vandoren wrote:CarolynManley said in her post ............."The Trevor James Company has master craftsmen building Recital and Master’s level instruments in their workshop in Lenham, England. They also maintain a continuing 25 year collaboration with a Taiwanese partner to manufacture the 10X2 and Performer Series flutes of their product offering"
Surely that is clear ? Rectal and Masters series made in England, 10X2 and Performaer series made in Taiwan.
Taiwan production then shipped to England.
No, it isn't when you add the next sentence: "The flutes are shipped from the production site in China to the workshop in Lenham, England where they are adjusted and play-tested prior to shipping to the US market." I thought the same thing until I read that.
There is no qualification here. And the extended emphasis on quality control after China looked, to me at least, to be rather defensive of the fact that perhaps all of them are made there and there should be no worries considering what all happens after the flutes get out of China. I don't think that discussion would have been necessary if some were still being made in England (since that is what prompts most people to think they are not as high quality).
Again -- hopefully, we'll get clearer information. I could very well be wrong; but I think it's a reasonable interpretation from the commercial we received.
You make a very good point sidekicker. Another way to look at it, is maybe there is a factory in England AND Taiwan where the flutes are mass produced, then BOTH factories send their products to one location for quality control.
I'm afraid I have to side with Sidekicker here. "The Trevor James Company has master craftsmen building Recital and Master’s level instruments in their workshop in Lenham, England." Not to nitpick, but the use of the word 'building' seems like a synonym for the word 'assembling', not 'manufacturing' or even 'making'. Most ominous of all is the fact the Gemstone's representative, Carolyn Manley, has yet to reply... That said, I purchased a TJ Masters' Series II back in the Spring of 2005, well before Gemstone became TJ's distributor. It is a heavy walled offset, and it plays beautifully with a lush, liquid, dark sound. Being heavy walled, it is quite resistant, but it can really sing! So, I'd like to think that it was hand made in England, but I was told by the dealer that it was 'made' in Taiwan, and then 'built' and refined in England. That's my 2 cents! Mr. Turveydrop
I realize this thread is a bit old, but something to keep in mind is that there is a vast difference in quality (as in every other area) between products made in "China" (i.e. PRC) and Taiwan (ROC). To mention "a continuing 25 year collaboration with a Taiwanese partner" is a little vague, as many Taiwanese companies now own factories in China and produce their goods there. Apparently, this message contains "too few characters" so I'll just try to make it a little longer, not that longer is better (look at all the benighted flute students in the U.S. who insist on a b-foot). Hmmm, it still says "too few characters." What to do? Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Lady Macbeth, Scarlet O'Hara, Beowulf, Inspector Clouseau.... enough characters now?
Based on information given to me by a TJ rep, I believe that the Master Series instruments are constructed in the UK while the others (Privelege, Cantabile, Virtuoso) are made in China and then inspected at the UK location for quality.
That's probably correct. In this age of globalisation, it is fairly common practice. Even a Swiss watch, will have parts made from other countries, or even extracting the silver/gold ore from another country. Half of the clothes you wear, will be 'made in China' or overseas, even for big label clothes designers, unless you are into wearing local sackcloth. Most of the 'American' label products you buy, are also made overseas.
The Cantabile is a decent flute for an intermediate player - particularly in western Europe - it is very competitive when similar offerings from Dimedici, Dean Yang, and DiZhao are less commonly found.
If you aren't able to keep up with global trends, you really need to audition a Trevor James flute. I'd really recommend them - I own two
The are all the same in that they all need someone else to make those headjoints. The bodies are superb but the headjoints are colorless and without tone, and they're not accepting of air.
If you're gonna pay 2k-4k for a flute, why not get a Miyazawa?
