Try before you buy is best. But keep in mind, you can try a flute in a store that has not been set up properly and it will be awful. I once tried a handmade flute that everyone loved and ranted about how great it was. It was awful. I found out it was out of adjustment and had some leaks. Once it was fixed, it was great. ONe of the best flutes. So try lots of flutes including several of the same make and model before you poo poo the whole lot of them.

Um, ok, don't you DARWE mock me!!!! In fact, BOTH the Pearl AND the Yamaha were both BRAND NEW; NEVER BEEN USED!!!! I watched the salesman take them BOTH out of the package. The Yamaha WAS truly awful, and just for your information, I am NOT inexperienced. My school district is one of the best band/music programs in the WORLD, and we have won awards in national competitions, such as Disney World and overall Best in Class!!! It is the school district of Menomonee Falls in Wisconsin, and if you think that we are inexperienced, look us up. Not ONE of the flutes has a Yamaha as far as I know, and besides, Yamahas are NOT always the best; in fact, when I was testing out the Yamaha, when I tried out the middle octave G, it always went down and just horribly flat, and plus, both my parents and myself, AND the salesman all thought the Pearl had a nicer overall sound. PEARL is a WONDERFUL PROFESSIONAL TOP OF THE LINE flute, and it is BETTER than a Yamaha! SO before you say I am inexperienced, think before you post.

>In fact, BOTH the Pearl AND the Yamaha were both BRAND NEW; NEVER BEEN USED!!!!
Just for the record, I have yet to see a brand new, never been used flute that didn't need at least a basic once-over by a technician before it was at 100%. It's possible that the Yamaha was jostled too much in transit and out of adjustment. Or the cut/mechanics of the Yamaha weren't for you. Neither of those make it an awful flute.

>Yamahas are NOT always the best
I think Yamaha is consistent, and consistently good in the student models, which is why they're so often recommended.

>PEARL is a WONDERFUL PROFESSIONAL TOP OF THE LINE
>flute, and it is BETTER than a Yamaha!
Now you're just trolling. Both Pearl and Yamaha make fine instruments, and it's childish to push your personal opinion on other people. It's probably wiser to cool off than to make angry posts. You'll usually end up saying something you wish you could take back.

You know, I find this FUNNY, because when I first posted, people were ragging on MY old student flute that I recommended to the person, and they had never played it or seen it or anything!!!! ALSO, do you think it is "WISE" to just MOCK people and use other people's words in a mocking way? Think about THAT!!!!

>do you think it is "WISE" to just MOCK people and use
>other people's words in a mocking way? Think about THAT!!!!
I think if you let other people get to you like that, you'll end up with an ulcer. People are going to say things you don't like, but there's no reason to get bent out of shape over it. I mean really, does to matter at all what faceless people online think about other faceless people online?

Besides, ranting and raving will change absolutely nothing. I've seen it happen countless times before. If you find it so funny, just laugh. It works a treat.

Troll alert!

what other top pro models have you tried to compare your Pearl with? i like pearls professional line but not so much the student line like the 700 and below series. FYI, flutes DO in fact sometimes need to be re set up when coming straight from the factory. it could have gotten jostled in shipping too. it is stupid to argue over brands. some are made crappy while others are not. simple..

Ok, here's my ten cents:

Emerson flutes may have a mechanism that isn't as good as a Yamaha flute, but they are reasonably cheaper, and the embrochure cut is much, much better than a Yamaha CY headjoint for many people, at least in my area. It is almost as if the headjoint was tailored to teens with overbights. =) Even if you don't have an overbight, there is still a great, consistant sound. I'll say it again, why buy an $800 student Yamaha when you could buy a $100 student emerson?

Though HarryPotterFan may have...overreacted... they were right about one thing. Yamaha's aren't always the best flutes, even when they are adjusted.
It is differnet for different people, after all, its mostly the headjoint that people argue over. Aside from the cheapo Chinese brands, no higher end brand is better than the other. Now, I do have a hard time believing that a Selmer would beat out a Yamaha, if it was between those two, I'd definately get the Yamaha. But since it isn't, I stand by my origional judgement: get the emerson. Save up. Buy a nice proffesional flute when you're ready. Why spend a ton of money on a student flute when you are just going to replace it in a few years? Beats me. Most begginers can't even tell the small little differences you pay extra for anyway.

Oh, and you should definately go with an "Armstrong or Yamaha" if your heart is set on it. They don't suck, just sounds like HArryPotterFan had a bad experience at the music shop.
PEarls are great flutes though, don't regret your buy HarryPotterFan!

Harry potter your lack of experience is easy to understand as your coment about your "school" district says it all

personals who's advice would you take someone's with and all that many years of playing or someones with many many years experience as profesionals some with the experience that most will only ever dream of having and obtained a level far superior to your own.

all flutes would need minor adjustments after coming out of the plastic for the first few weeks after a flute is made the movements in the metal can be quite a lot as metals relax the stress in them from manufacture as well as the pads settling in to there cups to remove a flute from the wrapper and expect to judge it at its best just shows how inexperienced the sales person that gave it to you is.

oh jeeze.
i thought he was gone for good.

and now hes back, with a horrible name...what the heck?

apparently, it's not me, my English is not that good, and can't think of such profound word...lol...s/he must be my hater..mocking you guys with such lies.

<Added>

micron, it looks like 211 is in the way of many dealers, they just want to get rid of 221/211 from the market anyway they can, you know, too low margin. Why do we need to help them? just let their people use expensive poor quality flutes and hope they never improve.

I rarely post now, I only read from time to time the useful posts, but some guy still hate me that much, lol, that guy must be in suffering. coz Yoda said: anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.... lol

lol... why do peeps hate you pepryoni? from your posts i can see that you have an ego nd all but jeez dont all flutists?