Hey, my EX never had anything engraved under the lip plate. Weird! I wonder why Muramatsu would put it on the headjoint as they are the same style/cut from the EX all the way up to the DS, unless you get the Tsubasa style.
Yes, by all means go for the Muramatsu!! That is a steal!! I love those flutes! I bought one to use as a backup to my Powell (when I had the Powell) and ended up using it more as my main flute because it was much more comfortable on my hands. I had to sell my EX in order to fund my new Miyazawa
No use having two good flutes for me as one will just sit and I have student flutes handy all the time that I can use as backup.
By the way, since talking about brands... the new Avanti flutes are wonderful!!! I bought one to play test and trial for a while. I plan to sell it though, as like I said, I don't need two nice flutes like that. I got a good deal on it, so why not! I did do some speciality extra work to make it even nicer. But over all, it is super nice! So, if anyone is looking for one of these and wants to grab it before I list it, let me know. I don't plan to list it until next week or so.