Pearl???

among · Post by **among** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:44 pm

Hi! I'm looking to upgrade to an intermediate level, open hole flute. My orchestra conductor has a Pearl which she left me play a couple of weeks ago during rehearsal. I fell in love with it and decided I needed to upgrade. Now I'm looking at a Pearl 665. Any thoughts, advice? All the other woodwinds have Gemeinhardt's but I'm not crazy about the 'deep, dark' tone from it. I felt the Pearl sounded lighter. I've seen alot of negatives toward Pearls and everyone seems to like Yamaha's. Which Yamaha is comparable to the Pearl 665? Thanks in advance!!!!

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:30 pm

In the past Pearl has produced some low quality instruments (but then every maker goes through periods where they put out more clunkers than usual), which is likely where the anti-Pearl vibe came from. At the moment they are producing nice instruments, so don't be frightened away from them if that's what you like. The Yamahas, as well as other brands, like Sonare, Amadeus, Azumi, Brio, Trevoer James, Sankyo, Altus, Emerson, Muramatsu, and DiMedici flutes might be worth looking at depending on your budget. When buying an instrument, it's always best to play test (using blind tests) as many different flutes as possible to find the one that suits you best. Don't assume that because others like Yamahas that they are for you, or that because they don't like Pearl that they aren't good flutes. In answer to your question, the 300-500 series Yamahas are roughly the equivalent of the Pearl 665. I hope that helps!

woof · Post by **woof** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:17 pm

There are several threads on this message board that deal with Pearl flutes and have a lot of the information you are asking for in them so you should check them out as well. Determining what flute is best for any one person is a personal choice so find what you like and sounds good to you.

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 6:59 am

I like the Pearl flutes, and have several students who play both the 665 and the 765. One word of caution, keep in mind that depending on which flute your director has, it may be nothing like either of these. My Maesta was quite different from the Quantz series (both in tone and response). Just be sure to play before you buy. As for comparing to Yamaha, they are completely different in my opinion. Don't worry so much about which flutes compare, just try many so that you know what you like. In the end, it is you who will play it.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:59 am

I like pearl too. As of right now, I am going to be upgrading to a pro flute (around christmas) for college, and because my budget is a little bit tighter than I thought It would be, I am considering Pearl as one of my top choices. I also agree with flutepicc06. They have put out some bad ones in the past, but all of the current ones I have played are all really nice. Also, If you get a yamaha, if it is older, keep in mind that the series numbers have changed. I have a friend who has a Yamaha 581 but it is the equivalent to the current Yamaha 700 series. So, keep an eye out on Yamahas a little bit. they are nice, but the series numbers have changed in the past 5 years or so (I think), so any instrument older than that could have a different series equivalent and thus some different specifications.

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 10:27 am

Flutepic06 says

In answer to your question, the 300-500 series Yamahas are roughly the equivalent of the Pearl 665. I hope that helps!

HUH! The 300 series Yamaha comes no where close to a Pearl 665. As far as the 500 series, the materials may be the same, but the playability is not. The Yamaha EC headjoint is nowhere near as expresive as the as the one on the Pearl. I can tell you this first hand, ecause I own and play on both!

The Pearl in my opinion is a more of an "expressive" instrument than the Yamaha. However, the Yamaha has been hard to beat with the projection you can get out of it!

For the record, I never liked Yamahas until I tried the right model. Now I am a fan of both Flute companies.

This is the reason why trying out instruments is important. Opinions are cheap, but personal experience is priceless.

Phineas

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 10:48 am

Phineas wrote:Flutepic06 says
In answer to your question, the 300-500 series Yamahas are roughly the equivalent of the Pearl 665. I hope that helps!
HUH! The 300 series Yamaha comes no where close to a Pearl 665. As far as the 500 series, the materials may be the same, but the playability is not. The Yamaha EC headjoint is nowhere near as expresive as the as the one on the Pearl. I can tell you this first hand, ecause I own and play on both!

I was speaking only in terms of features and material, not playability, as everyone's views on that are different. What is expressive to one may be just a metal stick with some holes to another, so I stuck to the concrete facts. The Yamahas in the 300-500 series do share many of the same features as the Pearl 665.