Doug Tipple PVC Irish Flutes
Doug Tipple has been making Irish flutes from PVC in Indianapolis for more than twenty years. He came to it sideways, a lifelong guitarist who worked in a guitar building shop, repaired piano actions, and repaired violins before turning to flutes and refining his designs through trial and error. The result is one of the most recommended entry-level flutes in Irish music, and one of the most affordable ways into the tradition.
The Tipple-Fajardo wedge
A cylindrical bore will ordinarily drift flat in the upper second octave. Doug’s answer is a small insert seated in the head joint that corrects this outright, doing much the same work as the taper in a Boehm head joint. It also lends the tone a complexity closer to that of a wooden flute. Every flute he makes is fitted with one, and it is why these play in tune across the full range at a price that ordinarily buys nothing of the kind.
Keys & layout
Flutes are offered in D as well as E♭, E, F and G for players who need to sound in another key, with inline or offset finger holes throughout.