based on ur experiences, which is better, the Yamaha Allegro YFl-471HIIAL or the Gemeinhardt KGM limited.

thx.

personally the yamaha. but general rule here: anything over gemeinhardt.

good luck

I agree, Yamaha is better, although those Allegro flutes don`t seem, to me, to be as good as the regular 461 (off-set G) or 481 (in-line G). If you buy the Gemeinhardt, I can guarantee you it won`t be as good a flute as a Yamaha.

oh, one more thing, i find that off-set g keys tend to relax the hand so you might want to take that into consideration. of course, that could only be the case for me...play around and see what you like

best of luck

how is the 471 (split e) not better than the 461 and 481?

I looked at the Allegro line when they first came out and was told by the salesman that it is a Yamaha line made in America versus the line made in Japan.

I have read on various forums that it is recommended that a person stay with the Yamahas made in Japan.

Like Japanese company cars, it is most of the time better to stay with Japan-made products, especially because the workers usually have more experience with the making, and the tools are used many times and suited for the models, rather than getting new ones for the new American factories. Anyways... ya, Fluteloops, I have never used a inline G flute, but just by the fingerings, I notice that the offset G is better suited, at least for me because of the finger length and hand positioning. If you want to call it "step-up" flute, get a good, suited Yamaha for you.

ok u guys, i respect ur questions and all but, come on. a flute is a flute....does it matter that much that u chose one brand over another. jeez

someone obviously doesn`t know what they are talking about (referring to who give a hoot about the types of flute)....

Any one and i mean anyone who discriminates against the gemeinhardt flutes is out of their mind. One, not everyone had thousands of dollars to spend on a haynes, powell etc. Two, you could play a generic peice of crap at a garage sale and could still sound good, the player makes the flute NOT the oppostie. and Three my teahcer says that i sound like a professional, and guess what kind of flute i play . And to tell you something I think that Yamaha and miyazawa both sound horrible. i would prefer my Gemeinhardt any day. But if you do have a true dislike for them I have nothing against that, but I have seen so many negative remarks and it is trully ridiculous. I have also never seen any reasons why people dont like these flute either .I don`t like Yamaha because they sound thin, and there way too expensive and the same reason for miyazawa.

miyazawa intermediates (without the bells and whistles) aren`t. abuot the same as gemeinhardts.

sorry you are offended but you must realise that the majority do not agree, mostly based of experience.

Melanie - it really does matter what type of flute you play. Quality of sound, finger mechanism, repair requirements, quality of silver, and resale value all need to be considered. A flute is NOT just a flute - if that were the case, then so many professionals would not be always trying to get a better instrument - in many cases just buying a new headjoint to make a HUGE improvement in resonance and tone quality. Many years ago, when I was looking for a new intermediate flute, I must have tried over 10 different brands, and let me say, they were VERY different. My friend was just shopping for a new professional flute - tried Brannen, Powell, Muramatsu... we did a blind test, and it was amazing how different the flutes sounded in different registers and just the depth of sound. All of these were the same price (expensive!), but their feel and sound were quite marked. Student flutes are also very different - a "good" name brand is always the way to go.

During my playing "career" I have had, in order: a Bundy, a Gemeinhardt, an Emerson, a Yamaha, a Pearl, then another Yamaha, a Muramatsu and now a Powell. Every one of them was an improvement on the last. The flute/metal/headjoint DOES make a difference!

Mike - while I appreciate your comments regarding your Gemeinhardt, not everyone will agree based on their own experiences. Please don`t take it all to heart. My personal experience with my 35 private students is that the best sounding ones are playing on student Jupiters and Yamahas. The Gemeinhardts are just not the instruments they used to be: way back when I was in High School that was what everyone played. But now, with improvements to the cut of the embouchure hole, the quality of the other brands have come a long way, while Gemeinhardt has done very little to make those improvements. My gut feeling is because they already make so much money selling to the unknowing student/parent, that they haven`t been pushed to improve like the other brands. There is a reason why Yamaha`s are more expensive. They are just better, plain and simple. As for their "thin" sound, I would think that it would have more to do with the player than the flute. As with any flute, if you have a bad one, it`s a bad one (even Yamaha) - but OVERALL, you will find their quality far superior than to a Gemeinnhardt.

While a good player will probably sound good, no matter what, those of us who have had experience with MANY brands of flutes will have quite a bit more to say about what seems to work well. As I`ve said before, if you`re happy with your Gemeinhardt, that`s great. You can find that one in a million flute, but it`s rare. You CAN get a really good step-up flute for under a $1000. I know a number of flute teachers in my area (with many students going on to major in flute at schools like Indiana, Curtis, etc) and not ONE of them will ever recommend Gemeinhardt - at any level of playing. That doesn`t mean that when a new model comes out, we don`t all try them. If Gemeinhardt started to make a really fantastic flute, then we would of course recommend them. Personally I feel that the student flutes of Armstrong, Emerson, Pearl, Jupiter and Yamaha are all made just a bit better - for the time being.

Are we still going on and on and on and on and on about this! I`m sorry original poster if you look at some bottom threads about new flutes/intermediate flutes the same circle of opinions about flutes go on here. So read them and above all try them out which sounds good for you and one you can afford.

*looks around*

whoa....

iRrAtiOnalexUbeRaNce, i hope you found an answer in all this mess!