Will any flute technician do?

[beelady]

I am planning on upgrading to a better instrument and will be trying out a
Pearl elegante 795 among others.

The music store where I live sells only Gemeinhardts and Trevor James flutes. They do have a service department for flutes and other woodwind instruments as well as brass instruments.

Should they be able to service any flute that I may purchase?

Also... another question: When trying out flutes that are purchased on-line and out of the box so to speak, will they need prepping?

Thanks in advance!

[Phineas]

I am planning on upgrading to a better instrument and will be trying out a
Pearl elegante 795 among others.

The music store where I live sells only Gemeinhardts and Trevor James flutes. They do have a service department for flutes and other woodwind instruments as well as brass instruments.

Should they be able to service any flute that I may purchase?

Also... another question: When trying out flutes that are purchased on-line and out of the box so to speak, will they need prepping?

Thanks in advance!

That depends on the capability of their service department. I would not assume that they would work on Pearls. The only way to find out for sure is to ask them. In most cases, a qualified instrument technician would not have a problem working on any instrument, even if the store they work at does not sell them. However, there are times where the technician will know just enough to fix leaks and replace parts.

As far as online purchases, even with new instruments, it is hit and miss. 60% of the instruments I have purchased online have needed some kind of adjustment. 80% of what I purchased online are playable despite the need for adjustment. Every time I buy a flute(or any instrument) online, I always figure in at least $100 extra to cover possible adjustments. No matter how well these instrument are setup at the factory, shipping has a way of causing interesting issues!

Phineas

[pied_piper]

If that store only sells Gemeinhardt and Trevor James flutes, they may not be experienced working on higher level flutes like Pearl. Also, the upper end Pearl flutes have very tiny allen screws instead of pins on certain keys. If your local music store is not a Pearl dealer, their repair shop may not be equipped to do a full range of repairs on them.

[beelady]

Thanks Phineus and Pied Piper.

Good info if I will be purchasing a Pearl.