I need a professional flute. Tips?

iberachel · Post by **iberachel** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:08 pm

Hi. I have two years of high school left, and I'm planning on going to college to major in music education and minor in performance. I have a Gemeinhardt M3S Intermediate flute that I've been playing since 6th grade. It has inline G, and a B foot joint. As I got more advanced as a player, I started expecting more out of my flute, like tone and more of a dynamic range, which is a little harder to get out of my flute than some professional flutes I've tried. I've been casually doing research, and I'm not sure if I'm planning on buying a flute right away, but I'd like to know some things that I might want to look for in a flute. I like the inline open-holed like on my flute. I really want a big dynamic range. I'm not sure if I want a "dark" or "brilliant" sound because I don't really know the difference between the two because I've never specifically heard a difference. Are there any specific trill keys that I should consider getting? Heavy or thin wall? Drawn or soldered tone holes? Anything that could help my technique in the lower register? Any tips would be great. Thanks

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 5:51 pm

iberachel wrote:Hi. I have two years of high school left, and I'm planning on going to college to major in music education and minor in performance. I have a Gemeinhardt M3S Intermediate flute that I've been playing since 6th grade. It has inline G, and a B foot joint. As I got more advanced as a player, I started expecting more out of my flute, like tone and more of a dynamic range, which is a little harder to get out of my flute than some professional flutes I've tried. I've been casually doing research, and I'm not sure if I'm planning on buying a flute right away, but I'd like to know some things that I might want to look for in a flute. I like the inline open-holed like on my flute. I really want a big dynamic range. I'm not sure if I want a "dark" or "brilliant" sound because I don't really know the difference between the two because I've never specifically heard a difference. Are there any specific trill keys that I should consider getting? Heavy or thin wall? Drawn or soldered tone holes? Anything that could help my technique in the lower register? Any tips would be great. Thanks

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Phineas

MathWizard · Post by **MathWizard** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:12 am

Buying a flute is a big decision to make as they don't usually come cheap. Make sure that you try out every single flute that you intend on buying. There are many different features to think about when you do decide to buy your flute. Maybe you like open holes, a split E, a b foot. Since you have most of these already, it shouldn't be a big problem for you when you do decide to buy your next flute.

nat · Post by **nat** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:42 pm

I have the same problem....I want to buy a new flute! But in my country you cannot find much variety (Chile). My teacher recommended me to buy it in de U.S. through FluteWorld.com, because that's cheaper for us, but the problem is that I have no chance to try it before buying it. The most people I know here in Chile, that play flute, are using Sankyo, Yamaha and Burkart...but how to choose!? I like it inline, open-holed, B foot joint and witha split E. But I have which to choose =(

What does change with a tubing of 0.38 or 0.40, what's the difference? And the material?

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:47 am

First: read the FAQ thread in the "General Hangout" section. That will answer your questions about thickness and material.

Second: If you want a split e mechanism you will have to get an offset G flute. Only on the extreme upper end flutes (and maybe a couple of Yamahas) can you get inline G with the split e. Even then, most companies do not offer this combination This is because there are a lot of issues with inline G and split e together.

Third: it depends on how much money you can (and are willing to) spend. Burkart flutes are the most expensive you are looking at. Sankyo is in the middle, and depending on which model you get, the Yamaha flutes are either the cheapest, or in the same price range as the Sankyo flutes.

My suggestion would be to try them out in your home country. But that would mean asking people if you could try out their flutes...

Generally (from what I see), Yamaha and Burkart are the most popular.

c_otter · Post by **c_otter** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 6:34 pm

Instead a split-E, you can get a High E Facilitator (also known as "insert in lower G", "lower G insert", "G Donut", "G Disc", "G Disk" ). I believe that this can be added to a flute by a competent technician.

iberachel · Post by **iberachel** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 3:14 pm

If anyone knows a store that deals Pearl flutes or any other kind of flute that's not Gemeinhardt or Yamaha in Georgia, I would love to go there and try some. There's just not any stores that carry hardly anything around here.

Arianna · Post by **Arianna** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:52 pm

Ok, I am a Georgian, so here we go:
Carere Music: Doraville (carries many good flutes...Talk to Jeanne)
Whipkeys Music: Marietta (carries mainly Powells, although I think they have others)
Music and Arts (should have Yamahas, maybe Sonares, Amadeaus...)
Also, dependent on the level you are looking for, it may be worth the trip to J. L. Smith and Co. I recently went up there because I couldn't find a large enough selection locally. It was only a 4 hour drive and well worth it. If you have specific questions about GA flutes and dealers, PM me and I will give you more info.

Kshel · Post by **Kshel** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:44 am

J.L. Smith will also ship flutes to you to try out if you can't make it to their shop. I think you just call to set it up.

Arianna · Post by **Arianna** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:03 am

I live in Georgia and actually drove up to JL Smith. It was well worth it. I tried way more then I would have been able to had they shipped them to me.

jakell2010 · Post by **jakell2010** » Thu Oct 14, 2010 8:37 pm

I don't know about chile, but most of the high end $2000+ flute dealers have trial periods where for like $30 you can play it for a week,, I just got a Burkart 9K with 10K headjoint and I LOVE it,,,,I played dozens before I decided,,,,at $30/wk it is worth it when you are talking about a $10,000 investment.

the other issue is the more expensive flutes have much higher resale values so cost of ownership may be less with a better flute

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I need a professional flute. Tips?

I need a professional flute. Tips?

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