In search of the alto

[flutesong]

Greetings from the new kid on the block. Just discovered the "forum" and it's wonderfully interesting/informative.

Are Phineas or other enlightened souls available to offer comments to one searching for a gently used alto flute to purchase, learn with and enjoy. I am not a professional and play for my own enjoyment and occasionally to torture others! ha ha Actually, they seem to enjoy my efforts!

tx. so much!

[Phineas]

Greetings from the new kid on the block. Just discovered the "forum" and it's wonderfully interesting/informative.

Are Phineas or other enlightened souls available to offer comments to one searching for a gently used alto flute to purchase, learn with and enjoy. I am not a professional and play for my own enjoyment and occasionally to torture others! ha ha Actually, they seem to enjoy my efforts!

tx. so much!

I am by no means an expert on where to get stuff. I do not have that kind of time...lol

What it comes down to is what you want to spend. From my experience, when you go under $1200.00 even for a used Alto Flute, it is very hit and miss. You can get an ebay special alto flute for around $700-$800 USD, but you are risking buying something that is disposable. All I can suggest is be patient, and just trying letting people on different message boards know what you are looking for and for what price. Believe it or not, one of the best places I have found to buy used gear is on www.saxontheweb.net The have a marketplace section, and a flute section. Just go out there and ask for what you want. Who knows, you may just find what you are looking for. At the price you want to spend on it. Still, be cautious! Anytime you buy something sight unseen, there is a good chance you will still need to spend money on it to get things adjusted.

Flute Doublers Forum
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/forumdispl ... te-Piccolo
Or
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/forumdispl ... rns-Wanted

You could also try Flutenet on Yahoo.

Alto flutes are still quite rare, so you will be hard pressed to find a used one as fast as you would a regular flute. If you were looking for a regular flute, you would have a far better chance of getting a great deal on something decent.

Good Hunting!

[flutesong]

tx. much for very helpful reply and also the encouragement!

[manbeen]

Hi folks, right now I'm the new kid on the block ... I was Googling something else and I found myself here. Great site - but it was this posting that triggered me to register. Flutesong, a couple of years ago I wanted an alto but didn't have close to the funds for a Jupiter, Gemeinhart, Emerson or anything of that order; so being the determined and impatient person I am I took a gamble on a Venus - one of those that Phineas wisely warns against. A cheap Chinese flute is a real gamble, so I wouldn't think of recommending a Venus alto, except to note that I bought it before I read any negative reviews of Venus flutes, and I read one almost rave review on the new Venus alto so I bought it. It's a sheer delight to play, though I've never played any other alto to compare it with. I can't fault it. Mechanism feels fine, it plays in tune. It took awhile to get the emboucher right, (alto is a little different) but one day the thing just started singing!
I love it so much I've stopped playing clarinet and I rarely even play my other flutes! I wish I'd got into the alto years ago; it's the most personal instrument I've ever played.
I was maybe just lucky getting the good player that I did - I could just as easily have ended up with a piece of junk, which is what I got when I bought a Chinese bass a couple of months ago. However, I have looked for a bad review of the Venus alto, or a story of someone having bought a bad one, but found none.
Flutesong, if you havn't got your alto yet, good luck and happy hunting. To me, the extra trouble and expense of finding a good alto is easily worth it

[concertmaster3]

I actually own a Venus Sax, Flute (that I'm not using much any more. A friend is letting me borrow her Altus), and Picc. All of which surprised me in terms of playing. I wouldn't recommend them to a professional player, but for things like flute choir, community orchestras/bands, etc. I wouldn't hesitate too much.
http://maestromusician.com/music/Dvorak ... ances.html
I'm playing piccolo on the Slavonic Dance no. 10 for a reference. I'm not a great picc player, but it works well.

The MusicalWheel (the seller on ebay for Venus instruments in the USA) offers a return policy. You may think about getting one to try and returning it if you don't like it. If you try any ebay instrument, make sure they have that policy. I think a friend of mine has a DC Alto flute. She says that it's ok. She needed an alto flute, but didn't have the money at the time for a really nice one. She mostly uses it for things like flute choir (although I think she has been called for a symphony performance on alto once...not sure if it was this alto or not). She IS a professional player though, but normally doesn't get asked to play alto much.

Good luck on your purchase.
Also check into the cousin brands of bigger companies/better known Chinese brands (Brio, Azumi, Di Zhao, etc.) I played on a Brio alto that was great and it includes a lot of interesting extras (rollers on the thumb keys and D# roller for instance).

[flutesong]

Manbeen - A big welcome to the group. Hope that you find it a pleasure to be among! Tx. much for all the info you provided. I find it interesting and certainly helpful to hear from all sorts of folks. Tx again, happy reading and Happy Holidays 2 u!

Concertmaster3 - Tx. so much for your response and wealth of information. It is what I am really enjoying about this site! The most helpful thing would be having an instrument store in my area where I could actually go and play different altos. Would wish it to be a consignment shop in order to get a more economic price though. I only have access locally to a chain type store which deals in new instruments and I believe they would have to order in altos for me to try. Certainly would not hurt to do this, but cost would most probably prevent me from purchasing new at present. At any rate, trying out instruments would be enjoyable and, or course, a good learning opportunity. The $$$$$ may just need to be saved for now to make a purchase at a later time! Sadly, will not be able to satisfy the alto craving as quickly as I did the Bfoot craving! Most appreciative of your response and Happy Holidays 2 u!