I am thinking about upgrading my current flute headjont to a Powell 9K Aurumite Headjoint to get an improved tone and darker sound. I am currently using a Sterling Silver Headjoint with a gold-plated lip plate and interior. Would a 9K Aurumite headjoint have a different sound than a sterling silver headjoint? It says on the website that the the headjoint is 9K Gold on the exterior and sterling silver on the interior. Does this mean the headjoint will sound like gold and silver, eventhough the gold is on the exterior? Thanks!

I have played some silver ones that are darker sounding then the Aurumite one. If you are looking for a darker sound I would suggest looking into a Murmatsu. That is one of the darkest sounding headjoints that I have tried. I don`t care for the Aurumite myself as it sounds rather strange to me and I could never get used to.

On another note...Unfortunately the gold plating inside your headjoint will not change the sound of it and make it darker, that is mostly a sales gimmick.

You will find that some people say that the type of metal used in a headjoint will not affect the sound and others say differently. You just have to try them out and see what works for you. One persons description of dark on a headjoint might be another persons description as bright.

Hope that helps some!

Cameron, there is excellent evidence (both acoustic theory and double blind testing) that suggests and demonstrates that the material of the head is irrelevant. Everything you hear to the contrary is almost certain to be marketing hype, or autosuggestion, etc.

However the precise shape of all parts of it does make a dramatic difference. You cannot really choose by material

As Kara said, choose by what works for YOU. Don`t get hung up on materials, unless that is important for you image-wise.