Closed hole intermediate flute

[Daleo]

I am a special case, where I have nerve damage in my right hand. It makes it hard to cover the holes with an open hole flute. (I am an ex-clarinet player, hence why I had to switch). I've been playing a Bundy II by Selmer to learn on. Now that I have the basics down, I am starting to shop for a better flute. I cannot stand using plugs. It's so ugly, and I'd rather have a closed hole since it's not like I will be able to use open hole in the future...

The only closed hole intermediates of worth I can find are the Yamaha 321 and 421. What others are out there? I have a budget of $1500.

[pied_piper]

There are not a lot of closed hole intermediate level flutes, but one that I would highly recommend that is in your price range is the Pearl Quantz 665BE. It has closed holes, B foot, and a sterling silver lip plate and riser. The list price is about $1700, but you can find it online for about $1000. Your won't find it in many music stores, but a few online retailers do sell it although it's probably a special order. Joe Butky is a Pearl representative who frequents this board. Maybe he will chime in with a good place to get one.

[Daleo]

I like that one a lot. It just seems that a lot of companies exclude closed holes ex- Brio!, Altus (and Azumi), Miyazawa...

Any more recommendations?

[fluteguy18]

Truth be told you're not going to find hardly anything in the intermediate range with closed holes. It's sad but true. It's just because of the trends among flutists right now. To find a flute that is a genuine step above a student flute you'll have to step up into the handmade division (the flutes already mentioned are a step up, but the difference is only marginal in the long run in my opinion). That of course has a significantly different price tag. It's just sad that there is such a gap in the flute making industry in this regard. The only other options are to get a flute dealer to do a trial of an open hole model, find one you like, then get a custom version made with closed holes. I've seen this done before for individuals with handicaps. But there's no way to tell how much that would cost.

Another option is to get an open hole flute and then get the Plug O's flute plugs made by the Powell flute company (they retail for about $50 USD). They are metal on top and make it feel like a closed hole key (not like the cork, plastic or silicon plugs you usually see). These however will not fit a yamaha because the holes in a Yamaha (and Gemeinhardt brands like Brio) are larger than most flutes in the industry.

[JButky]

Pearl will normally make them by special order. We do have some C foot 665's, the 665E in stock as well as the silver tube 765BE (with B foot). You might be able to get a fabulous deal on one from a dealer. They are considered oddities here in America, so we don't really want to keep too many in inventory.

[Daleo]

The Powell PlugO's are amazing! It doesn't even look plugged. Something to consider.

EDIT: Thanks, JButky. May end up going that route.