I have an Armstrong it plays really well. I have a great tone on it too. I think it just depends the player or maybe your flute is defected or something.

Teachers over here who have actually tried them recently (which isn`t many because Yamaha are so much in fashion!) like them a lot. We`ve only ever had one returned and that was a simple matter of the headjoint cut being wrong for that player.

Liz

Liz

I have a armstrong flute too.it was 2 years old when we bought it,and we got it for 20 bucks! :P

The Armstrong flute I have is 5 years old but it was never that great of a flute.. and trust me, it isn`t the player cause I`m the 1st chair flute in my band.. and my band has some really talented flute players. That flute is kinda defected actually but I still don`t like Armstrong.. I like Gemeinhardt.. as a matter of fact, I`m getting a Gemeinhardt in 2 weeks.. YAY!

yeah I just got a Gemeinhardt.Change of heart!Get a Gemeinhardt.It is waaaaaay better.

I have had a armstrong flute for a couple years and looks as good the new flute my friend bought. Can produce a nice tone as well. Its a pretty good flute.

I`ve had my Geminherdt for a while now and i think it is wonderful... I tried out both the Armstrong and the Geminherdt at my local music store and i found the Geminhardt easier and more comfortable...I`ve heard that the Armstrong is less sturdy ... i think it all depends on your personal preference when you try them out...

I ADORE my Armstrong. It is over 50 years old and solid silver. I don`t know how much they`ve changed since my grandpa`s day, but it is not a freequent visitor to the shop and I am quite often complimented on its sound and tone. It was easy to start on, but not without some challange. Good luck with yours...
About trumpets, I presonally HATE them and would never date one unless they were all in all an amazing guy.

I`ve had an armstrong flute for almost 4 yrs. now it plays fairly well, but it does have some pitch problems, the thing I like about mine is that it holds up very well

From my experience:

Armstrong may make some better models, but most of what I see are their student models. I find them disappointing in their weak, fuzzy tone.

Gemeinhardts are not much better, but are robust and reliable. If you are having a lot of trouble with servicing of a Gemeinhardt then it is almost certain that you need a new technician.

I find Yamaha student flutes superior in every way, especially tone/volume/clarity/response & standard of engineering. They are highly consistent.

However recent models are a lot better than old models.

Pearl student flutes are very variable. often the engineering standard is poor, with very sloppy pivots, making for much unreliability. The tone of the odd one is fantastic, but they vary from that to quite poor.

I have a closed hole Artley flute and I`m upgrading. Does anyone know anything about the Armstrong model 303?

It looks to be the US version of the 430, in which case it will be a very nice silver head open hole flute.

Liz

I love my Armstrong. It is a great flute for me. I have a 103B that I got brand new. I sampled several flutes the day I purchased it and it was a tough decision. I almost bought an EM Winston, but then the sales guy brought out the Armstrong, which was $50 higher than my price range, but it sounded so much better that I spent the extra money w/o giving it much thought.
I also think Geminheart (hope I spelled that right, I`m bad @ spelling) is a good brand I almost purchased a used closed hole student model that day, the reason I didn`t buy it was because I was in search of a B-foot and that one only had a C-foot.
Overall I`m glad I chose the Armstrong.
In closing I would like to say if there are any new flute players or people reading this out to get a new flute. Sample all the flutes in your price range before buying one. If you aren`t allowed to sample them then go to another store.

I`ve been looking at the Gemeinhardt 33SSBO, Pearl `Maesta` PF-9700RB, and the Armstrong `Arista ` 45B-TG; only I can`t find out what pitch/tuning scale these brands are built to, ie. Cooper or Bennett. Not all manufacturers use acurate tuning scales for their flutes? If anyone knows, I would really appreciate it if you would forward/post the information.
Unfortunately, I`ve found that many of the teachers receive kickbacks from the instrument manufacturers, so their ideas are a little suspect.
After reviewing the different instruments, I`ve found Gemeinhardt, Pearl, Armstrong about equal in their options offered versus cost. I`m trying to find out which offers the most precise tuning scale/pitch. The most acurate scales today are supposed to be the Cooper & Bennett scales, I just don`t which manufacturers use these scales [ or close versions ]?

Any Information, would help???????

hey guys I need some help. I was looking on the Pearl site and i found the 501RE and 501R flutes and was wonderig what they were like???plz help!!