Poll- What kind of flute do you have?

[Ladyflute]

Hi ~ I am playing the Gemeinhardt
50th Anniversary Limited Edition Flute: solid silver head, body & foot, 12k
white gold springs, B foot, off-set G, 9k solid gold engraved liplate with a
rosegold riser which was gorgeous, but I couldn't stand this thinwall
headjoint! After playing it for 3 years, I recently bought a different
Gem.headjoint - not as pretty to look at, but we "bonded" much better. My dream
flute would be a Pearl, Haynes or Muramatzu...but "heh"....I'll have to wait
till the kids are gone. I also play a beautiful Roy Seaman wood piccolo, and
various Irish flutes & whistles. My daughter has a Yamaha 574 flute which she
loves!

[lizzieluvzu08]

i have a armstrong 104 flute :D [color=violet][/color]

[newflute]

Cheapie Maestro Truetone Flute

http://www.eazi-k.com/flute/

renting flutes (or anything else for that matter!), and the used market is non existent over here in southern europe so i bought this cheap flute online as a starter....hopefully will progress on to something a bit better soon !

[Sneeble]

I have a Yamaha open hole with a B-foot and an Armstrong piccolo.

[fluting4HIm]

I have a solid silver Muramatsu GX and I love it to death!! I highly recommend it. My next step in flute purchase is to get a gold muramatsu. Haha, yea right. But even the silver Muramatsu has a gorgeous, rich, dark tone. It depends on your preference though. I tend to play rather dark so this flute suits me.

[Pink Gypsy]

There comes a point where the level of your flute playing over steps the performance of the flute you have. Solid silver has a different sound over a plated model. Gold sounds different than silver as well. The thickness of the headjoint can determine if your sound is "bright" or "warm and rich". Also the action is a lot different on a higher end flute. You need something that will accomodate all the flying fingered passages you will be learning. There are also other options available in a higher end flute that a beginner flute does not have to help with certain problems a well accoplished student might encounter. All of this adds up to price. In a lot of cases you really do get what you pay for. You should go to a music store sometime and just ask to play some flute you will never be able to afford for a long time and then you will realize the difference!

If money is a factor, the best and least inexpensive thing you can do to "upgrade" is to buy a solid siliver headjoint if you don't have one. After a while you'll notice the difference in sound! If you already have a solid silver head, try buying a headjoint that is a different thickness or even a different cut embouchure hole, you'll notice the different response and sound out of it.


Pink Gypsy

P.S. My Armstong conservatory flute has served me well for many years, even through my college music career. I am looking to upgrade here fairly soon.

>>But then these questions; all
other things being equal what is the difference between a $400 and $3000 flute
as far as sound a ease of playing-- then between a $3,000 and $10,000 flute. Is
there a point when you are just paying for gold/platinum but not making a
difference in sound and playability?? AHA! the $50,000 question Probably should
be thread or two of its own. Not easier to play but better sound. Majority of
difference is the player. If you struggle with a certain octave you will
probably sound no better and maybe worse on an expense flute depending on the
cut of the headjoint. Can you hear 1% better? probably not but people may spend
ten thousand extra for a flute that sounds that little better. The next 1% may
cost $20K better. 99.88% of players that start on the flute will never play well
enough to get the value out of $5,000 instrument much less one that costs ten
times that. Plus exoctic materials do not necessarily sound better, another
thread altogether. Most likely players will end up getting a better flute than
they will need because they like it. Not because they need it. Then again you
dont need a Hummer to take the kids to school either.

[FluterJenn]

Emerson flute-concert
Gemeinhardt- marching
(i like the emerson soooo much better)
Jupiter- piccolo
(not very many good experiences with my plastic piccolo though)

[pandagirl11]

I recently purchased a Gemeinhardt 2SP with a gold lip plate . No idea how it sounds 'cause I, unfortunately, have no idea how to play. I'm still on the lookout for a teacher so for now, I'm going to have to leave my flute in it's case. But I'm eager to learn and hopefully, I'll be able to find a teacher too. No band in school for me 'cause I'm already taking Strings and the blocks conflict. -.-" Maybe when I hit grade 12, I'll be able to transfer from Strings to Band. =)

[zephyrr]

My current flute is a Yahama YFL-684H. It's got a B foot joint and inline G. The tone production is quite nice, except I find it especially hard to blow out high E. It sounds rather thin and airy.

[Picc_Chick]

Marching ~ No one really knows, its made of different parts lol But the body is an Emerson

Concert ~ Trevor James Virt., B foot joint, off set G, cut lip plate (In no rush to upgrade though I will in probably in a year or so before I go off to college)

Piccolo ~ (My pride and joy here!) Haynes Piccolo made in Boston Mass, solid wood, silver keys, older model w/o some of the extra keys that are on the newer models, still plays GREAT. When I got it about two years ago frm Bobby, she had little info on where it had come from though she knew that it had played in a few places such as NY and Houston so I'm doing a huge search on it still. I love my picc to death!

[fluttiegurl]

My primary flute is a handmade rose gold Pearl which I LOVE dearly! I switched after playing various others over 17 years, and have no regrets! I have also had a few others (Muramatsu EX, Haynes, Emerson & Armstrong), but I recently sold most of them. Right now, I have an Armstrong 104 that I leave on a flute stand in my studio to pick up and play at will. It was cheap and serves me well for practice and lessons.

A Haynes piccolo would be awesome, although I don't play picc very much anymore. Maybe my nexy big purchase

[Phineas]

I have many flutes and Pics in many different colors. You would be surprised how many playable cheap colored instruments are out there. My goal is to get a flute with a matching suit.

The main ones I play on are.
Buffet/Crampton international model SS head SP body/Openhole/Bfoot

Melody(Chinese Yamaha Copy) SP/closedhole/C Foot

Barrington 996 Piccolo SP Head/Composite body

Honorable mentions
Haynes Standard(1980)(Great headjoint!)
3Venus Piccolos(Blue, Green, Purple) Play good, but disposable.
2Hawk Flutes(Black, Blue)Better that expected, need minor adjustment.
Armstrong 104(Everyone should have one of these rugged things!)
Jinyin SP/ClosedHole(Up and comming world class chinese flute maker thinking seriously about buying one of their higher end instruments!)
Shanghai Piccolo (One of the finer piccolo I have played on for under $1000. All Wood/Silver keys/Conical bore!) Too bad you can only buy one of these in China!

If you think that is alot, I dont need to list my guitar collection..lol

Phineas

[FluteMasterGuy]

yamaha 285S II

i'm gonna try to buy a professional flute once I can find one in the grey market in Vietnam.

[band_geek13]

Not too long ago, I just got a Yamahaa 648 ...something like that not sure on the exact number...but yeah i love it i got it for graduation!!!

[LaDanseuse]

Yamaha 361H. It's a good flute, I like it a lot, and I feel very loyal to it since it's taken me very far.

But I'm still slobbering over the better ones that I can't afford.