Flute materials

[kmj]

Can anyone tell me what this flute might be made from? i have found a site that sells refurbished , play tested flutes ( which i understand is no substitute for play testing it myself, but im kinda in a beggers cant be choosers situation and even the ones in pawn shops around here are more expensive) for very reasonable prices . ther are other flutes on the site but i kind of want somethig different from everyday silver lookng flutes... i figure this ones is like gold plated nickel or something and thats how its as cheap as it is. meh... i'll quit jabbering. but anybodys "two cents" is welcome.

[fluteguy18]

What flute? Where?

[cflutist]

I was wondering the same thing?

[kmj]

whoops ,sorry! forgot to post the link! here goes!

http://cheapflutesonline.com/gemeinhardt-m2-2/

thanks for looking!

[cflutist]

Looks like a silver plated flute to me. Gemmy M2s were silver plated.
Notice that the tenon is a different color?

[fluttiegurl]

I would also guess silver plated. The seller should be able to give you some insight. I think the gold tint that you referred to is from the camera (pretty common when photographing metal).

[kmj]

i love how it describes the flute as warm sounding that totally supports the silver plating idea. do you guys thing as a refurbished flute site this place is legit? im VERY exited if it is!

[cflutist]

I would buy a used flute from Carolyn Nussbaum; J.L Smith; Flute Center of NY, or Fluteworld
before I would buy a flute from them.

[fluttiegurl]

Yes, I would too, but these companies usually don't deal in inexpensive, student model flutes. At least these are not Chinese junk found on E-bay (and other places). Buying online is always a risk, especially from a new company. For a student flute, I would be willing to give them a try as long as I could actually have the flute on trial and you are very sure that this basic flute is what you want right now.

On the other hand, I would not necessarily recommend an M2. They are older model flutes and tend to have tuning issues. There have been better flutes made since these. I saw a Yamaha for $225. I would personally consider that one. Nothing against Gemeinhardt, I have just not been impressed with the ones students have brought to me for various reasons. Especially the older ones. Of course, this is all depending on what you expect from the flute and how far you plan to go. Just for fun? I would seriously give them a try.

As for the description of the sound of the flute, that is a sales tactic. A lot of that simply depends on who is playing the flute. I would not necessarily say that you would get a "warm" sound from a silver plated flute. The silver plating is not exactly known for that. For the price, you should be able to get a decent, beginner flute. That is all.

[kmj]

i feel that ive been out of practice long enough that perhaps a student flute IS the best route as my muscles are prolly WAAAY rusty... and as for flute brands... how do you feel about Bundy? not the bundy II or the bundy/selmer flutes. that would be what i started out on lol

[fluttiegurl]

Bundy flutes were once pretty good starter flutes. Depending on age, it may be a good flute, and it may not. I have a couple of Bundys that were given to my studio that I keep around for students to use when their flutes are in the shop. They have held up OK. The sound is not too great, but to get started, I guess they would work OK. I suggested the Yamaha because in general, they seem to be better sounding flutes than the others listed. You get a little more bang for your buck, so to speak.

If you were my student, I am not sure I would recommend the Bundy any more than the Gemeinhardt M2. I don't get hung up an brands, but from what I have seen, neither of these flutes tend to sound that great. That seems to frustrate students, especially adults, who tend to have an idea of what they would like to sound like. On the other hand, if you walked into my studio with either of these, we would certainly make do until you were ready for a better instrument (financially).

[SaxyShanny]

I definitely recommend Flute World too, http://www.fluteworld.com. Jeremy is the best!

[SaxyShanny]

Jeffrey sheesh sorry! Just got off the phone with a Jeremy!

[fluteguy18]

And you know... it's not such a bad idea to go around to various consignment shops and goodwills in your area either. I've recently had tremendous success doing just that. I bought a handmade, brand new wooden alto recorder and a handcrafted maple fife for less than $25. Both play splendidly. I've seen decent student instruments sell for less than $50. But, these gems are few and far between and more often than not will need a tune up. Sometimes you can find good bargains at auctions too.

The biggest risk with these is that you don't always know necessarily what you're getting. You don't know the history of the instrument. The two 'consignment' flutes I just acquired had been donated and were being auctioned off. They were both new in their cases/boxes with all of their supporting documentation, so I felt that they were probably a steal. I was right! The recorder had it's original price tag on it from when it was manufactured (1950's.... $34.00). So in it's day it cost a pretty penny (about $300 today)! The fife is modern and retailed for about $45.00 (after I looked it up) and I got it for $6. I know a guy who retired from being a band director who had a promising student in need of a flute. Someone found one in their attic and donated it. Do you know what it was? A handmade Powell.

But these things don't happen every day.

I would definitely take the advice offered here. Go to reliable places, but don't be afraid to poke around in unexpected places either. You never know what you'll find!