Poll- What kind of flute do you have?

[Cleartone]

I just read the last entry
F-Diddy. I understand what is going on here. There is a lot of romantic notions
about being a professional flautist in an orchestra and just having to play the
flute all day. la di da. Even if you are lucky enough to land a position, that
is not actually the case you will have to spend a lot of time giving private
lessons to make ends meet. Most orchestras pay little. Not enough to live on.
the joy of playing should be the number one directive.

[flautist blackie]

I've tried out a number of
flutes at music stores and from renting, and i've found that the more expensive
ones aren't always better. I've had solid silver ones that played way worse
than nickel-plated, and i couldn't get a tone out of this gold name-brand flute
at all. From what I've rented, my old nickel-plated artley played just as well
as my current silver plated flute that is worth at least a hundred bucks more
(wont mention which brand...*cough cough* GEMEINHARDT *cough*). I guess it's
all in what's right for you.

[flautist blackie]

[quote] ---------------- On
2/20/2004 9:47:29 PM Gemeinhardt 2sp can not be nickel plated the sp stands for
silver plate. They probably made a 2np for a short time although nickel has its
own problems. ---------------- [/quote] Hahahahaha....it took a few posts for
someone to realize my oxymoronic (is that even a word?) mistake. Sorry, it is
silver plated, not nickel. My last flute was nickel..got confused.

[Cleartone]

Yes, it is always best to try
before you buy. the best thing to do is know your price range and try many
different flutes within that price range. If you find a flute you like, buy it.
Gemeinhardts were all the rage in the 70's for moderately priced flutes to make
the bridge from student models to pro flutes. F-Diddy has hit upon an important
fact however. This is that you have to be at a very high level of tone
production and technique to benefit from the differences of high end flutes. My
Muramatsu ran me 5-6K. I can hear and feel the difference on a Handmade Platinum
Flute, B foot, in-line, Platinum tubing, Gold keys, 14K lip and riser,
Philharmonic cut, But is that slim difference worth the extra 10 to 20 grand I
would spend on the flute? the same holds true with flutes in the 1000 to 3000
dollar range. It sounds like some parents have made the right choice with a
Yamaha versus a Muramatsu. Here is another one of my flutes. Miyazawa solid
silver #11557 in line G, b foot. this is an older Miyazawa that Julius Baker
owned before. Flautist. F-diddy, good ol' USA english borrows a lot from other
languages. for instance the difference between dossier and file. We use both
here in the states. Spaghetti is not noodles with meat sauce. Over the years the
word flautist has come to mean a little more that flutist. this implies perhaps
that a flautist is a professional and a flutist is an amateur, but a performer.
This is the magic of the english language we have here in America where a word
or a few versions of a word can change the meaning of everything. Ever heard of
a colloquialism? You live in the land of colloquialisms.

[flutietootie4lyfe]

The bodies of the flute dont seem
to make a difference, but solid silver keys instead of silver plated seem to
make a major difference in the clarity of the tone. It also helps wehen doing
octaves, fast passages, and getting a clear tone. This just seems to help me. I
also find that a split E and a gizmo key helps a lot and would recomend it to
anyone.

[Cleartone]

[quote] ---------------- On
3/28/2004 10:59:42 AM The bodies of the flute dont seem to make a difference,
but solid silver keys instead of silver plated seem to make a major difference
in the clarity of the tone. It also helps wehen doing octaves, fast passages,
and getting a clear tone. This just seems to help me. I also find that a split E
and a gizmo key helps a lot and would recomend it to anyone. ----------------
[/quote] I think perhaps you have it turned around a bit. the body of the flute
is much more importand than what the keys are made of. The tone is produced by
the vibration of riser and tube. Maybe you just have a flute that has better
pads on it then the previous one you had and are confusing that with plated vs.
solid silver keys. all the talk about putting platinum risers in and gold
headjoints are about this very topic. Then again, you have to have very good
tone to begin with to hear the difference. But it sure looks good on paper when
you can say you have a platinum riser. The split E is good, but only if you are
playing straight up classical music and don't mind the off-line G. But if you
are using alternative fingerings the split e can get in the way. That is why I
have both types of flutes. If you are a jazz flutist get an open-holed straight
G. If you are a classical flautist get a split e. Or just get what ever feels
good to you

[flautist blackie]

I didn't realize the
mini-controversy over "flutist" and "flautist" when I choose my screen name. I
guess then that I would be more of a flutist than a flautist according to what
Cleartone says. In my band, and in many American schools today, we are taught to
be flautists. I guess they're trying to get rid of the term "flutist" in case
our heads will explode, eh? It turned out that the gold-plated flute I was
talking about earlier at the music store had some pad missing or something and
had to get fixed. No wonder.

[Cleartone]

Blackie, I feel you can use
flautist or flutist. It doen't really matter. I was just responding to
P-Diddy's explanation and commenting on how the word seems to be used by people
in general. It seems that when people find out I am a flutist, some of them
follow up with saying "oh so you are a flautist" with the smart look on their
face, like they are privy to a secret word. The overall comment was to make
P-Diddy aware that the American language utilizes whatever it wants from any
other language, but that words do take on seperate meanings of their own. Such
as the word "cool" or "Yo" And that we the speakers of English here in America
can use flutist or flautist if we basically want to.

[PiccChick]

i have an armstrong!!student
edition too. i really wish pro models wernt so much!!!!!

[Dixon]

I play a Muramatsu GX. I love it
but hey its to each his or her own. To the point about keys, solid or plated
makes no difference whatsoever in sound. I know someone posted it the other way
but in truth there is absolutely no truth a flute with solid silver keys can or
will sound different nor has any manufacturer or player ever said they make a
difference in sound. As for the Flutist- Flautist, yes beginners and people that
know nothing about music or are from another country may come up with the word
Flautist out of ignorance, the term in the US is Flutist and any advanced player
would laugh at you and consider you a beginner if you called yourself a
flautist. But as a screen name its worth the chuckle.

[MonikaFL]

I play a Yamaha 874H with their
CY headjoint. I would have never thought I'd end up with a Yamaha as my
professional flute. But this one turned out to be "the one" when I played it - I
love it!

[sara_mrvica]

i currently have a Yamaha student
flute... but i am going to invest in a professional flute because i want to play
flute for life and if i go to music college, im going to major in it

[Ereshkigal]

I'm in an intermidate level and
ever since I began my classes my brother purchased me a W.T. Armstrong (104).
I´m not sure if it was the best option what do you think????

[SaraBeth]

I have two flutes, both are
Armstrong. The one I learned on was an Armstrong 104 and the one I use now is an
Armstrong 303B. Both of mine work well and I enjoy playing.[:)]

[Sheridan]

Armstrong Piccolo [:)]
Gemmeinhardt Flute