Flute known as fipple flutes. The fipple gives the instrument a distinct timbre which is different from non-fipple flutes and makes the instrument easier to play, but takes a degree of control away from the musician. Another division is between side-blown (or transverse) flutes, such as the Western concert flute, piccolo, fife, dizi and bansuri; and end-blown flutes, such as the ney, xiao, kaval, danso, shakuhachi, Anasazi flute and quena. The player of a side-blown flute uses a hole on the side of the tube to produce a tone, instead of blowing on an end of the tube. End-blown flutes should
Double contrabass flute large flutes. Despite the tendency of the larger sizes of flute to be softer than their higher pitched relatives, the double contrabass flute has a relatively powerful tone, although it usually benefits from amplification in ensembles. The Japanese firm of Kotato & Fukushima sell their double contrabass flutes for US$38,000. Their main use has been in large flute choirs and occasionally in film scores. A double contrabass flute constructed of PVC, called a subcontrabass flute by its maker, the Dutch instrument maker Jelle Hogenhuis, has the tubing in a notably different arrangement from its metal counterpart. Although the PVC instrument