 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Irwin
Date: 2001-05-01 23:34
Sorry Mark for the non-clarinet topic, but if anyone is knowledgeable about buying used flutes, can you please e-mail me? I have a friend who wants to buy one as a gift for someone who played flute many years ago and has just now been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He wants to surprise her with something that will totally take her mind off her present problems, and he has no clue what brand to get, how much to spend, etc. This woman certainly won't be playing with a group. Thanks for your help.
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Author: Jo
Date: 2001-05-01 23:42
I would suggest getting a Gemeinhardt, used. I have an intermediate model that is solid silver and got it for $450 used.
You can get a student model online new for around $300 or so...
You may also want to check out Ebay and see if one can be gotten cheaper.
Yamaha and Emerson also seem good. Eva is also a decent brand for student models. People have told me to stay away from Jupiter.
Best of luck!!
Jodi
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Author: Bill
Date: 2001-05-02 00:02
I think he needs to purchase one that is known to be in playable condition, e.g., a new one. Need to know the price range to recommend a specific maker. A new silver flute can go from a couple of hundred dollars to around $9K.
Stay away from nickel plate - too slippery. Solid silver is best, but silver plate is better than nickel plate. An open hole flute is popular, but a closed hole flute may be easier to seal the keys. Inexpensive plugs can be used to cover the open holes. An off-set G-key will be less stress, unless the person is used to an in-line G. Finally, a C foot may be adequate, making the flute a tiny bit lighter.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-05-02 00:15
I would like to reccommend the Yamaha YFL 225S/ YFL 261 or the Pearl 501. I think these are nice entry level flutes. I believe the Yamaha has the name recoginiton, but I really like the Pearl flutes a little better.
John
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Author: Mike Irish
Date: 2001-05-02 00:18
you might see if you can find out what style of flute they played before, it would be more at home with them.... you might take some one with you who knows flutes..
who can play, and distinguish between a good sounding flute and a mediocre...
as far as the mechanics of it.... check the pads as you would for a clarinet, and something to be aware of, there are several keys that work together in combination ..... look to see if they are seating at the same time, if one is a bit off, it could cause air leaks..... all it takes for this is minor adjustments... as some keys will be used more then others, some of the pads will seat deeper and thus have more air gap when worked with other keys....
best thing I can say, is take some one with experiance with you when shopping..
maybe some one that is uninterested so that the opinion would be more unbiased.. just as you might do when buying a clarinet.... the eyes and emotions can get in the way and you may end up with something you may not want....
I still like the old addage...... KISS....... Keep It Simple Stu - - - .........I tell my selff that all the time, so as not to get into a job and really bungle it up..... too many little nice trinkets can cause problems.... like the modern day car.... I cant work on them any more... not like my 61 merc..... it was a dream to work on.... very sim[ple....
good luck...... good idea.....
Mike
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Author: joseph o'kelly
Date: 2001-05-02 02:10
Don't knock Jupiter! My friend who's a pretty good flute player originly played a intermediate model Jupiter (silver head, open holed, B-foot, Silver plated body)) He then decided to move up to a pro. model. He came into a rather sizable amount of money and tried all the most expensive brands and models. We all agreed his intermediate line Jupiter played the best. He upgraded to a top of the line Deminci/Jupiter flute. It sounds excellent.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-05-02 11:56
My $0.02 worth:
I service and play many flutes of the makes listed above.
I have a very long list of desgn/manufacturing quirks (deficiencies) of Pearl that all contribute to it being a particularly unreliable flute, in spite of its (sometimes) very nice sound. These faults are not confined to student models. Teachers here are fed up with the time their students' Pearl flutes spend being serviced.
I would definitely head for Yamaha. For me, considering tone/response/tuning/consistency/robustness/reliability/serviciability Yamaha is way ahead of Jupiter.
Either a base student model or a silver headed model. I consider them to have NO faults. I reckon a silver-headed Yamaha goes just as well, and is made just as well, as a megabuck professional flute of 30 years ago. There is not a lot of difference between this and my modern Muramatsu hand made one for perhaps 15 times the price.
I consider Yamaha to be considerably better than 'student' Emerson and Gemeinhardt in manufcturing standards (e.g. non-level tone holes in these two) , tone and response. And I find that many student flutes, including these 2 American makes, actually play worse with silver heads.
I think the prospective player would be amazed at a well adjusted Yamaha compared with what he/she used to play. I think the player will be thie limiting factor.
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Author: 'nifer
Date: 2001-05-02 13:50
if you are near any colleges or universities, you could get a professor to recommend a brand, or have them or a student help you pick a good one out from somewhere.. even the local school band director may be able to steer you towards a flute teacher who can help you find the appropriate instrument..
'nifer
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Author: Mandy
Date: 2001-05-02 20:20
The Yamaha 211s is considered to be one of the best student flutes. I used to rent one and it played like a dream.
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