Hi my name is Katie, and I will be 17 on Friday. I have been playing the flute since I was in the 4th grade and will be entering my senior year of high school this year. So I have been playing for 8 years going into my 9th year of playing the flute.

I play with a Armstrong 80bt which is the model my private teacher suggested I upgrade to. Growing up I played with a Gemeinhardt open hole beginner flute but unfortunately it was stolen from me just months after I got the Armstrong, and I have never been able to recover it.

I hope to get to know people here, and become apart of a flute community.

I just have one bit of advice for everyone, even though this might sound obvious, make sure you record your serial #. When my flute stolen from me in my sophomore year I was unable to give the school and the police my serial # which might have helped me recover it. Now I make sure I keep multiple copies in file cabinets, and in my staff paper notebook.

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I also play a yamaha piccolo for about 5 years now, since I was in the 7th grade.

welcome and happy birthday! Good suggestion about insurance, you students should have them added to your parents homeowners or renters policy to protect against theft...

Hello there and welcome to the flute forums! I'm sorta new to the flute forum too. There are many, uh, "interesting" discussions here. lol!

Welcome! You will find that this is a good bunch on here.
Happy Birthday

Hey! I'm sorry someone stole your flute. I was wandering... I really love the flute and I'm thinking about buying one sooo... what "cheap but good" flute do you suggest??

For 'cheap but good', not much can beat used, overhauled Yamaha 200 series. When you get good at flute, you can get an outstanding sound on the same flute by putting a pro headjoint in it.

Stay away from the eBay special 'no-name' flutes.

Most used eBay flutes from established flutemakers (Yamaha, Gemeinhardt, Pearl, Armstrong, etc.), regardless of the statements of the seller, will need some adjustment and pad replacement, if not a complete overhaul to become properly playable. Expect to put $150 to $200 into a used flute, unless is is purchased from a good, legitimate technician. And the beginners hang out/sell on eBay...It is possible to get a flute that needs no work, but that is NOT common!

You can get a new YFL211 from matthews for $644.25 delivered to US. (probably a little less if you call them). For this price, it's probably worth getting a new one. You could probably get a 225S for $200 and put $200 into it, but there's a risk that it's pretty worn out. The 211 has a split E, which is forgiving for beginners.
http://www.matthewsmuziek.nl/indexwinkel_us.html

Or.. you could buy the reconditioned 225 that I have for $275 and not have to put any work into it. :P