I have been playing the flute for 3 years and my private tutor told me to step it up a notch and buy a better flute. I was shopping for one a couple of days ago and a one made of Rose brass intrigued me. I have never heard of it and have researched it but nothing came up. can you help me find out if this is a good material to make a flute out off

http://cgi.ebay.com/Unique-FLUTE-ROSE-BRASS-plated-Open-Hole-B-foot_W0QQitemZ270019300149QQihZ017QQcategoryZ10183QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If you're talking about the one on ebay, or one similar. I wouldn't recommend buying it. The seller claims it's "one of a kind" which generally makes be believe it's a scam. If it's not one of the more popular brands (Yamaha, Pearl, Gemeinhardt, Jupitar...) then don't buy it.

The one on ebay doesn't seem to have a brand name at all. The lip plate appears to be further down the headjoint then it's supposed to be(it might just be the angle it's at). Also, the "rose brass" is a darker shade color than the brass on brass intruments which makes me believe that it's either nothing but a colored flute, or it's copper plated.

From what I hear the plating on the flute doesn't really make a difference in the sound, but if it is really copper plated I would recommend you just get one thats silver or nickle because Copper is a very weak metal(technically worthless) and would wear off easily.

It somewhat looks like a faily descent flute, but looks can be desceiving.

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Another thing, If it didn't show up in a search it's most likely not legitament(sp?).

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here's a link to the picture just in case that auction is over by the time some people get to this topic.

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/musicalwheel/FluteOHBRB6_001.jpg

purchase a reputable brand, you get what you pay for

these "VENUS" flutes are terrible

The Auction states that it is rose brass plated

Rose brass is not used for flute tubes. The seller probably meant to say say Rose GOLD plated...

Rose brass (high copper content) is what trumpet leadpipes are often made of to help against redrot (dezincification).

It serves no useful function as far as a flute is concerned.

Joe B

thats right JOE

I asked the seller and he says that it is rose brass plated and not rose gold plated. That is certainly..umm...different. I think they look horrid, personally.

I asked the seller and he says that it is rose brass plated and not rose gold plated.

Brass is something you plate onto. In prolonged contact with skin oils you can get brass poisoning (really nasty). That's another reason why brass mouthpieces are silver or gold plated to prevent that from happening. Brass player's often check to make sure the plating on their mouthpiece is sound so as NOT to expose their skin to bare brass. To plate an entire flute in Brass (if even possible) is a resulting stupidity.

Joe B

Good point, Joe. He must be confused then.

right you are Joe

As Kara said, it looks so strange that I saved a picture to my computer and enlarged it to see if the color was in some way retouched or something.
Apparently it's not altered, but very, very odd.

Zevang

I very much doubt if this is a scam. I've dealt with musicalwheel and the transaction was very smooth and the piccolo the best I've ever played ... I never played their flutes so I dont have any data to contradict Patrick (and I usually wouldnt contemplate doing so).

The finish is almost certainly like a lacquer and as such there shouldnt be any problems. (These finishes appear better wearing that those on brass instruments and are not the same).

Its probably safe to assume this is like any other chinese import you can buy from a good local store - but at a lower cost. Having recently placed a Vincent Bach/Altos (which I understand to be a chinese import) and been very impressed with it ... I still maintain that the best approach is to try a variety of flutes across the price range and find something you like. If you want the prestige of a branded instrument and the associated higher resell value then you'll just have to pay more than those of us who focus on the instruments not its name ...

ekdavies, what other piccolos have you tried to compare a venus piccolo too? I purchased a venus piccolo last year and sent it back as I would say it was the worst piccolo I have ever played. The guy at Musicalwheel is very nice, so no I agree it isn't a scam.

It's great to focus on the instrument rather than the name on it (that's why blind tests are highly recommended when flute shopping), but I have played several of the cheap chinese import flutes, and they were worse than even the most basic student flutes produced in the US (and yes, I realize many US companies outsource their production to China, but I'm talking about junkers like Venus, Selman, etc...) or Japan. There are exceptions to almost everything in the flute world, but by and large the junk flutes can't even begin to hold a candle to name brand instruments. When you pay those higher prices for a name brand flute, it's not just for a name and a higher resale value, it's for a high quality flute that has a more reliable mechanism, a better cut head, and (depending on the model in question), perhaps more silver than what's involved in the production of these pot metal flutes, and also for a guarantee of quality and accountability should anything go wrong. All of these contribute to the way the flute plays, and I can personally say that nothing I have played in the way of a Wal-Mart flute can even begin to stand up to a name brand instrument.

I bought a Venus rose brass plated flute for one of my students. Made a really low bid and got it. Sounds really nice. Big problem - - the rose brass plating is very dull and the high shine comes from having been lacquered. Within a couple of weeks the lacquer starts coming off exposing the plating. In a short time the flute looks HORRIBLE. Never buy one of these!