I had a gemeinhardt 3shb as an upgrade from a student modle emerson. I really liked it and cost me only $500 bucks at the time. My teacher encouraged me to get a $1,000 yamaha flute which I really liked but couldn`t afford. I don`t remember the model. I thought it was a 400 or maybe 500 series one? This was in I believe 1994-1996. Anyway I liked my gemienhardt but one thing I thought was me but when I did get a yamaha was that I could not project well with my gemeinhardt as with the yamaha. I have a 674 yamaha and can project more now and just sounds stronger. An awesome flute player has a 400 or 500 series and sounds even better on that model so I probably could have been ok with that model. But anyway just speaking about my gemeinhardt lasted me through highschool but I did eventually want to try if another brand worked better for me personally. The yamaha worked for me. I don`t remember my gemienhardt sounding fuzzy, just weak and maybe part of it was my own airstream and support which has improved by now. I also was not confident with playing and hesitant when I was younger. I have heard other players playing on gemeinhardts i believe 3sb and they sound great on them. I do have weak air support and maybe that`s a major problem with me. But anyway I really like this flute. Then again these are the more mass produced available ones so I really have not tried other flutes. Someone mentioned online Flute World lets you with your credit card try out flutes which is great. I was such a jerk in high school, there was a band convention and many many brands of flute and i tried one flute didnt` even consider maybe upgrading. Darn it all!

I have a gemeinhardt 3shb ( solid silver head plated body and keys) and I have been told that when I play loud that the sound is very rich in tone and I`ve never needed to have a mic in front of me. Explain that.

oh boy! I`m just talking about my own playing ability and not trying to cause a riot here, believe me I liked my gemeinhardt. And as I`ve said i have weak breath support which has steadily improved but maybe part of the problem. I have gone back and tried to compare my gemeinhardt versus my yamaha (I like both) but as I stated just could not speak as loud as with the yamaha. Not that I want to BLAST the flute just for solos I want to be able to speak louder and with my gemeinhardt I just can`t get it. Maybe it`s in my head. I didn`t realize the hostility there was about different brands until I started looking things up online and was surprised. The problem is some are very expereinced with this stuff and some, myself, can only go by what is available and what we try out. The hard part is deciphering between all the different people what is true. I mean not that people are lying just I don`t trust even salespeople. They don`t know everything at all they are just selling the flute. You need like a professional flute maker or something. Is it because the flute is complicated? No idea. And I`ve read yamahas are very sturdy yet one post on my yamaha seems loose and the repair person at the shop says its` fine? I don`t know what is what (i already explained this problem earlier just sharing it`s still not inplace and not affecting my playing, YET). I`m playing ok so I`m not that concerned but it`s so hard to decipher what is what then mixed with people love their flutes and get insulted if you critisize it. I just try to listen to all the comments and take what i can out of it. Lots seemed happy with yamahas and is massed produced so at least has a reputable name to try. Gosh darn it I wished I tried more flutes at that convention........

I just did it again, played my yamaha 674 and gemienhardt 3shb and once again I cannot project on the gemienhardt as I can with my yamaha. Maybe it`s just me soley but i can tell a difference. They both have a nice sound but I can work with more variablility with my yamaha with dynamics that I can`t work much with the gemienhardt.

No it`s not just you. You have a better head on the Yam then the Gem.

I get a great deal more volume on my Gem using a Natsuki head vs the original head. Though it`s not terribly noticable by itself unless I`m playing along with something and on the Gem I hit a ceiling so to speak.

ALL beginner flutes heads and old professional heads have ceilings that become sorely apparent when going back from a better modern head. The ceilings could be any number of things from volume, projecion, response, tone colors, etc.

If you use you Gem head on your Yam flute and vice versa... you may find that the Yam head really makes the better flute for at least projection and who knows what other things. Heaven forbid your Gem body is in better adjustment or you`ll be sore about putting the head back the way it was. Though I would assume your Yam is in better condition and that shouldn`t be a worry.

Well I thought the headjoint was probably the main thing. I don`t know which head I have for my gemeindhart. I don`t know if it`s the J mentioned before I was probably looking in the wrong spot. I tried switching my heads around. The yamha head couldn`t fit in the gemeinhardt. I played the gemeinhardt head in my yamaha and same with not being able to project. When I got my yamaha I made sure I got an offset g which for me personally I enjoy better than an inline so I`m finding the mechanism of this flute more comfortable. The keys feel closer together too just slightly. I had my gemeinhardt 10 years now and still seems to be in good condition. I can`t find any leaks and the alignment looks good. The only thing is the bflat thumb key to the right of it you can hear it strike the tube of the flute very noticibley but to me not worth getting fixed now since I use it just as a back up. Now I`m very careful with my flutes but I`m not practicing 5 hours a day either maybe an hour every other day.

Looks like im not the only one to run into this Ed fella.

Get the impression his head width his far wider than his hips!

A little thing that someone told me when I was young. It doesnt matter how talented you are, if you`re the best in your field, can do something for longer or harder or faster than anyone else - if you`re a d*ckhead, then you`re a d*ckhead.

The trick to being famous and respected is to not be the d*ckhead.

I completly agree!!!!

Ed was just upset at my maligning of Yams. Just as I get upset at maligning of Gems.

He gets a wee bit assertive though, but I have been known to write a with a sharp tongue from time to time when a nerve gets hit.

I have a profesional ( lol...sp? )model gemeinhardt flute and it sounds great. I have never tried the yamaha but my beginning flut was also a gemeinhardt and I loved it too. I`ve never had a problem with my prof. flute. I got a couple pads replaced and the tone was so much clearer...if you do that you might get the same result as I did.

I have a standerd gemeinhardt flute, and it always needs repairing. Although, i never tried a yamaha before, but i bet it`s WAY better than a gemeinhardt. Gemeinhardt is really good for a beginner. I got my gemeinhardt in 5th grade and I still have it, and i`m in 9th grade. Yeah..I need to buy another flute. My gemeinhart flute won me a lot of competitions!! so it`s not bad.

I was fooling around at the local music store the other day while waiting for my nephew to finish his guitar lesson, and the woodwind specialist hauled out a new 3OSB that he had set up and a full complement of headjoints for me to try because he just wanted my opinion. I was quite impressed with how light the key action was (his doing), but entirely unimpressed with the standard J- model headjoint. But after trying some of the different head cuts, I have to say that I enjoyed playing that flute. Both the M and the H cuts offer more resistance and a sweeter tone than the J. My favorite was the M cut because I could really push the low end without it *ever* cracking. It had a nice, beefy low register. And the high was still quite clear and sweet.

I think maybe the Gemeinhardts are making a comeback

I have a beautiful Gemeinhardt 30sb flute. The spring action is fast and my directors have always said my tone is wonderful. about the fuzzy Gem comments that were made, its the player that makes the instrument beutiful. It isnt the instrument that has bad tone, it is the player, unless the instrument needs to be serviced, then it is the instrument. What works for one player might not work for another.

I have to add somthing
I dont have the standars=d headjoint, now Gemeinhardt automatically upgrades you to a Custom series headjoint on certin types (levels, beginer, conservatory, profess.)

Oh wow, a custom head! Lol! It it the poor headjoint design in Gemeinhardt flutes that make that fuzzy sound. You can produce a decent sound out of one if you try hard enough, but I would never recommend it.