Hi, I`ve had my Gemeinhardt flute for only around two years, and the gold on the embrochure plate has started fading, especially around the actual hole. Is this normal? The salesperson said it was solid gold, but apparently not.

Yes, it will wear off. Rule #1 Don`t ever trust a salesman!

Doesen`t seem to be solid gold then. Some of the flutes even are getting a plated inside to the head joint. I can`t imagine that it has much effect on the tone.
~Bilbo

I once had a customer who got so fanatical about the HUGE effect (in his mind) that internal plating had, that he finished up gettting alternated gold and silver plating alternating stripes down the length of the inside of the head. This head was off a very basic and rather foul student head.

There is no end to the power that a belief can have over a person. It is part of the human condition.

I just had to play along... the customer is always right! He was an average sax player and beginner doubler on flute, claiming this head gave his foul flute a fantastic tone. Actually his tone was foul, by the standards of any good beginner flute player. But he even imagined that there was a huge improvement after the plating, even when I played it. to me it did not change at all.. just went from foul to foul!

Lol! I would have loved to been there and seen this guy, he sounds like a real card. Was he is bad on the Sax and he was on the flute?

I never heard him on sax, but he seemed to think that squealing in the top of the 3rd and into the 4th octave was the measure of a good player. What does that say!!?

His brother was a trumpet player who was `one of the best in the world`. He, too was apparently a great squealer! What a joke! But I`ve never come across a more passionate person. (Continental origins, I think) He was going to turn all student flutes into professional ones by correct plating in the bore of the head.

I don`t mind the fading as long as it doesn`t affect my tone. It does leave this mark on my face whenever I play and that`s inconvenient, but it`s normal, isn`t it?

The black is probably `normal` only if the silver is coming in contact with something on your skin with sulphur in it. That could be a cosmetic, or acne preparation (common), or from your perspiration from some medication or if you OD on eggs, garlic, dried fruit, onions, or anything else with significant sulphur.

MOST players do not have this problem.

Do any of these leap out at you?

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