Hi all, nice to meet you...hate to start out here with a question.

But I wanted to know if this used flute was a good buy. Flute I found:

-Yamaha 225S
-The body is tarnished to a grayis/brown, and it has some black spots throughout the body and some on the headpiece, which i assume is pitting
-all the mechanics seem to be working fine
-The lip plate has one big scratch/gouge on the lip plate about 5mm to the left of the blow hole...its not too deep, but its not just a surface scratch. its about 4mm long, but doesnt seem to be in the way of the path the air takes going into the flute.

Price 154.00 Out the Door

Im concerned about the black spots/pitting, but that shouldnt affect playability right? I'm also concerned about the cut to the left of the blowhole. as far as i know the pitting is not able to be removed. i have no problem w/ the tarnish, since its natural, but would the pitting be offputting to most?

Thanks for any and all help you can give.

Doesn't look as a safe buy. If too much mistreated or neglected, it may not work at all. If you can try and it is OK, but even price could not be so, so good to risk.

Beware of many fake Yamaha flutes offered from China, though they normally offer them as "new".

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Sorry I understood you had find it in Ebay.

If it is at a shop somewhere, then you can try and check its playability by yourself. If you have not the level to test it, it would be convenient you get the help of some flute player friend or teacher teacher than can try it for you. Otherwise, my suggestion is not to buy it.

Pitting not always affects the flute in a bad way. Few months ago I attended Canadian flute master Robert Aitken's masterclass, he said to us (paraphrased) "did you ever have found that when there is a pitting or dent on your flute but actually made your flute sound better? because I have! don't know why, could be the turbulence or the reflection of sound wave it causes?"

Oh sorry, my bad English, he really meant dent, because he drew the dent on the inside.

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he drew a diagram on a whiteboard when he spoke. can you believe that? he actually taught us 1/2 hour flute acoustics during his masterclass,lol.

IMO I think it sounds too badly mistreated to buy. It will probably cost more to repair and bring it to a decent playing condition than it will to buy it in the first place! Plus, you can probably get a decent used flute for a bit more that won't need so much TLC!

IMO, the flute's been too badly mistreated! It will probably cost more to reapir and bring to a decent playing standard, than it would to buy in the first place!
You can really get a decent used flute for a little more, that won't need so much TLC and will be better in the long run!

Thanks all, for all the info you had given me.

I had decided to pass on it..and glad I did. I found a Gemeinhardt 2sp the next day in pristine condition for 125.00.