New Flute

flutelala34 · Post by **flutelala34** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:02 pm

My flute teacher is trying to sell me a new flute.For 450 dollars it has french pointed keys, open hole,low b, and a solid silver headjoint. It plays exceptionally well maybe even better than a yfl-461. Im concerned about the brand name: Pan. Has anyone heard of it ever. Iknow its from Los Angeles, CA.

Meredith · Post by **Meredith** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:48 pm

I'm not familiar with Pan flutes. I imagine that you could get a solid silver flute (i.e. silver body and foot, not just head) for the same amount of money from a different brand.

The most important thing is that this particular flute plays well for you. However, I'd suggest that you try other flutes in this price-range and see if they play as well or better than the Pan, assuming that your teacher is willing to hold the Pan for you for a week or two.

Good luck!

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:01 pm

Meredith wrote:I'm not familiar with Pan flutes. I imagine that you could get a solid silver flute (i.e. silver body and foot, not just head) for the same amount of money from a different brand.

I have never heard of Pan, and could find nothing on them on the internet. I would be very careful about this flute, as we all know that there are vast numbers of junkers out there now. A solid silver flute from a major maker that played almost certainly would cost more than $450. If you play test others and like the Pan best, have it checked out by a repair tech to see if it's of decent quality.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:48 am

I havent heard of them either. I would be very cautious. Most solid silver flutes (even used with only a silver headjoint and a plated body) sell for more than that. Be careful.

Meredith · Post by **Meredith** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:47 pm

I played a decent Jean Baptiste (Sam Ash's store brand) recently, which cost about $500. However, I could not perceive much of a difference between this flute and their solid head/plated body model, which costs $350.

Zevang · Post by **Zevang** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:11 pm

Pan... perhaps a new chinese brand.
They are really improving (but still much more to work on).
I think the most important thing here is to try playing the flute at least for a week, and take a close look on how the mechanism works (noise), and mostly you must heard closely the tone the flute produces.
There are flutes that you play notes with the L.H. that are completely different from notes with R.H. Possibly that's because of leaking air escaping from badly adjusted keys, etc...

Zevang

atoriphile · Post by **atoriphile** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:39 pm

I bought a silver plated Pan brand flute in the early 1990s and used it through high school, college, and community band until last year when I upgraded to a solid silver flute (finally!). My flute had a wonderful tone and intonation was perfect. I never needed to take it in for adjustment or to replace the pads.

I was not a music major in college, but I did take lessons from a professional flutist. She never once commented that I should seek a new flute.

Assuming the quality of Pan brand flutes has not deteriorated in recent years, I would recommend purchasing it. Since you are buying it from your flute teacher, he or she must have had good experiences with the Pan brand of flutes, as well.

Good luck!

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:56 pm

I can't imagine any flute played for that long not needing any adjustment. Chances are you subconsciously compensated for the small differences, and never realized it needed adjustment. Jon Landell was discussing with me what it would take to make a flute that never goes out of adjustment, and so far, the state of the craft doesn't allow construction of such an instrument. As for intonation, that's never perfect naturally, as no flute scale is perfect. It relies mainly on the player, so while you may not have had any issues playing the instrument in tune, saying the intonation was "perfect" is a bit misleading. There is a lot more to a flute than tone and intonation, as well, so these are not the only factors to be considered. As a non-music major, you don't usually need an extraordinary flute, and it may be that the pro flutist you took lessons from thought it was good enough for what you needed it for. After all, there's no reason to spend money on a flute you don't really need. And that last bit about the teacher having good experiences with Pan may or may not be accurate. She may like this particular flute, but have no history with Pans. As I suggested above, seek the advice of a tech on quality, and play other options, and if the Pan is given a pass by the tech, and you like it, then there's no reason not to buy it.

sidekicker · Post by **sidekicker** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 8:30 am

I realize this is an old thread, but for what it's worth I'll add a couple of small comments. I, too, share the skepticism most of the posters here have expressed.

I write only to add that the "french pointed keys" thing has turned into a really unpleasant racket, IMO. Years ago, that feature was one of the hallmarks of a professional quality, handmade, instrument. Nowadays, the cheapo flute makers stick the pointed arms on crappy instruments to make them look more like the "cadillac" quality flutes. Believe me, a piece of junk is a piece of junk, and "french pointed keys" is not going to change that.

All I have to say is: beware. Just b/c it may "look" like a Haynes, Powell, Brannen, Green, etc. doesn't, and won't, mean it will come anywhere near to sounding like one.

SK

Zevang · Post by **Zevang** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:01 am

All I have to say is: beware. Just b/c it may "look" like a Haynes, Powell, Brannen, Green, etc. doesn't, and won't, mean it will come anywhere near to sounding like one.

... and like a Sankyo, Muramatsu and Nagahara too....

Zevang

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:47 am

Zevang wrote:
All I have to say is: beware. Just b/c it may "look" like a Haynes, Powell, Brannen, Green, etc. doesn't, and won't, mean it will come anywhere near to sounding like one.
... and like a Sankyo, Muramatsu and Nagahara too....

Zevang

...and Miyazawa, and Yamaha, and Pearl, and Parmenon...

sidekicker · Post by **sidekicker** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:01 am

I didn't mean for that to be an exclusive list, which is why there was an "etc." at the end.

But thanks for adding on the other "greats". I agree w/ u guys on the ones listed, and certainly didn't mean to denigrate those other professional flute makers and those who perform on their instruments on the short list I set forth.

The point is (pun not intended), that the "pointed arms" thing on cheapo pieces of junk, IMO, has become something perhaps our younger flute shopping friends here need to keep in mind. It used to be a pretty good indicator of a high quality, professional caliber, instrument. Unfortunately, it isn't anymore. A $200 flute with pointed arms is still going to sound like a $200 flute no matter how "pretty" it looks.

And that was really the point I was trying to make, not launch into a "who has the bestest flute" type of debate

.

SK

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:03 am

If a $200 dollar flute that is in good playing condition sounds bad, it is because of the player sucks.

Good playing practices should always over shadow the brand. That is why "best flute" discussions do not make any sense.

In the end, if you suck, the only way to fix it is practice and hard work. Not some brand name. Having the best flute you can afford is icing on the cake.

I have many differnt brands and types of flutes. In the end, they all sound like Phineas is playing them.

Phineas

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:15 am

Phineas wrote:If a $200 dollar flute that is in good playing condition sounds bad, it is because of the player sucks.

I absolutely disagree with this. There is no way that a $200 flute can live up to what a pro player will want to do with it. That's not the player's fault, but the instrument's. Certainly these flutes can be played, but in no way does a $200 flute sound the same as a $2000 or a $20000 flute, even when played by the best. If we assume this $200 flute is of a solid quality (Such as a Yamaha or a Gemeinhardt), then a good player can play it pretty well, but the sound also has a good deal to do with the headjoint, and a poorly designed, machine-made head is never going to sound as nice as a hand cut one that you'd find on a nicer flute. Now, a nicer flute won't make a poor player sound any better, but a poor quality flute absolutely can hold a good player back.

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:30 pm

There is no way that a $200 flute can live up to what a pro player will want to do with it. That's not the player's fault, but the instrument's. Certainly these flutes can be played, but in no way does a $200 flute sound the same as a $2000 or a $20000 flute, even when played by the best

Say what you wish, but (Woodshed Time) will take you a lot farther than (Flute dollars) anyday of the week. A Pro player can still play and make money off of a $200 flute. However a person who sucks will not make a dime off of a $20000 flute. You can add headjoints, and materials, and all the mumbo-jumbo you wish. I have known some great players that played on crummy instruments and still pulled it off. Did their sound improve some when they got better instruments, yes. Did they sound great on the instruments they had? Yes! Remember, they were already great players!