Hey,
I have a quick question. I was listening to myself playing a Muramatsu EX and it sounded a lot better than my Miyazawa 202. So I was wondering if a Muramatsu EX headjoint (I'm not sure about the specifics, but I know it's sterling silver or 958 silver and a silver riser) could fit on my 0.16" walled Miyazawa 202. Thanks!

If you really want the headjoint to ultimately fit the other flute body, you can send them to a good technician to do the job. There is a possibility that the headjoint is smaller in diameter than the flute, so you can use plumbers tape (also known as teflon tape) to seal the joint between the headjoint and body. This way, you will be able to use the headjoint with both flute bodies.

Hi, one of the important questions that you have to ask is if the difference that you hear is due to the head section or to the condition of the flute body. If one has a few leaky keys that are affecting the tone, then you may think that the difference is all due to the head section.

As to fitting a different head section to your flute, I'd say that it depends a lot on how different the two are and the work of the technician. Anything can be done by a good technician but I personally wouldn't want to change the head section diameter by a large amount.

Can the diameter of the Muramatsu head possibly be larger than the diameter of the Miyazawa body?

Yes they can be different.

For US made flutes, silver is available in .014", .016", and .018", gold in .012", platinum in .011" thicknesses.

I don't know what it is for Japanese flutes. Their websites should show what is available.

As mentioned before, a good tech can fit a HJ to an existing body (within reason).

another issue that you need to be aware of is that different flutes have different body lengths vs. head section lengths. This is more true between older and newer types and will probably not be a concern for most players. It does exist though and needs to be checked before you do any buying and refitting. What this means is that the distance from the LH 1 key to the upper end of the body (receiver) can be a bit different. If it's a greater distance, then the head joint needs to be a bit shorter to play in tune. This is because the overall distance from the first LH finger key to the embouchure hole needs to be correct. As an example, I have an older Haynes head section that is slightly different in length to the newer length head. This difference is not enough to make a serious difference in the tuning but the older head is just enough longer that it doesn't fit in the newer Haynes flute's case.

Would the length issue force me to play majorly out of tune?

Without trying to go into a great deal of details about this.... The length of the flute is relative to the pitch just as each pipe of a pipe organ is tuned to a specific pitch. The longer the tube the lower the pitch. The basic concept as this applies to flute fingerings is that when you play the descending lower C maj. scale and close one key at a time, the working part of the flute is gradually sounding longer and lower in pitch.

So, if your head joint is too long your flute will want to sound flat. or too short, sharp. This can be checked by comparing different flutes but more importantly by using a tuner.
There is also a relationship between each note/finger hole and the distance to the embouchure hole that is relevant to having each note able to be played easily in tune as well as how far each key opens and how well the pads close.... but the only practical way to change the overall tuning is by moving the head section in and out a bit. This is why I suggested using the distance from the LH (C#) index smaller key hole to the center of the embouchure hole as a way to measure or compare distances.
Because you can probably assume that your original head section is correct, you can also compare your two head joints. Remember, though that the important difference is measured from the center of the embouchure hole to where it fits into the body and not from the top of the crown/end cap.