New flute: does anything need to be done?

andy957 · Post by **andy957** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:03 pm

I just bought a new flute. Does anything need to be looked at/done by a technician right away, or should I assume that everything is ok? I bought a Yamaha solid silver YFL-461H and although I'm far from very advanced, it doesn't seem as responsive or reliable as another Yamaha I had owned. I bought it just as the shop was closing so didn't have anyone look at it at the time. Thank you

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:29 pm

You should be able to assume that a new flute is fine, but if it is not as responsive as you think it should be, it may have adjustment issues. It would not hurt to take it to a tech for inspection.

andy957 · Post by **andy957** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:14 pm

Thanks! I think I'll take it back just to check, as they have an expert flute technician on site and he's used by many professionals. Appreciate the quick response! Cheers

etgohomeok · Post by **etgohomeok** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:49 am

It could just be a crappy flute. Did you play if before you bought it?

andy957 · Post by **andy957** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:53 am

etgohomeok wrote:It could just be a crappy flute. Did you play if before you bought it?

Yes I did but not for a long time, and in any event, I'm at an advanced beginner-early intermediate stage in my playing. It's a $2K flute, can it really be "crappy"? It's not brand x from china, it's a Yamaha. So that's why I'm thinking that my first option is to have it checked out.

nasxxx · Post by **nasxxx** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:45 am

Might be something simple like it hasn't been played for a while get some usesage out of it see if it loosens up.

andy957 · Post by **andy957** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:03 pm

nasxxx wrote:Might be something simple like it hasn't been played for a while get some usesage out of it see if it loosens up.

Thanks, good suggestion. How long would you think would be a reasonable amount of time before I should have it checked out?

nasxxx · Post by **nasxxx** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:00 pm

Not too sure depends how many hours a day you play with it, probably a month should certainly be long enough I think. Could also be that your fingers and lips need to be trained still getting use to it.

etgohomeok · Post by **etgohomeok** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:07 am

andy957 wrote:It's a $2K flute, can it really be "crappy"?

Yes, actually. If you played it at the store, and it was fine, then all's well. If not, then it doesn't matter if it's a $100,000 solid-gold diamond-encrusted flute signed in blood by James Galway, it could be deffective. Always play it first.

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:09 pm

Also keep in mind that flutes will need adjusting after a while (sometimes a short time) once the pads start to break in. Temperature can also affect adjustment. I have a tech that I have set up my students' flutes after they are purchased no matter where they come from. It is probably OK, but I would certainly take it in and have it looked at.