treble flute

[SylvreKat]

Hi y'alles,

Thought I'd put out there that I'm in the hunt for a treble flute in G. I've only got about $500 saved up for one, so not very much yet. Then again, I'd only saved up $1000 when Dr Potter told me of the lady selling her diMedici bass for $1100. So dumb-luck incredible deals really do happen.

Maybe everyone can keep their ears/eyes open, and if you hear of a decent-shape treble for sale let me know please!

>'Kat

[Classitar]

Good hunting Kat!

Looks like you have an arsenal already!

[SylvreKat]

Yes, I do have quite the arsenal. Plus I currently have a friend's picc on loan, in case one of the other Band-gals wants to join the S&S picc-out. And 'cause three piccs isn't enough?

But it's missing that one piece to be complete....

>'Kat

[SylvreKat]

I thought I'd bring this back up. Thanks to a generous Christmas gift from my Dad and his wife, I now have a reasonable amount to spend on a treble flute. So please, if anyone knows or hears of a metal treble for sale, please post. Or a used Guo in good shape--I'm willing to settle, but I'd much rather not have "plastic".

>'Kat

[pied_piper]

If you are on Facebook, there are a number of Flute groups there. You might try posting a wanted ad there in one of the Flutes for sale groups...

[SylvreKat]

Technically, I'm on fb. But so barely that I've no idea how to find any groups. How do I search for those flute groups?

>'Kat

[pied_piper]

SylvreKat - Sorry for not responding sooner, but I've been away a bit and didn't have time to read the forum.

Here's a few FB groups that might be of interest. If you join the groups, you can post a "wanted" request.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/flutes4sale/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fluteforum/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/IntlFluteAssn/
ALL THINGS PICCOLO AND FLUTE
Flutists' Network
https://www.facebook.com/groups/flutegroup/
Flute Repair Technicians' Success Stories

The last one is frequented by a number of flute technicians and they might know where to find a vintage treble flute.

[SylvreKat]

Thanks, pied. I joined the for sale group and posted. If nothing comes from that I'll join the tech and ask there.

I'm worried that what'll happen is someone will have exactly what I want, for more than I've got. And then I'll have to go back to waiting, and then they'll all be gone again. But the metal trebles I found last year I can now afford, so fingers crossed prices haven't gone up.

>'Kat

[SylvreKat]

pied, thanks to your suggestion of flutes4sale, I had a guy respond to my post wanting to sell his treble that he bought and pretty much never used. I'll let you know how it is, once it arrives.

SQWEE!!!!!!!!

>'Kat

[SylvreKat]

Meanwhile, for anyone else considering a treble, here's a long reply from another poster with all sorts of excellent advice--

I can offer you my experience with treble flutes. (No, you didn't ask but I'm doing this for the benefit of anyone who may be lured by those sweet-sounding suckers. LOL)‬
‪At one time I owned three of them, all by different makers:‬ ‪Emerson, Belleisle (Asian-made, Irish-marketed) and Guo.‬

‪I sold them all. ‬

‪The Emerson sounded the best, had a silver head and body, but had (I kid you not) a G# key turned backwards. (The curve was away from the left hand, not towards it!). The D# key was in line with all of the other keys and not adjustable. Just horrible, ergonomically. ‬

‪The Belleisle was the most comfortable to hold but the headjoint cut was so resistant I actually sent it to Weissman flutes in NYC to be re-cut. It helped, but the flute overall wasn't that great an instrument. ‬

‪The Guo had the most responsive headjoint; practically identical to the Pearl composite piccolo headjoint. It could reach highest C (as fingered) with no effort. But the keywork was so cramped in the right hand (particularly the "footjoint" keys) that I finally gave up. ‬

‪First, consider just how many opportunities you may have to play the instrument. I didn't ask myself that question. I simply thought it would be cool to have a treble flute. Even flute choir literature doesn't often have treble flute parts. ‬

‪Admittedly, a good treble flute has a sweet sound that is reminiscent of what you hear in the "Titanic" soundtrack. But again, its use in modern literature is limited. And trying to sell a treble flute can be challenging because again, they have limited use in American ensembles. (In the UK they march with them and have a merry old time!)‬

‪If you have small hands, I would recommend the Guo. It was the most affordable of the three treble flutes I owned and overall a good value. ‬
‪If you can afford it, go with the Grenaditte (G-301) model because it has a sweeter sound and the headjoint has (in my opinion) a better cut. ‬
‪The New Voice version is less expensive and has a sound closer to a metal flute. ‬
‪Another important difference between the two models is the "shelf" below the G# key. The New Voice shelf sticks out beyond the key and that can drive some people crazy. ‬

‪Good luck and I hope you find an instrument that fits both your hands and your musical needs.‬

[pied_piper]

Hey Kat, you're welcome. I hope it meets your expectations!

[SylvreKat]

Oh heck, my expectations are it plays in G and sounds good and is relatively in tune.

I'm pretty easy, you see.

>'Kat

[SylvreKat]

So my new-used Guo New Voice treble flute arrived Friday. SQWEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cleaned the mouthpiece with the dish soap at work. I figured it's commercial-grade so should purge anything nasty (ie germs). Plus it wasn't as minty-new looking as guy said, there was def discolorations. Some are obviously from sitting in the case, where the foam holds it in place. One is where your left hand rests. The other is in front of the blowhole. All headjoint dirt cleaned up pretty much completely with the soap. Yes techs, I was very careful in my application and my rinsing off, following less is better and not slopping it all over.

Then played it. And suxed. I think that was from the brain-mess of fingering D yet not hearing D. Same brain-mess I still sometimes get when I play my bass yet my brain knows that note we're seeing shouldn't sound that low.

Got home and really settled in to test it, using my newly-reprinted, non-transposed soprano sax parts. Oh, it's glorious! It's just what I was wanting! Or at least without the other three gals playing, that's how it sounds to me. In the right range to the other parts, and bonus is no more transposing! Even better, no more trying to read pencilled-in transposed notes while ignoring the much clearer darker bigger betterer printed notes.

I do suspect there's a bit of a leak in the F key as F and E are both a bit dicey in sounding. Same with low-E down. My repairman's gone 'til next week so I can't confirm, but when I press harder then those notes sound easier. And the fellow whose advice I posted above was absolutely correct, the weird shelf-thing in front of the Ab key is REALLY annoying as it pretty much interferes with your pinky. I'm going to see if repairman can carefully file that down a tiny bit. And the Eb key is oddly closer to the 4th finger's key than on a picc. Probably something to do with intonation and where they have to place the holes, but it will take getting used to.

In all, I'm quite pleased with my find. And totally canNOT wait 'til quartet rehearsal next week, to hear how it sounds with the other flutes!

>'Kat

[SylvreKat]

Meanwhile, here's a link to a little video I made for my best friend, so he can hear the differences between each type of flute.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5z18p73c9lqco ... 5.m4v?dl=0

Warning--it's pretty rough, I just set up my iPad then played the same section on each horn. My friend isn't musical at all, so there's some explanation that everyone here will find pointless. And it's not my best playing. I think my brain is not set up to flute-jump like that. Still, it'll give y'alles an idea how the composite treble sounds compared to silver and wood piccs, silver concert, and bass.

>'Kat, not sure how to share a vid from DropBox so hoping this works

[pied_piper]

SylvreKat - I tried to view your video, but all I get is a blank page.