I got curious and decided I wanted to find out how old my flute was. I couldn't get the info from the Selmer website so I had to call them directly. It turns out mine is one of the first made after Selmer bought out Bundy. (it says Bundy and Selmer on it) It was made in 1963-64. She is older than me! No wonder she is so worn in places. I love old things with a history though. I also tend to think that things made back in the good old days are better built. That may or may not hold true depending on the item I suppose. I just thought it was interesting to find out her age.
Hi Marie,
Betty is a 'seasoned citizen' indeed.
Quite a few people play on antique, or even just older flutes which were made by some of the masters of flutemaking. A flute that Verne Q. Powell made himself inthe 60's, or a vintage Haynes, or even an original Louis Lot can be a real treasure.
Modern flutemaking and newer scale designs do make a difference, though. Also, many new techniques in headjoint making have been taken advantage of, and the newer flutes are usually easier to play well.
I remember that the Armstrong Heritage flutes were made by a well known master craftsman- who was it, guys, and what era?
My Yamaha 800 series was made in 1998, and took a LONG time to sell before I bought it on eBay. It has a C-footjoint, so it was likely overlooked by B-foot snobs in this country. To be fair, it also had an unintentionally asymmetric embouchure hole, making the headjoint just OK, so I had to replace that before she really began to sing.
I'll have to find out when my piccolo was made- actually both of them- I have a solid silver 'CSS' Gemeinhardt (whose model number was long ago replaced) and a Zentner wood picc, which is no longer made.
My Yamaha was made somewhere in the 1980-1985 range. The Tom Green was made sometime between 2000 and 2005, but I don't know the exact date...I suppose I could probably find out from Green. Incidentally, Tibbiecow, I believe both Tom Green and Jack Moore worked on the Heritage line for Armstrong.
Some common brands (e.g., Yamaha and Gemeinhardt) are not listed, however.
The site didn't do much good for me because I have a Yamaha 581 flute and a Gemeinhardt 4W piccolo, neither of which is listed. I guess I'll have to contact the companies directly if I want to find out how old they are.
What really matters to me is not when they were made, but how well they play. The Yamaha 581 plays beautifully. I feel that the Gemeinhardt 4W piccolo is holding me back, however. Maybe next year (after holiday shopping and travels are over and the cash flow is again positive) I can look into upgrading.
If you call yamaha and give them your model and serial number they'll tell you. The first time I tried, I must have gotten a drunk employee or something, because she acted like she didn't know what I was talking about. The second time I called a few months later I was more successful and I found out mine's from 1993.
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Eeew, mine's a teenager. Is that why it and I aren't agreeing lately?
Hi, I'm in Haiti right now (Yep, on missionary work indefinately - I love internet so I can keep up with this forum - can someone call the Selmer/Bundy company for me and find out when my flute was made - serial # 549977 - thanks for anyone's help - merry christmas - no snow here !
searching...
No wonder she is so worn in places. I love old things with a history though. I also tend to think that things made back in the good old days are better built. That may or may not hold true depending on the item I suppose. I just thought it was interesting to find out her age. 
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