Michael Eskin, an Irish musician and teacher near San Diego, CA, asked me if I would try to develop a pvc Irish flute that had an embouchure with a greater chimney depth than my standard pvc headjoint, which is made from thick-wall (0.125"), schedule 40 pvc pipe. I decided that by using a lip plate made from a piece of thin-wall (0.070") pvc pipe I would be able to increase the wall thickness at the embouchure to allow for a greater chimney depth. A comparison of my standard flute without a lip plate and the same flute with a headjoint with a lip plate follows:

 

This is a sound clip (one minute mp3) of an unnamed tune played by Michael Eskin on my 3-piece, 6-hole low D flute in white pvc with the Tipple-Fajardo wedge and the standard headjoint without a lip plate.

http://dougsflutes.googlepages.com/standard.mp3

 

The second clip is the same tune, also played by Michael, using exactly the same microphone settings without any audio enhancements, only this time the headjoint has a lip plate, still using the Tipple-Fajardo wedge.

http://dougsflutes.googlepages.com/lip_plate2.mp3 

 

In reviewing both of these headjoints, Michael commented, ”I think the standard flute is very forgiving for a brand new player who wants to get into playing the instrument and wants to immediately be able to get a tone. For a more accomplished player, who may already have a nice wooden flute and wants to get something to take on travel or other places where they wouldn’t feel comfortable taking an expensive or humidity sensitive instrument, yet wants something that feels like what they are already used to, the lip plate flute fits the bill nicely. 

 

For a young person who already plays the silver flute and wants to eventually transition to a keyless wooden flute to play trad, but doesn’t have the cash to spend on a wood flute, the lip plate flute is the perfect stepping stone. Not that the standard model isn’t wonderful, just that the lip plate flute feels, to me and those who have tried it, more like a standard wooden flute in terms of the pressure and response to the wind stream.

 

I think both flutes are really great, and the new design of the tenon/socket is perfect. Thank you for allowing me to review these instruments. Cheers and thanks, Michael”

 

Another teacher, whose intermediate student had previously been playing one of my flutes with the standard embouchure, commented by email about the student’s progress with a prototype lip plate flute. “On the lip plate flute he had more volume in the low octave, and most of the fuzz was gone from the upper octave. He was also able to sustain notes better in tune and play longer phrases on one breath. At the end of the lesson, his mother remarked on the improvement in his tone and overall sound. Please let Doug know how dramatic and immediate the difference is for a young player on that flute.”

 

Personally, I think that the lip plate flute is a good choice for the beginning player. The first octave of the flute plays easier on this flute, and if cost in not a major concern, I recommend the lip plate headjoint over my standard headjoint. In my opinion my best and most frequently-ordered flute is my 3-piece, 6-hole low D flute with a lip plate headjoint and the wedge to improve second octave intonation.

 

 

Here is my take on the standard flute without a lip plate and the lip plate flute. I think that my standard flute plays quite well throughout the 2-3 octave range. With an embouchure depth (0.125"), slightly less than the standard Irish flute (0.157- 2.005"), the flute is quite agile in the second and third octaves, although the first octave is not as strong as the lip plate flutes with a deeper embouchure chimney.

 

The lip plate thickness makes the embouchure depth on my lip plate flutes at 0.195", which is a little thicker than most modern wooden Irish flutes. The lip plate flutes offer a very strong first octave and an increased blowing resistance, making it play more like a traditional wooden Irish flute. I don't notice much difference betwee the tone of the standard or the lip plate flutes.

 

I am offering the lip plate as an option for my large bore flutes in Eb, D, C, B, and Bb. The charge is + $20 for the lip plate with the purchase of a new flute. I have found the the large-bore E and F flute play better without a lip plate.