So, I need a new flute. My private teacher tells me, my old private teacher has told me, my mom told me, and my band teacher suggested. I've been playing for about 4 or 5 years now. Right now I have an Armstrong. It's a student flute, and that's all I know about it. I need a new flute, I hear Yamaha, Miyazawa, and Pearl are all good flutes. Although when I searched prices, they were a bit too pricy for my mom and me. I also play the violin and I plan on buying a new one too. So with us on a budget, and I need a new, good, flute. Any suggestions???

There doesn't seem to be an obvious answer to what flute to move up to. We could use a little more information about you. How old are you (what grade in school)? What are your plans for your music. If you plan to be pursuing your studies beyond grade school, you may need a pre-professional flute. If not, a step-up flute may be appropriate. Some of the best information I have seen can be found at www.jennifercluff.com.

Yamaha flutes have very good reputations, but there are many others. I just purchased a new flute for myself, but I probably didn't go about it in a smart way. I recommend locating music shops in your area which offer step-up or better flutes, and get together with your flute teacher to try them out. An advanced teacher will be able to help sort out the differences - good and bad - between the models you find to try. pre-professional flutes are even harder to find unless you live in New York, Boston, or other place with high-end shops, but you can have flutes shipped to you for trial. The shipping can be rather expensive.

Jim

Well, I'm going into the ninth grade. The problem is, I'm not so sure if I'm doing the flute in highschool. I also play the violin, and my teacher says I have a chance of making the top 13 violints, so if I do make that orchestra, I will have to decide whether to quit band or orchestra. So that's really my main problem. And thank you for those suggestions.

Haha, thank you travel2165. I will try to look into that.(: Once I figure out a specific flute maybe, I'll ask again. (:

If you are on a budget and need a flute for the rest of high school, and will be working on getting better tone, a simple Yamaha 200-series student flute should be just right. These flutes have a standard student-flute setup with closed holes and offset G (usually). The 300 and 400 series flutes play pretty much the same, in spite of the extra silver, open holes, and B-footjoint. But the Yammie will serve you well until college. It can be upgraded (say, in 11th or 12th grade)by buying a handmade headjoint, at a fraction of the cost of a new 'upgrade' flute.


The Yamaha 200 series flutes can be found used, if you are careful about buying. I would have any internet or eBay flute sent directly to your repair tech, he will be able to evaluate what $$ it needs to be put into great condition- and they almost always need work, even if the seller says it does not. Obviously, this means that you would buy a flute with a return guarantee. There are reputable sellers whose used flutes are properly rebuilt and won't need further adjustment/pad replacement, but most will need some work. There is a forum member who sells these, who has one listed on usedflutes.com right now for only $300.

It really depends on which one you like and your embouchure. I personally love Gemeinhardt flutes - I can make a beautiful sound on them but I can't make a sound on a Yamaha flute! But I also know a lot of people who hate Gemeinhardts. You should probably try a lot of flutes out if you can and see which one sounds the best with your embouchure.

That is great that you like Gemeinhardt flutes, but the original poster is looking for an upgrade.

Try as many brands and models as you can.
Sometimes you try two flutes, same brand, same model, and one of them is better...

Hey! Wow, looks like you have a hard choice in front of you! Orchestra or band. Hmm...


I noticed that Woodwind and Brasswind was having a big sale, you may want to look there. http://www.wwbw.com/ Really hope this helps in someway!

Do yourself a favor and fire your teacher. lol! JK! You just don't here too often flute teachers recommending a Gemeinhardt. Band teachers, yes, but not flute teachers that really know what they are talking about.

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Oh never mind. I just re read your first post and it WAS a band teacher recommending a Gemeinhardt. Well, there you go! I suggest you try out flutes at a place where there is a professional flutists that KNOWS their flutes that can help you. Somewhere like Flute World or JL Smith.

Hahaha, actually, my band teacher didn't really advise the Geimenhardt, (I just probably spelled that wrong) it was my private teacher now. He's not really the best, but I'm desperate, since my old teacher(who would probably had advised for the Yamaha or Pearl) had to move. But at the moment, there arn't that many good flute teachers that my mom and I know of that live close by, and as I said, I'm pretty desperate to get 2nd chair again.

Anytime. You're welcome ;-)

I love Gemeinhardts! My notes are very much in tune and the flutes they make produce a beautiful tone....just as good as any other flute. It really depends on how you like the flute, though. I have the 4SS with the b foot and gold lip plate and it plays like a dream.

I have become a fan of Yamaha. I own a silver, intermediate model YFL674 and recently I replaced the original silver EC cut HJ by a silver Nagahara DA cut. It was a great change. But such a combination is around 4,500 US (new), could be too much for your budget and at that price level you could also have many other choices.

I have now a back flute, Yamaha YFL 211, and it is very, very good, very easy to play too. And cheap, as Tibbiecow pointed out. It is still a student flute, but you could upgrade it now or later for reasonable money with a new, more pro HJ.

This change may add some playing difficulty compared to the original CY cut HJ that comes with the YFL211, but will give you much improving potential. And it merits the effort, no doubt. After a few month of adjustment and practise, I am now beginning to sound close to my teacher's tone, this for the first time. We can now play duets without that sort of humiliation due to tone issues I felt before.

I must say that I had a Gemeinhardt (albeit an old model, the M3) when I started and it served me faithfully for some three years. But later it started having problems, requiring repairs and later I noticed that it was holding me back considerably, no matter what repairs were made. I now regard it to be valuable item only as a wall ornament.

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now a back flute: a back-up flute