C foot joint Vs B foot joint

[Z legs]

What is the consensus regarding b vs c foot joints. I'm just returning to music after 20 years. Used to play a 1974 Gemeinhardt C flute. I'm looking at new flutes and need to decide weather to stay with a C foot or go to a B. How dramatically does the B foot joint affect the sensitivity of the instrument? Been looking a pearl quantz closed hole futes.....Is there any down side to a B foot joint?

[pied_piper]

A B foot is rarely needed. In 40+ years, I've seen less than 10 pieces of music with a low B.

It really does not affect the response of the flute, so on that front it really is a "don't care" consideration. The only downside is that some players don't like the extra weight that it adds to the end of the flute and feel it affects the balance when holding/playing. Me, I'm a doubler and the weight is negligible. I don't notice any significant difference - with or without the B.

It really depends how much you want to spend. Lower end flutes often come with a C foot while intermediate and pro flutes usually have the B foot.

[Card2132]

Hi,
I find that the main difference between a C foot and a B foot(except the extra note)
is the tone color: the B foot gives a "darker" tone(more harmonics) but the C foot "speaks" better
in musical phrases. tell me what you think....

[new2flute]

I also heard (I'm no expert so don't totally rely on this) that the extra length of the B foot joint might make hitting the higher notes a little harder and is the reason the gizmo key was incorporated.

[pied_piper]

The B foot does not make the fourth octave more difficult. It does change the the length of the flute which alters some of the harmonics. On a B foot, high C requires the addition of the B key and the gizmo key simply make it easier to press only the low B key when playing high C.