Professional Flute Models

MeLizzard · Post by **MeLizzard** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:16 am

You'll just have to try them all to decide. If you're doing a music degree, you'll want something like the Muramatsu. One of my students (currently a sophomore) bought an EX about two years ago, and it sounds better every day. Great flexibility and colors. (I play one also, but solid silver.) I have less experience with the Pearls, but find them to be generally less-resistant, but each flute is different. The Yamahas are pretty good, but they seem to be lacking something--a trombonist friend says, when I play them at work, they remind him of Yamaha trombones--overall good, but, tonally, lacking a 'core'. If you're buying a Yamaha for a music major, I would probably buy the 600, with heavy wall. Dean Yang is imported by the same folks who handle Muramatsu, correct?

Meredith · Post by **Meredith** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:22 am

When I bought my first professional level flute, I opted for one with .018 tubing. The thicker tubing provides good resistance for harder blowers.

However, as MeLizzard rightly notes, what's most important is how you feel on the specific instrument. Your best bet is to call a flute retailer in your area, and try the various models yourself.

Have fun, and good luck!

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:58 am

I think since this question should be added to a FAQ file, along with many other posts on this subject. It seems we are in the season for flute upgrades!

flute_unit_L
If you have 3000 dollars to spend, you may consider buying 2 flutes in stead of 1. I Own a 2 Pearls(665, 501E), Yamaha514, Miyazawa Legacy 1E, and a Buffet/Crampton Internation model. All are great instruments, but all have a personality of their own. Except for the Miyazawa, the other flutes run under $2000 each.

Second option, if you like your flute, just change the headjoint. A good headjoint that fits you makes all of the difference in the world!

As far as blowing to hard, well this could mean alot of things. Some headjoints are just not flexible enough to eb expressive, but project well.

Phineas

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 1:19 pm

Melizzard and Meredith are quite right. Play them all, and any others that look interesting to you, and choose the one you like best. You say you want to major on flute, so I take it you'll be going for a performance major. If that's correct, you may end up upgrading at least once more to a hand built flute at some point in the future, so don't necessarily count on one of these to last you forever. Depending on what you're playing and under what circumstances, they may do just that, but they may also need to be replaced eventually.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:19 pm

yes, as for the yamahas, definately try the 600 series and higher. I personally didnt think any of the 500 series were that great. Although, overall I disagree with the 'lack of core' comment in regards to yamaha. I have a friend who is also a flute major, and she plays a yamaha. She sounds amazing. She actually has more substance to her sound on the yamaha than any other flute. Most of these 'preferences' are just personal opinions. I personally like yamaha a lot.

Also, with the 'blowing too hard' bit, I would reccommend several different options to fix this problem. you could try thicker tubing (heavy wall, or .018 thickness), or a gold or platinum riser, or a headjoint cut with 'higher walls' in the cut.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:08 pm

It's not better to have two pro flutes. One really well built pro flute will be able to do everything you need, including let you have a large dynamic range, play anywhere from staccatissimo to legato, and with all sorts of tone colors. If your particular flute doesn't seem to suit all your needs, a different headjoint may help with that, but once again, what works for one (or several) of us may not work for you, so you need to experiement to find the equipment that is the best match for you. There also is no single quality (beyond versatility) that professors or other music teachers will look for more than any other trait. Soloists need projection, but then so do other flutists. They need a good tone, but so do other flutists. They need good technique, but so do other players. In my mind, there is nothing a flute player should specialize in, as all facets of playing the instrument are intertwined.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:02 pm

While that's a good idea in theory, it simply isn't likely to work out well. Fluteworld will let you have a trial period on instruments (as will other dealers), so testing instruments isn't really a big deal. Not to mention that there are smaller flute dealers like Paul Rabinov, Cynthia Kelley, and Ogura Flute Works pretty much in your back yard.

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 6:39 am

It's not better to have two pro flutes. One really well built pro flute will be able to do everything you need, including let you have a large dynamic range, play anywhere from staccatissimo to legato, and with all sorts of tone colors. If your particular flute doesn't seem to suit all your needs, a different headjoint may help with that, but once again, what works for one (or several) of us may not work for you, so you need to experiement to find the equipment that is the best match for you.

Options are always good if you can afford them. The problem is most people cant, so they just put up with having one flute. This does not make having more than one instrument a bad thing. When it comes to the idea of practice, you can get what you need out of any quality flute if you are willing to put the time and effort into it. However, that would throw PREFERENCE out the window.

Phineas

MeLizzard · Post by **MeLizzard** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:24 am

You'll be surprised how quickly $3000, which sounds like a considerable sum, can disappear when purchasing a substantial flute. At this stage of development, I'd concentrate on buying one excellent flute for the money you can afford to spend. Later, college or after, you can mess around with spare flutes, Baroque flutes, ethnic flutes, colored flutes, or whatever "extra" flutes you like. I still play one good flute, and don't consider the circumstance one I have to "put up with". My one and only flute can get the job done--orchestra, chamber, private teaching, solos, jazz, whatever. That said, the old intermediate flute I own would be reluctantly pressed into sevice if I needed to play outdoors in the humidity, or teach a band camp. But this is not an instrument I've had to purchase recently, and it doesn't perform nearly as well.
Flute's a very competitive instrument in colleges (and otherwise) these days, and equipment, to a point, does matter. So does excellent preparation and study. In a college studio, you'll find flute majors playing on all sorts of brands and models. It's impossible to recommend one "best flute", as the flute's tone production is highly individualistic, like singing. Tone is important, but so is the feel of the mechanism in your hands, the weight of the flute, your goals, your current playing ability (including the ability to discern which flute is better for you), and the money you're able or willing to spend relative to all these considerations.
You'll be competing for admission, scholarships, ensemble placement, and auditions (concerto, etc.) with players who are playing very good flutes, and some will have incredibly good flutes. I got by with a less-than-optimal flute, even through graduate school, but there was a point beyond which I couldn't progress, and beyond which I simply couldn't compete. Composers' demands on flutists increase weekly, it seems. Trying to play some of the most demanding pieces in our repertoire on a just-not-up-to-it flute is kind of like attempting to cut the grass on a three-acre front lawn with a weed eater

--you can get it done, but not very efficiently, and not as attractively as with the proper equipment.
While price isn't a sole indicator of quality, often we get what we pay for. I just acquired a student, sophomore, who, before coming to me

, just bought a new Armstrong 800B. To her family, $1200 is quite a lot of money. It's, like, three months old. Had she asked for recommendations, explained her goals, and come in to try out ALL the flutes, I'll bet she wouldn't have picked the one the band director told her to buy. She simply doesn't sound her best on it, and she's determined to do a flute degree. I'm sure her parents will flip when I suggest that she'll have to find a better flute in the next two years!
A "good" flute, for you, innately allows you to play all dynamic ranges, articulations, and intervals, end of discussion. Accessing the color palette of each flute is individual, but an intrinsic element of your "good" flute as well. You have to play all the flutes you're considering, there's no way to "rank" them, and every flute responds differently to each player. Now, happy shopping!

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:58 pm

These are the exact reasons why I suggest that s\tudents consider ALL of their options first. I have several students on scholarship (basically, they get free lessons). I know that these students cannot afford handmade flutes. I also know that the flutes that they often have when they come to me will not do in a college. I encourage these students to consider starting a savigns at an early age (12 or 13 when I get them early), and by the time they are ready to commit to playing later on, they will at least have a start. I also try my best to find good used flutes where I can. If they save for a few years (some do yardwork, babysit or other things for extra cash) and do not decide to play into late high school and college, they have extra money for college or whatever they choose to spend it on. This has been quite effective for two students so far, and I have at least one more trying. Sometimes, parents who can afford it can see that the child is trying and are willing to put in a little as well.

Anyway, I know this was a bit off the subject.

What I do have to say on the matter of two flutes is I like to have two headjoints (I have had more) so that I can choose the sound that I want at a certain time. I have one other student who did the same. she did not have $3000 for another flute, btu she could caugh up $1400 for a great headjoint. Now, she has both.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 4:44 pm

For that kind of budget, I know that you can get some handmade flutes for that price (like muramatsu EX, or the Miyazawa 202 etc). I would advise spending the total sum on one great flute, rather than two mediocre flutes. I have heard of people buying two flutes, and having one for practice, and then a really nice one for concerts. However, whenever the concert came up, they were out of tune, and couldnt really control the 'concert' flute. If you do want extra things for a change of sound, I would advise a variety of headjoints.

As for having a limited variety to choose from, keep in mind that many dealers and makers as well will send instruments to test in your own home. Fluteworld does this I know, and they usually have better prices than most places when it comes to purchasing an instrument. Just try everything you can, and have some people listen to you who know your sound very well, and your style of playing. Then , go with your favorite.

Meredith · Post by **Meredith** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 5:20 pm

flute_unit_L wrote:The area I live in doesn't give me many choices in terms of many brands of flute: the only ones available are altus, jupiter, yamaha, gemeinhardt, and pearl so I dont have many choices in terms of professional flutes so I would like to know what Flute brands make instruments that include all dynaamic abilities and tonal abilities listed above so that I can order them from fluteworld and save money and time by not having to keep ordering random flutes.

Where do you live? Some flute retailers will ship flutes to would-be purchasers who live too far away to personally visit their studios. Also, I believe that Jeff Weissman's studio (in Queens, NY) has a policy that will reimburse travel expenses to his studio up to $150.