a faux brushed silver vinyl tape, which can be easily removed or omitted, if you prefer. I include a hand-made lined cotton bag for the assembled flute and a long steel/cotton swab that allows you to swab out the flute without taking it apart. Please send me an ebay message at the time of purchase if you have a special request other than the default flute pictured on the listing.
My flutes are used for folk music, Irish session playing, musicals on Broadway in NYC, Canada, and in Europe, performances in church, and for jazz. They are suitable for beginner to professional. To find out more about my flutes, please search online on my name or go to tippleflutes dot com. You will find videos of people all over the world who enjoy playing my flutes. For this ebay listing I am limiting sales to the USA. Insured 2-3 day priority mail with tracking to the USA is included in the listed price.
My flutes have been played on the concert stage for Broadway musicals and for Disney musicals in Europe. In fact, I have sold over twenty flutes directly to the Disney Company for this purpose. My 6-hole flutes sound nearly identical to bamboo or ethnic flutes, and they have the added advantage of being stable in different climates (won't crack like bamboo or wooden flutes), and they are noticeably lighter and easier to hold than flutes made from the dense polymer acetyl (Delrin).
I am often asked whether my flutes are tunable, and, yes, a two-inch long finely machined tuning slide allows for significant tuning below and above concert pitch of A= 440 Hz. To the question "Do they look just like cheap plastic flutes?", no, they don't, in my opinion. I go to a lot of extra work to ensure that the hand-finished surface of the flute has a striated matte appearance that very much resembles African blackwood, the choice for the world's best Irish flutes.
Please be advised that ebay is now required by law to collect the appropriate sales tax from many states, the number of states increasing throughout 2019 and 2020. The sales tax will be added to the selling price by ebay and remitted to the state of the buyer. It is expected that ebay will soon be required to collect sales tax from all states in the USA, as it now is with Amazon and others.
Here is some recent feedback about my flute (July 4, 2015):
"I am very happy with the flute!
I'm surprised with how easy it is to play. Despite the large bore, the flute easily plays well into the second and third octaves. The lowest octave can also be honked fairly enough.  I was also surprised with the effortless finger stretch. Despite having a stature of 5 feet and 5 inches, playing with the fingertips was very possible. The ergonomics, in addition to the light weight ensures comfort in long lengths of playing.
With regard to the tone, I find it very flexible; ranging from deep and throaty to birdlike and sweet. While it is not exactly as complex sounding as a conical wooden flute, it's tone is beautiful in its own right. I'd say the identity of a Tipple flute tone is sweet and open with a touch of complexity. It is much like a cross between a wooden Irish flute and a western concert flute.
The flute also looks and feels amazing! The tone holes are beautiful finished.  Lovely work.
Thank you very much for the wonderful flute! All in all, it is probably the best value for money flute on the market. I'll be sure to refer Tipple flutes to those in my music circles.
More feedback (September, 2019):
Anders Bostrom, a NYC jazz flautist, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, and a principal flautist for several Broadway shows sent me a recommendation: "I have used several of Doug's flutes in Tarzan on Broadway, in Amazing Grace on Broadway, and playing substitute flute in The Lion King on Broadway.. I have also used these flutes in concerts in Europe knowing that not only would they sound great and tune to any band, they would not crack in any extreme temperatures or create any problems going through customs that you might have with bamboo or wooden flutes. All in all, I am very happy with my Tipple PVC flutes and will continue using them on and off Broadway and on recordings."