Hello, I am new here and I am seeking some advice!
I've been reading over some of the topics and it has helped a little.
My question is, Any Suggestion on what brand flute to buy? I am in the market for a semi pro to professional flute.
I really liked what the diMedici's offered.
I also played an Emerson Boston Legacy. Any opinions on Emerson?
I thought I wanted a Gemeinhardt, but from my research many people tend go move away from them when they are ready to move up to a more professional flute.
Any comments and suggestions would be helpful and wonderful!!
I think one of the most important things to know before buying a flute is what your price range and limit is. it can be frustrating to you if you start trying flutes that you can't afford but fall in love with. Generally there are a fair number of flutes that you can probably try within your price range.
from the kind of flutes you are talking about though from your post, i would recommend trying the yamaha that is comprable with gemeinhardt and the dimedici. they tend to run a little more expensive but i think they're good instruments. best of luck.
I actually tried a Yamaha today and I wasn't sure if I liked it. It felt too much like my current flute. I am shooting for the $3000 and under price range, although I would like to keep it around the $2000 range.
Thanks for the advice!!
Anymore Advice??
Pink Gypsy
I tried the Emerson Boston line as a suggestion from the music store I was at. I was actually quite surprised at how it played. I liked it better than the Yamaha I tried (can't remember series#) But I thought Emerson only carried midlevel flutes. I wanted some opinions about them. This flute I tried was about $3200 (it's on sale at this store, reg price $4495!)and it was solid silver everywhere including the keys, which is hard to find in a flute in the price range I'm looking in.
After doing some research I think I am going to stay away from the Gemeinhardts, I can't get the options I want.
From what I was told, people who had them early on or other flutes similar to them, tend to move away from Gem. when moving up. I'm sure that's not true for everyone's case though!
AG950Flute wrote:I think one of the most important things to know before buying a flute is what your price range and limit is. it can be frustrating to you if you start trying flutes that you can't afford but fall in love with. Generally there are a fair number of flutes that you can probably try within your price range.
from the kind of flutes you are talking about though from your post, i would recommend trying the yamaha that is comprable with gemeinhardt and the dimedici. they tend to run a little more expensive but i think they're good instruments. best of luck.
i would go to flutesmith.com and click on the link "Flutes," or go to fluteworld.com and click on the link that i believe says instruments. Both J.L. Smith and Fluteworld has a wide range of flutes and you can click on each brand and see if that company has a flute in your price range. You don't have to buy a flute from either company necessarily, but it will give you a good idea of what is out there. i think it's important to play as many flutes as you can, and find the one that you like the best and sound the best on. if you can have these companies send you flutes to try i think that is the best. if you can only try one flute at a time i suggest recording yourself so you can compare flutes that way.
another option is buying a used flute. some people really don't like the idea of buying an instrument that has been played by someone else, and the potential of germs being spread. i say, used flutes are great. i think sometimes really well made flutes sound better with age (i think you REALLY find this in wood piccolos). fluteworld has a huge assortment of used flutes on consignment. generally speaking flutes do not lose their value, but with economy being a little slower nowadays, you might find some of the prices a little lower.
you can also find more used flutes on: usedflutes.com (this is a free website where people can post their used flutes online); flutes4sale.com (store in NYC - Lincoln Center, run by Phil Unger, i think his prices can sometimes be a bit high, but you may be able to negotiate); yourfluteworks.com (Ann Pollack runs this place, and i believe she's in NYC as well, i've never had any personal correspondence with her) anyway, best of luck. please ask if you have any more questions!
oh. i forgot to add one thing about those used flutes websites that i gave you. this weekend is the flute convention, and most of those companies are there selling instruments. you will probably find if you contact these companies about a certain used flute, they may not have it anymore because these companies sell a lot of instruments during the convention week. it's hard to let your heart fall in love with an instrument that you haven't played, but it is possible, so just keep that in mind that it might not be available anymore.
I know of fluteword. I've actually bought a piccolo from them.
I called them up and the lady I spoke to said the diMedici flutes/ Jupiter flutes are one of their best sellers. She also reccomended the Yamaha, Pearl and Sonare flutes as well. She said Yamaha is poplular because mostly it's name recognition. She said that poeple who started with Gemenhardts (which are great flutes for the beginner and intermediate player) and other brands like Armstrong, Selmer and Emerson tend to move away from the upper end Gemeinhardts. So I think I'm going to rule them out unless I can find a store who has a model that I would like to consider in stock. That's another problem, most music store don't have higher end flutes in stock, if they do it's only 1 or 2. They have to special order it in order for you to try it out. There is ususally no obligation but I'd feel guilty for them ordering a flute that I decide not to buy!
Pink Gypsy
AG950Flute wrote:i would go to flutesmith.com and click on the link "Flutes," or go to fluteworld.com and click on the link that i believe says instruments. Both J.L. Smith and Fluteworld has a wide range of flutes and you can click on each brand and see if that company has a flute in your price range. You don't have to buy a flute from either company necessarily, but it will give you a good idea of what is out there. i think it's important to play as many flutes as you can, and find the one that you like the best and sound the best on. if you can have these companies send you flutes to try i think that is the best. if you can only try one flute at a time i suggest recording yourself so you can compare flutes that way.
another option is buying a used flute. some people really don't like the idea of buying an instrument that has been played by someone else, and the potential of germs being spread. i say, used flutes are great. i think sometimes really well made flutes sound better with age (i think you REALLY find this in wood piccolos). fluteworld has a huge assortment of used flutes on consignment. generally speaking flutes do not lose their value, but with economy being a little slower nowadays, you might find some of the prices a little lower.
you can also find more used flutes on: usedflutes.com (this is a free website where people can post their used flutes online); flutes4sale.com (store in NYC - Lincoln Center, run by Phil Unger, i think his prices can sometimes be a bit high, but you may be able to negotiate); yourfluteworks.com (Ann Pollack runs this place, and i believe she's in NYC as well, i've never had any personal correspondence with her) anyway, best of luck. please ask if you have any more questions!
