Buying a new flute; Help needed.

[flutepicc06]

How important the split E is depends on the flute and the player. I have no problem with High E's, and with proper practice, most people will not have problems, but the split E can make it easier to pop out High E and slur from A3 to E3 in the meantime. Be warned, though, that a split E in combination with an Inline G may cause the mechanism to bind (which may be why this model lacks a Split E). As for what to look for, see how comfortable you are with the flute. Is the mechanism fast and smooth, or clunky or boxy feeling? Do you like the feel of the key cups? Check the response with some double or triple tonguing in various registers, and the dynamic range (can you play pp in the 3rd octave and ff in the bottom?). How's the tone? Is it too bright, too dark, or just right? How does it feel when you play? How is the scale (How easy is it to play in tune)? These are the sorts of things you should be checking in any flute you're considering buying.

[cflutist]

I played for 26 years on my Haynes without a Split-E, but must say that I like having one now (I had Haynes add a Split-E and C# Trill in 1998). Flutepicc06 is correct in that I did have some problems with it binding since I do have an inline-G and Haynes does it in such a way that it is almost invisible from the top. My local repair person messed it up even more trying to fix it. Can say that Carolyn Nussbaum (in TX) made it work properly again during my last COA.

Haven't kept up with the various brands of flutes, but I was really impressed with the Sankyo Silver Sonic that a friend of mine just bought. She told me it was $4K+ and had plated keys. It was really responsive in all registers, almost as nice as my Haynes, and certainly a lot better than my Gemeinhardt 3KSB (outdoors/camping flute).

[drumajorchick]

There's really no need to invest in such gadgets, IMHO. You can play and watch your tuning on any tuner without difficult. DFlute, learning to adjust with your air can be difficult, but is worth the effort. Keep doing the tuner work to the point that you're comfortable that your pitch is correct, and then do tone work without allowing your pitch to sag. If you're using the concept of "blow harder if your flat and less if you're sharp," that could explain a lot too. Rather than changing how much air or how fast the air is traveling, change the angle that your airstream comes in contact with the air reed (edge of the embouchure hole). If you need to bring pitch up, raise the air stream, and if you need to bring it down, lower the airstream.

This is more sufficient than a regular tuner due to the fact that while playing with multiple instuments it is easier to tune your self. That is all I was getting at.

[flutepicc06]

There's really no need to invest in such gadgets, IMHO. You can play and watch your tuning on any tuner without difficult. DFlute, learning to adjust with your air can be difficult, but is worth the effort. Keep doing the tuner work to the point that you're comfortable that your pitch is correct, and then do tone work without allowing your pitch to sag. If you're using the concept of "blow harder if your flat and less if you're sharp," that could explain a lot too. Rather than changing how much air or how fast the air is traveling, change the angle that your airstream comes in contact with the air reed (edge of the embouchure hole). If you need to bring pitch up, raise the air stream, and if you need to bring it down, lower the airstream.

This is more sufficient than a regular tuner due to the fact that while playing with multiple instuments it is easier to tune your self. That is all I was getting at.

That's why you have ears. If you have a sound source (such as other instruments), you should not need electronics at all. Electronic tuners are there for when you have no point of reference and wish to check intonation.