Which Alto Flute

[harpo14]

Hi,

I play for a flute band, and until recently I had a sankyo alto which was on loan from a different band. The band in question has now taken their instrument back, and I have been supplied with a trevor james.

I hate the trevor james. Issues I have are -

1) I dislike the spacing of the keys. I have small hands, and the trevor james has little keys for fingers at the top, with more keys in the middle than the sankyo did. This has been making the instrument uncofmortable in my hand - i have small hands, and the Sankyo was really comfortable.

2) The trevor james is much harder to play. There is little difference in dynamics, little clarity of sound/articulation and takes a lot more work to produce tone than the sankyo.

3) The trevor james feels heavier, and the weight distribution isn't helped by the key positioning mentioned earlier.

It has crossed my mind to purchase my own, but would have to be for a reasonable price. The cheapest Sankyo I can find is £5,000 which I can't justify spending. I would buy second hand, but sankyos don't seem to become available often.

So I'm thinking there must be something less expensive than the sankyo but better quality than the Trevor James.

I know the general advise is try before you buy. But I live in Northern Ireland, so access to shops which will sell these instruments is limited and thus it will be nice to narrow down the search a little before I start seeking models to be shipped to me and tried, if I decide to buy one.

Can any one recomment an alto which has similar key positioning/scale to the sankyo, produces a nicer tone than the Trevor James, but a fraction of the price of a new sankyo?

Thanks

[goldenflute]

I love my DiMedici Alto! But, you do have to try any flute first, before you buy.

[harpo14]

Hi goldenflute,

What is the key spacing like on those? Is it like the trevor james? With the TJ the main issue with the keys is the streatch for my little finger. And, (rhetorical question) why have TJ made the D flat key overlap the last key on the main body if you turn the foot joint the wrong way....

Anyway, how is your flute for key spacing?

[harpo14]

BTW I've noticed the Altus altos - not too badly priced, and the keywork looks similar to that of the Sankyos.

Does anyone have any experience of the Altus models? What do you think of them and the tone they produce?

[Zevang]

If you want the economic option, then you might be interested in trying the DiZhao Alto Flute. A friend of mine has one and is very satisfied, although I personally think that it will be very difficult to find a flute that would match the Sankyo you used to play with.

[goldenflute]

I can't compare the key spacing to a Trevor James because I don't have access to one. I will tell you that I don't have large hands or long fingers, but still have no problem at all reaching all of the keys. I can let it sit in the case for months at a time, and then just pick it up and continue on without feeling the need to stretch my pinky to reach the lower keys. You just need to get your hands on one and try it.