haynes flute questions

[Emmyflute]

Hi all, does anyone played a haynes q 3 and q4? Which flute did you like better and why? Has anyone played haynes four different headjoints? Which one did you like best and why? I got to play a haynes q3 at my flute lesson this week. It had a gold risor and a c trill key. I really liked it. My music store wanted 4800 dollars. Any thoughts would be great. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did but I was very impressed!

[fluttiegurl]

I have tried both the Q3 and the Q4 and liked them both. I play an older Haynes and these seemed, to me, to better represent what the Haynes flutes were before. As for headjoints, you just have to try them out. Everyone is different and will have different results on each headjoint. For example, my sister and I are very much alike, yet have very different preferences in flutes and headjoints. I play on a David Williams headjoint and she plays on a Powell. I like her Powell, but love the Williams. She doesn't like the Williams at all. You just have to give them a try.

[sidekicker]

I'm delighted you like the Haynes flutes you have tried. I own a vintage Haynes from the '60s; however, I would never buy one now because I have serious concerns regarding precisely where they are manufactured and the supposed "quality control" procedures that take place in this country (as opposed to China) before they end up in the buyer's hands. If you like the flutes, that's great. But have you looked around at other makes as well? I'm not trying to talk you out of what you may like, but for such an investment it is really worth the time and effort of trying as many other flutes in that class as you can. I currently play on a Brannen and could not be happier. Having said that, I would never sell my Haynes because it (and perhaps this is becase of when it's made) is still a lovely instrument (except that it is 440 and w/o the newer scales we have now) and has some really incredible characteristics. My advice to you would be to try as many flutes as you can, ask as many questions as you can about how/when/where they are made and go from there. I'm not bashing Haynes by any stretch; again, I love my Haynes and will never give it up. However it is an unfortunate necessity these days when buying a new flute to consider just about everything concerning the instrument you may buy -- before you shell out several thousands of dollars for it.

Hope this helps some.
SK

[Emmyflute]

Amen! I agree that I should try as minny flutes as I can. I am not going to be able to get a new flute until next august. And, I am not completely sure what my budget will be. I do know I want solid silver body and keys. I am surprised but it really does make a difference. If anyone has played any of the Haynes different head joints, please let me know what you thought. Thanks all!

[Emmyflute]

Hi all:
I just wanted to answer the question I posted in case anyone was curious. At my flute lesson last night, I got to play a Haynes Q3 and a Haynes Q4. I compared the 2 flutes for around 45 minutes. The Q4 has soldered tone holes and the Q3 has drawn ones. The Q4 has a different headjoint although I do not know what. I liked the Q4 much better than the Q3. I was able to get a darker and richer sound from the Q4. I felt I had more control over my dynamics. I did put the Q4 headjoint on the Q3 flute. I liked the Q3 a little better but I liked the Q4 the best. I think this was because of the soldered tone holes as well as the headjoint. The Q4 costs 1,000 dollars more than the Q3. In my opinion, it is worth the money.
If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear them!!!
Hi all:
I just wanted to answer the question I posted in case anyone was curious. At my flute lesson last night, I got to play a Haynes Q3 and a Haynes Q4. I compared the 2 flutes for around 45 minutes. The Q4 has soldered tone holes and the Q3 has drawn ones. The Q4 has a different headjoint although I do not know what. I liked the Q4 much better than the Q3. I was able to get a darker and richer sound from the Q4. I felt I had more control over my dynamics. I did put the Q4 headjoint on the Q3 flute. I liked the Q3 a little better but I liked the Q4 the best. I think this was because of the soldered tone holes as well as the headjoint. The Q4 costs 1,000 dollars more than the Q3. In my opinion, it is worth the money.
If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear them!!!

[Zevang]

What's really important is the model that is better for you individually. If you feel better playing soldered tone holes with a particular headjoint (regardless of what model this is), that's what you must stick with. If the money is not a problem, so go for it!
I could not say anything about Haynes from my own experience. Never had one, or played. But I know of the great reputation and history of this brand.

good luck

[fluteguy18]

I have serious concerns regarding precisely where they are manufactured and the supposed "quality control" procedures that take place in this country (as opposed to China) before they end up in the buyer's hands.
SK

When I went to a summer flute seminar in 2010 Steve Finley came and gave a presentation about Haynes (considering he was the new Artistic Director at Haynes). One of the things that he said was his priority was to re-design the Haynes lineup (without changing model names), and to bring the production back to the US. As I recall all of those goals had been accomplished before they debuted their lineup at the following NFA convention in August (Anaheim).

So as I understand it, according to Finley all Haynes flutes are now American made.

[sidekicker]

Thanks so much for making this announcement FG. I dearly love my vintage Haynes and have been troubled for many years about what, to me at least, has been a steady decline in quality of that brand ever since the 70s when the "Deveau Scale" debuted. I was a strangely fortunate beneficiary of what turned out to be (again my opinion) a distrastrous attempt to create a Cooper-like scale on a Haynes. The person who sold me my flute did so to buy one of these "new scale" Haynes. Within a year of her purchase she was begging me to buy it back, extremely unhappy with the instrument she ended up with. Of course, I have held on to my beloved Haynes, and I always will for sentimental reasons (coming from a poor family, I was only able to have a professional flute like that in my early teens because my grandmother bought it for me), as well as the fact that there is just something about those old silver Haynes flutes -- they have a beautiful high register that is often hard to recreate in other flutes; it's too bad the scale is so bad and they are now (particularly with pitch continuing to rise in orchestras) almost impossible to play in tune. I love to play flute-alone pieces on it, though.

Thanks again for posting. You have reaffirmed my faith in this company. I hope it all turns out well for Haynes. To me, it was a badly needed change in the right direction.

SK

[fluteguy18]

No problem!

As I recall he said that they now use the Bennett scale (though I may be wrong on that one). I just know that I tried several of the flutes he had there and then a few more at the convention in Anaheim. They're great flutes. They weren't *quite* my taste or style but solid flutes none-the-less. I remember Leone Buyse bought one of the headjoints that he brought to Boulder I think...

[cflutist]

As an owner of a vintage Haynes (pre-Deveau) as my backup flute, I am also glad that Haynes is trying to turn themselves around. I always wondered why used Haynes fetched less than used Powells.
Perhaps because their reputation was going downhill?

[MissyHPhoenix]

It's eye-opening how reputation can make or break something. Look at the Gemeinhardts -- you can't give them away now, it seems, even the piccolos. I spoke to a representative at a big flute company a couple of weeks ago and was told that they are considering dropping the Gemeinhardt piccolo line altogether because it is so badly regarded.