I am a senior in high school that is going to college next year as a music education major. I currently have a geminheart 3SH and am looking for a more professional flute. I am looking for something that has a good sound in all registers and that produces a darker, fuller sound. I am making a list, which is pretty long right now, and i am trying to narrow it down to about 5 or 6 flutes before I actually go out and try some. Here is my list. If any one has any pros or cons for any of these please let me know.
-Powell -Sankyo -Miyazawa -Jupiter -Pearl -Muramatsu
-Altus -Haynes -Emerson -Orpheo -Sonare -Brannen
-Azumi -Trevor James -Amadeus -Azumi -Brio -Burkart
-Dean Yang -Tom Green
Professional Flute
Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas
Professional Flute
Dream Big, set goals, follow your heart
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fluttiegurl
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:05 pm
No offense, but it looks like you listed every flute in a typical catalog. First off, you need to have in mind what you are looking for. A "professional" flute is a very broad category, and an overused term. In reality, you may be looking for a handmade or entry level handmade flute . That in itself rules out a lot of the flute you listed (Jupiter, some Pearls, most Emersons, Orpheo, Sonare, Azumi, Brio, Dean Yang). If you are not necessarily looking for a handmade flute, the others are certainly options. Another thing that you need to consider is price rang. you have flutes listed that go from under $1,000 to as much as $15,000. If you are on a strict budget, as most of us are, this will make a huge difference.
Th1e best advice that I can give is to figure out what you want in a flute, then try everything you can get your hands on. Also, do you take lessons? I ask because at this stage of your playing, the guidance of a flute teacher can be very valuable, even though it is you that has to make the decision. If not, I would advise you to wait and see what your college professor says, assuming that your flute is in good working condition and can get you through auditions. You will be amazed at what a year or even a semester in college will change about your playing. At that point, you will have a much better understanding of what you want to sound like as well as what you are looking for.
Th1e best advice that I can give is to figure out what you want in a flute, then try everything you can get your hands on. Also, do you take lessons? I ask because at this stage of your playing, the guidance of a flute teacher can be very valuable, even though it is you that has to make the decision. If not, I would advise you to wait and see what your college professor says, assuming that your flute is in good working condition and can get you through auditions. You will be amazed at what a year or even a semester in college will change about your playing. At that point, you will have a much better understanding of what you want to sound like as well as what you are looking for.
Mandera3
People on this board are not good about giving reviews about flutes, with good reason. Just about any quality flute is going to be a "GOOD" flute. The issue comes down to preferences. The term "PREFERENCE" is a strictly personal thing. If you do not like something, it will not matter what the brand, cost, or what the flute is made of. I can tell you first hand that there are plenty of people that love playing flutes that I flat out do not like.
As far as the term "Professional Flute", I really think this is a bad term to use. I have made more money playing my Pearl 665 than my Miyazawa. The Miyazawa is a higher end hand made flute, however I have not made a dime with it. As far as I am concerned my Miyazawa is a higher quality, handmade "Amatuer" flute.
Phineas
People on this board are not good about giving reviews about flutes, with good reason. Just about any quality flute is going to be a "GOOD" flute. The issue comes down to preferences. The term "PREFERENCE" is a strictly personal thing. If you do not like something, it will not matter what the brand, cost, or what the flute is made of. I can tell you first hand that there are plenty of people that love playing flutes that I flat out do not like.
As far as the term "Professional Flute", I really think this is a bad term to use. I have made more money playing my Pearl 665 than my Miyazawa. The Miyazawa is a higher end hand made flute, however I have not made a dime with it. As far as I am concerned my Miyazawa is a higher quality, handmade "Amatuer" flute.
Phineas
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arabians207
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:10 pm
Buying a flute is definately a preference. All those flutes you listed are good flutes.. but you will probably like your sound on one brand/model/flute then another person you know.
Similar to Phineas, when I was looking for a new flute, I sounded MUCH better on a $2000 Yamaha 574 (i think thats the number) then I did on a $4000 something Miyazawa 402 with my headjoint choice of their 4. I actually ended up buying a Pearl Dolce, and a Yamaha EC headjoint for it because I wanted a C# trill (now its standard on Yamaha's 500 and above series.. like a month or so after I bought my flute. I sound better with the Pearl/EC combo then just the Yamaha though) The sound I get from the combination is incredible, and it was MUCH cheaper than the all silver, handmade Miyazawa.
Just go and play as many flutes as you can and find out which one works the best for you
Similar to Phineas, when I was looking for a new flute, I sounded MUCH better on a $2000 Yamaha 574 (i think thats the number) then I did on a $4000 something Miyazawa 402 with my headjoint choice of their 4. I actually ended up buying a Pearl Dolce, and a Yamaha EC headjoint for it because I wanted a C# trill (now its standard on Yamaha's 500 and above series.. like a month or so after I bought my flute. I sound better with the Pearl/EC combo then just the Yamaha though) The sound I get from the combination is incredible, and it was MUCH cheaper than the all silver, handmade Miyazawa.
Just go and play as many flutes as you can and find out which one works the best for you
Hah Phineas I think you have given us a true definition for the words professional flute- if it is good "enuf" to make money with then- it is a professional flute-if not it is an amateur flute.Phineas wrote:Mandera3
As far as the term "Professional Flute", I really think this is a bad term to use. I have made more money playing my Pearl 665 than my Miyazawa. The Miyazawa is a higher end hand made flute, however I have not made a dime with it. As far as I am concerned my Miyazawa is a higher quality, handmade "Amatuer" flute.
Phineas
This is true, however a there are a lot of people making money playing a Gemmy 2SPs also. My bashing of the term "Professional Flute" is not meant to take away from the quality of higher end flutes. My problem with this term is people think that in order to be a "professional" you have to own a specific type of flute. Professionalism is all about the player on a dependable instrument, not a player that sucks playing on a "Professional flute". I see this situation all too often. Worse, I have ran into decent flute players that will not move forward in their playing because they do not think they have the right instrument. All because peers have this idea about what instrument you should own. I think this is totally wrong.Dusk wrote:Yet Phineas' other flute is also "good" enough to earn money, which by your your definition would thus make it professional. The question here would be whether it is use or quality that determine professionalism.
You can be a considered a professional if you play well, however if someone hired 12 year old Jennifer(Playng her Gemmy 2SP) to play Jingle bells for $10 dollars, guess what, she is a professional. She made more money than I did last year playing on my Miyazawa!
Anything you buy that does not give you a financial return, is a collectable(toy).
Phineas
well I do have a private teacher and we are going to go to a flute convention together and try out all of the different flutes. I guess my mail question is for anyone that has experience with these brands can list the pros and cons that they personally have towards them. I realize that picking the best flute is going to depend on my own prefrence but if anyone has any suggestions about any of these I woudl greatly appreciate. I want to try and narrow down some flutes so that I will have more time to spend actually picking one out. My budget is under $8,500 or around that and I want something that will last basically for life. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
I know the best way to find one is to try them out, but I don't have a big selections of flutes in my area so I have to travel pretty far to try them.
I know the best way to find one is to try them out, but I don't have a big selections of flutes in my area so I have to travel pretty far to try them.
Dream Big, set goals, follow your heart
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etgohomeok
- Posts: 147
- Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:26 pm
This is all I know about a couple of your listed brands:
Powell: I know people who play custom Powells and they are very good sounding musicians. However, I think they said their flutes cost around $10,000.
Trevor James: I've played one of their piccolos and it was the best one I've ever played. I don't know if their flutes are just as good.
Brio: I'm going to be getting a Brio 2.4 flute soon, so I can say more about them then.
Powell: I know people who play custom Powells and they are very good sounding musicians. However, I think they said their flutes cost around $10,000.
Trevor James: I've played one of their piccolos and it was the best one I've ever played. I don't know if their flutes are just as good.
Brio: I'm going to be getting a Brio 2.4 flute soon, so I can say more about them then.
