Which headjoint, Allen or Oxley?

[cokekola]

I am planning to buy a new flute which will probably be a Trevor James flute again. I have had two Trevor James flutes before and I have been quite pleased with them.

The new flute will be a bit pricier, making it possible to choose between tho different headjoints: one made by Michael Allen or Andrew Oxley. I know that the right way to make the decision between these would be to try both headjoints. Unfortunately the markets of new flutes are quite limited in Finland where I live. Flute resellers don't have possibility to keep this price class flutes available on the stores, but they have to order them separately. So I can not try one before ordering one.

Could someone try to help me to understand the possible differences of these headjoints? With my earlier flutes I have had not so much difficulties in the lower register. But getting clean sound in upper registers has been a challenge to me. Sometimes it has been hard to get any sound at all in the upper registers:-( If either of these headjoints would be "easier" to play in upper registers, I guess it might be right choice for me.

[Phineas]

[quote="cokekola"]Could someone try to help me to understand the possible differences of these headjoints? With my earlier flutes I have had not so much difficulties in the lower register. But getting clean sound in upper registers has been a challenge to me. Sometimes it has been hard to get any sound at all in the upper registers:-( If either of these headjoints would be "easier" to play in upper registers, I guess it might be right choice for me.[/quote]

The only way to tell which headjoint is better for you, or how it sound is to play on them.

[cokekola]

I guess I have to toss a coin then as I can't try playing either one before ordering

I just thought someone happened to know what are the main differences between these two headjoint makers. Of course it still would remain my headache trying to reason which would be better for me.

[Phineas]

cokekola

Any person cant train themselves to play on any quality headjoint. I have tried many headjoints that many said were "Dark", but for me they were quite bright. I have experienced the opposite as well.

Frankly, I have tried both of those headjoints. Both of them were good headjoints, however they did not seem that different for me.
I was able to play the whole range of the flute with no difficulties.

Maybe someone else will chime in.

Phineas

[etc-etc]

Phineas,

Did you mean that anyone can train to play on any quality headjoint?

[James_Alto]

Hello,

I like the Trevor James flutes too. I use two of the Michael Allen designs - one of which is the shaped parabolic lip plate and the other, is more like in the shape of a chunk of Yorkie chocolate bar with a more edgier look. The Andrew Oxley lip plates and risers are more conventionally designed.

I take it you have already read:

http://www.trevorjames.com/PDFs/PDF_Flu ... joints.pdf

where everyone gets the standard and safe advice: 'try it out before you buy'.

This isn't very helpful advice for you in Finland. Are you going for the Recital 1 or 2 series maybe.

Could someone try to help me to understand the possible differences of these headjoints? With my earlier flutes I have had not so much difficulties in the lower register. But getting clean sound in upper registers has been a challenge to me. Sometimes it has been hard to get any sound at all in the upper registers:-( If either of these headjoints would be "easier" to play in upper registers, I guess it might be right choice for me.

It sounds like you are saying, you prefer a 'free-blowing' head joint, than a specifically tailored professional headjoint, which will probably have more resistance, but equally offer a greater tonal palette of sound i.e. harder for the beginner; more fun for the intermediate player to explore tone coloration. When I started on my Michael Allen headjoint, the most striking difference between that and the custom shaped TJ parabolic lip plate 'referred to as shaped' was the loss of volume. The shaped lip plate reduces the inefficiency of the standard flat lip plate and projects very well. In comparison - the Michael Allen headjoint is built up more chunky and has a tight sweet spot.

I didn't find anything not to like about the Andrew Oxley headjoints. I just preferred the Michael Allen headjoint for my embouchure. It also is the more dominant headjoint on offer for many of the Trevor James flutes.
I think you would be happy with either headjoint - just a matter of learning and getting used to it, and there is no reason, bar the anatomical anomaly, why a transition from one to another should be so hard - it just takes practice. If you are finding the upper octave 'vanishes', then that is more to do with embouchure practice than the headjoint. The cheaper TX student series with the freeblowing headjoint is better for learning the octave range and the professional joints are better at sound shaping and tonal coloration.

I hope you work out a decision on the headjoints. If it is not too expensive, you can telephone Technical Enquiries at http://www.worldwind.co.uk based in Lenham, Kent where the Recital flutes are made/assembled. They are very helpful and as a small company, they are brilliant for information and technical support, although they may not be able to answer which headjoint would suit you best.

If you need any help, feel free to ask. I don't work for Trevor James, but at times I wish I did! They are such beautiful flutes which are under-represented, probably because the market is dominated by larger flute companies.

[Phineas]

Phineas,

Did you mean that anyone can train to play on any quality headjoint?

Etc-Etc

IMHO, yes you can. Some headjoints are easier than others. Except for student model flutes, I have managed to adjust my playing habits to deal with the flexibility level and limitations of MANY different headjoints. Even with my Miyazawa, it took some time before I was able to adjust my playing style to control and take advantage of the cut. The headjoints I chose are generally the ones that are the most compatible to my present playing style.

This is why it is hard to recommend a headjoint. Choosing a headjoint is like choosing underwear. For the obvious reasons!

Phineas

[pied_piper]

...This is why it is hard to recommend a headjoint. Choosing a headjoint is like choosing underwear. For the obvious reasons!

Phineas

My flute prefers boxers...

[cokekola]

Thank you guys (especially James_Alto) for very informative messages!

I contacted also Trevor J. James in England and they were very helpful and tried to give some picture of the differences between Mike Allen and Andrew Oxley headjoints. I believe they would not have anything against quoting part of their answer here:

As a general rule Andrew Oxley heads offer
Big sound lots of projection. Mike Allen heads
Are softer and more focused.

I cannot advise you which one to choose and I would
Strongly recommend that you try both before purchasing.

The Trevor J. James reseller in Finland had two different models of Mike Allen headjoints to try but not any Andrew Oxley headjoint. The other one of the Mike Allen headjoints had a bit different lip plate cut from the traditionally cut lip plate. I tried these both and found the traditionally cut lip plate very pleasant to play even with my limited skills. Of course it would have been nice to try an Andrew Oxley headjoint also, but I am probably going to buy the TJJ Recital II flute with traditionally cut Mike Allen headjoint anyway.

[James_Alto]

The Trevor J. James reseller in Finland had two different models of Mike Allen headjoints to try but not any Andrew Oxley headjoint. The other one of the Mike Allen headjoints had a bit different lip plate cut from the traditionally cut lip plate. I tried these both and found the traditionally cut lip plate very pleasant to play even with my limited skills. Of course it would have been nice to try an Andrew Oxley headjoint also, but I am probably going to buy the TJJ Recital II flute with traditionally cut Mike Allen headjoint anyway.

That's great to hear. The Recital II is an amazing flute - hand assembled in England with TJJ's fastidious quality control! They set up my flutes perfectly - straight out of the box.

How are you getting on with your alto flute then?

[saxman418]

I recently tried several headjoints, including Oxley and Allen. I was blown away by the Mike Allen PB HJ and bought it on the spot. The tube is made, unusually, from pinchbeck, an 89% copper/11% zinc alloy. The riser and lip plate are .095 silver. It's tone palette is enormous, even on first try, and its articulation is really fast - it reacted instantly to vigorous double-tonguing. Plus, after a while, I find that I can play from ppp to fff right through the register. It has totally transformed my rather ancient Muramatsu ST (the original HJ was a bit 'drawing room' in character).

Of course, this is just me and my particular embouchure and flute, but I would like to encourage other board members to try it if they can and submit their feedback.