Words of Advice about Buying Flutes

[powayflute01]

How strange that someone would give you funny looks about asking for cigarette paper? In the US you have to be 18+ to buy them, but I have no idea what the laws are elsewhere. Sorry I just thought that was strange. I use the Zippo brand ones...so maybe Zippo papers?

[MeLizzard]

Can't recall who asked...the 80B is gone with the merger of Conn (parent company) with Selmer. It's been sort of replaced, price-wise, with the 800B, but this flute has a different head than the 80B (I like it less, but try all of their heads--you can still ask for the old headjoint cut). All Selmer (replaced in design by Armstrong specs and characteristics), Armstrong, Emerson, and Artley flutes will be produced through this company, from what our rep says. There will also be a line available, in limited distribution, of student instruments with the (old Selmer) designation 'omega'. They'll be, presumably, souped-up beginner-intermediate hybrids. Clarinet will be Omega Selmer, trumpet will be Omega Bach, I think, etc. The new student flute will be Omega Armstrong, and will have some features of step-up instruments. I don't know much about this yet, as our store was just informed it would be a dealer for these instruments (45 nationwide).

[TheFluteGuy]

Hi, everyone!

I'm new here--this is my first post, and I'm glad to be among you. My wife is the true flautist of the family (and the better musician all around), but started playing a bit myself about a year ago, practicing on a student-level Gemeinhardt that she got me as a gift. My current love, however, is the Native American style flute (aka Love Flute or Plains Flute). My wife and I have both developed an affection for this beautiful instrument, and we actually started up a business to sell them. This leads me to my first question.

I can tell by the posts in this thread that you have a good eye for quality, and that you are well aware of what to look for when buying a flute. Would you mind placing a critical eye on my retail website? You can visit it at www.spiritflutes.com. If you're new to Native American flutes, they tend to be less expensive than traditional orchestral flutes. That said, paying $100 or less does not automatically mean that you're getting a piece of junk. The flutes I sell range from less than $100 to just over $200, but they are all of high quality (otherwise I'd have no interest in selling them). Do you get that feeling when you visit my website? Is it the type of site you would feel comfortable shopping for a Plains Flute at? If not, what could I do to improve it? I'd love any feedback you might have (and if you think it would be too boring for everybody else to read, feel free to email it to me).

Second question about quality: I'd like to get my wife a flute-related gift. She already has a very good flute and mouthpiece. Are there any other quality flute-related items you could suggest to me that would make a good gift? Also, if I get her to tell me exactly what kind of flute and mouthpiece she has, could any of you suggest a new flute/mouthpiece I might be able to get her?

Thanks for reading this far (sorry about the long post!), and I hope I'll get to read some replies!

[fluttiegurl]

Thank you for shareing with us! I am very interested in native flutes, and would definately give your a try!

As for a gift for your wife, my husband bought me the most beautiful case cover a few years back. It has since seen two different flutes, but I LOVE it! A few sites to look at for flute related gifts:

http://www.wirkkaladesigns.com/ - Ms. Wirkkala makes beautiful case covers, flute covers, cloths, etc. I met her at the National Flute Association convention and was VERY impressed with her products.

www.fluteworld.com has some great gift ideas

I would not recommend buying her a new headjoint as a surprise. I fee that a headjoint is a very personal thing and needs to be tried first. The one thing that I would absolutely go crazy for would be a surprise trip to a flute company to hand pick a headjoint or flute

[powayflute01]

I second that...headjoints are very much a matter of personal taste, and there's certainly no gurantee that your wife would like one without trying it out first. Your website looks fairly reputable, but I've also never bought anything online before, so I probably can't say much. I think that to improve it, you might add a little bit about yourself in the "about us" section (it doesn't have to be anything super-personal; if you wanted you could just talk about how you got interested in Native American style flutes, why you decided to sell them or things like that). Otherwise, it seems a bit impersonal. Also, it might be nice to have more than one view of each flute; (it certainly isn't a necessity) but I think it would be nice to get a little better of an idea of what it looks like by having a picture with a different view of each flute. Otherwise, it looks great!

[Burke]

How strange that someone would give you funny looks about asking for cigarette paper? In the US you have to be 18+ to buy them, but I have no idea what the laws are elsewhere. Sorry I just thought that was strange. I use the Zippo brand ones...so maybe Zippo papers?

I saw this post some time ago. I thought to comment, but other things away from Fluteland took my attention for a while, so I'm just getting back to the forum now.

As you may or may not know, cigarette papers are also known as "rolling papers" in connection with illicit drug use. That a minor would be asking for them in the presence of a parent probably would raise the eyebrow of a merchant who associates cigarette papers with drug use. I went to a tobacconist to obtain mine, and felt like I had to give an explanation so he wouldn't think that I was buying them for illegal use. He understood though, and said that more than a few musicians bought papers from him. Maybe I shouldn't care what the merchant might think, but I don't want him to think I'm doing something illegal! ACK!

[MeLizzard]

Yeah, I love having to explain that one every time!!!!!