what to buy

[wkssmiley]

i have a daughter who will be a freshman in high school and her band director says she needs a high end flute for her abilitites. one company says buy this, another company says don't buy that...so confussing. can someone please inform me of the right kind for her and a place to buy one on a fixed income. i want my daughter to have what she needs cut money is a factor, am sorry to say

thanks

[pied_piper]

I would suggest that you first read the FAQ that was compiled by several of the flutists on this forum. That will provide you with some unbiased information.

http://www.fluteland.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5859

In many cases, local flute stores only sell one or two brands of flutes, so naturally, they will say that what they sell is the best choice. Ultimately, your daughter needs to try several different flutes to see what works best for her.

Read the FAQ to find the list of reputable flute brands and then find a store, either local or one of the major online flute vendors. Choose two or three of them in your price range and have your daughter try them. Most of the better stores will let you try before you buy. After that, check back with us here again before you actually buy and we can answer more specific questions.

[avins]

Hi , I haven't been here for some time , but have been following members comments all the time ,
Im an older student who picked up flute playing about 6 years ago , I bought the ex muramzu , which I was quite happy with , but all the time felt it was a little too "airy" at the mid and higher notes , and although I blamed my own skill , it was after all silver plated (full silver HJ) . My comparison was with my daughter's Mateki full silver flute , which had a rounder "fuller" tone , although the Mura was a much better flute all in all.
I sold the Mura a few years ago , and have been reading every possible comment on flute makes ever since , I decided to go this time for either the Mura GX or Sankyo 301, as I v'e hardly read any negative feedbacks on these flutes.

I tried out various HJ for the mateki at a local flute Store in the hope of improving the sound and saving the big outlay for a new flute, but then I asked the guy at the store to try out a new Sankyo 301 , within a few minutes I was completely sold and just couldn't hold back and went out of there with this amazing flute.

My point is that although there is an endless discussion on the differences between various materials and quality of flutes, even to my humble amateur experience ,(I ve tried various flutes over the last few years,) there ARE differences , I think that for the more serious student a good quality flute (including full silver vz silver coated tin) will make a great impact on his motivation and progress.
All the best
Avis

[iholland95]

I recommend a Gemeinhardt 3SB flute. I am an intermediate player and my flute suits me perfectly.

[evrmre]

Ironically, despite the poor rep they have these days, I like and play a Gemeinhardt myself. I'm aware they need more work done, but I just love the sound of them...

[mirwa]

one company says buy this, another company says don't buy that...so confussing. can someone please inform me of the right kind for her and a place to buy one on a fixed income.

The problem arises with stores having there own agenda and very few stores are actually players.

With a ""Brand Name Instrument"" comes consistency, non brand names can play fantastic, but it can be very hit and miss as far as quality.

A brand name instrument can be onsold a non brand name is usually binned after use.

My personal recommendation is take your daughter in and get her to test play some brand name instruments, once you have identified whats good for her and what she likes, then go away and think about how you can achieve a purchase, should you rent to buy, payment scheme, ring around and negotiate. Are there some second hand dealers that have that model for sale etc, But you need her to play some instruments and not just hand her something and say this is your new flute.

Good luck, our children are our future, so we should try to look after them to the best we can with what we have.

Regards

Steve

Edit : I just notice the original posters "post date", my advise is clearly a bit late.