pied_piper: Hope to finally catch up with you on the circuit in the coming year
going for a test-drive...
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ciuineadas
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2010 7:08 am
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going for a test-drive...
Finally have the funds to start looking for a new instrument! Having a stable job again works wonders...Which is good, because my old workhorse (the trusty but 20+ year old 104) is, well, old, and I outgrew it long ago. I've seen a decent selection of Powell and Yamaha locally, but not much else. Will let you know how the hunt goes, now I'm back on the boards again...
pied_piper: Hope to finally catch up with you on the circuit in the coming year
pied_piper: Hope to finally catch up with you on the circuit in the coming year
My maestro once said that a great performance is 25% reading music, 25% watching the director, and 50% flying by the seat of your pants. He was a genius at improvization, so he may have been a bit biased...
http://euterpe-flute-adept.blogspot.com/
http://euterpe-flute-adept.blogspot.com/
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ciuineadas
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2010 7:08 am
- Contact:
Re: going for a test-drive...
Here follows the results of today's excursion (likely the first of many):
Yamaha 381 & 461: I was really excited about these, since I've heard nothing but good things about Yamaha. The sound was awesome, with the 461 having a definite edge. But they didn't really feel right in my hands...almost as if I were having to stretch and contort to reach some of the keys.
Pearl 665: A definite step up from my trusty 104, with a much quicker mechanism. Upper register and trills sounded awesome, but responsiveness in the lower register left something to be desired.
Ventus 10S: The most responsive mechanism of today's lot, and sound comparable to the Yamahas. It was also much more comfortable to play. However, based on the little I've heard of it, it seems that this may be one of the instruments Phineas classifies as a hybrid. (Anyone on here know enough about this brand to confirm this...? The head joint was a sterling Haynes.)
Unfortunately, that has exhausted the 'better' instruments the local stores normally keep in stock and anything else must be special-ordered. Will be in the DC area in October, if there are stores in that area anyone would recommend. Then waiting for the Horns A Plenty event in November; vendors from Yamaha, Bach, Jupiter, Conn-Selmer, P. Mauriat, Yanagisawa, Holton, Vandoren, Rico, Gemeinhardt, Eastman, Buffett, Getzen, Trevor James, Miramatsu, Schilke, and Shires are all supposed to be in attendance with multiple samples. I really need a list of my must-plays for when they get here...
Yamaha 381 & 461: I was really excited about these, since I've heard nothing but good things about Yamaha. The sound was awesome, with the 461 having a definite edge. But they didn't really feel right in my hands...almost as if I were having to stretch and contort to reach some of the keys.
Pearl 665: A definite step up from my trusty 104, with a much quicker mechanism. Upper register and trills sounded awesome, but responsiveness in the lower register left something to be desired.
Ventus 10S: The most responsive mechanism of today's lot, and sound comparable to the Yamahas. It was also much more comfortable to play. However, based on the little I've heard of it, it seems that this may be one of the instruments Phineas classifies as a hybrid. (Anyone on here know enough about this brand to confirm this...? The head joint was a sterling Haynes.)
Unfortunately, that has exhausted the 'better' instruments the local stores normally keep in stock and anything else must be special-ordered. Will be in the DC area in October, if there are stores in that area anyone would recommend. Then waiting for the Horns A Plenty event in November; vendors from Yamaha, Bach, Jupiter, Conn-Selmer, P. Mauriat, Yanagisawa, Holton, Vandoren, Rico, Gemeinhardt, Eastman, Buffett, Getzen, Trevor James, Miramatsu, Schilke, and Shires are all supposed to be in attendance with multiple samples. I really need a list of my must-plays for when they get here...
My maestro once said that a great performance is 25% reading music, 25% watching the director, and 50% flying by the seat of your pants. He was a genius at improvization, so he may have been a bit biased...
http://euterpe-flute-adept.blogspot.com/
http://euterpe-flute-adept.blogspot.com/
Re: going for a test-drive...
In the DC area probably the best selection is Chuck Levin's Music Center http://chucklevins.com/. They have a large selection but they don't have flutists on board. I bought a flute there about 17 years ago and they gave me a room and brought me flutes to try, but little in the way of explanations and guidance.
I live in Maryland and don't have the patience to run around to different stores to try a small no. of flutes, so I just 2 days ago took the train to NYC and went to the Flute Center of New York. They are a small but mighty little shop in an office bldg. in Manhattan run by flutists. I was able to try many flutes, talk about them, have them play them. What a great experience!
I was in a hurry as the only flute I had was a very old Gemeinhardt M2 that I got from my sister.
I ended up buying a new Sankyo CF-201 with an RT2 headjoint. Perfect for an middle aged adult amateur returning to flute after a many years hiatus.
I live in Maryland and don't have the patience to run around to different stores to try a small no. of flutes, so I just 2 days ago took the train to NYC and went to the Flute Center of New York. They are a small but mighty little shop in an office bldg. in Manhattan run by flutists. I was able to try many flutes, talk about them, have them play them. What a great experience!
I was in a hurry as the only flute I had was a very old Gemeinhardt M2 that I got from my sister.
I ended up buying a new Sankyo CF-201 with an RT2 headjoint. Perfect for an middle aged adult amateur returning to flute after a many years hiatus.