In recent years it has been found that the replacement of the usual cork assembly in the head of the flute with a stopper made out of a plastic- Delrin- or some metals, improves the tone (including its flexibility) and responsiveness of flutes. Metal crowns can be added to advantage. (The crown in the photograph of the head is made of heat treated zirconium.)
A titanium stopper and crown give a distinctly brighter sound compared with a cork assembly and the instrument seems to be more responsive particularly in the second & third octaves.
In my article in the March 2003 issue of "Pan" (there is a link to that article on this site) I wrote" For high aerobatics I suggest that titanium is the best solution". I am using a different instrument to that which I was using for the tests reported on in the "Pan" article but that remark still holds good.
The gold coloured crown is made of titanium but is coated with titanium nitride which gives it this colour; this coating does nothing to the sound but is attractive, hard and scratch resistant. I can supply these items at the following prices:_
Prices: Titanium stopper £60 (approximately $120 or Euros 95)
Titanium crown £115 (approximately $233 or Euros 179)
(normal colour)
Stoppers and crowns in zirconium are also available.
Telephone: 00 44 (0)20 8788 1331
Email: dasymington@hotmail.com
