I see that Emerson has some intermediate flutes made of Sterling silver. Is this as good as "solid silver" for making flutes?

Curious: I`m curious too.

Interestingly enough, I just noted that in the "Flute and Piccolo Tipbook", it says on page 32 that "most silver flutes and flute parts are made of sterling silver. Apparently sterling silver is 92.5% silver, and another alloy of silver is Britannia which is 95.8% silver. Soooo... does that mean that when you see "solid silver" on a head joint or body that it is the same as "sterling silver"?

In the short answer, yes.

It means that the alloy is at least mainly silver. The alloy (legally, I think) MUST be at least 92.5% silver to be called Sterling Silver. Sterling silver often has "925" stamped on it instead of "sterling silver".

Silver and gold are easier materials to make flutes from, than the materials used for student flutes.

Maing a flute from these materials does not necessarily make a better playing flute. The DESIGN is far more important than the material.

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_silver#Removing_tarnish

this brings me to a question to those of you technicians, is it possible that they type of silver used for vintage flutes is different than that used for modern flutes, my old Haynes has a vibration when I play that I just love
(not that it passes for a vibrator, lol)

Patrick, I have read somewhere that Haynes used to use more coin silver in their flutes. Notice how the older ones look a bit darker. They do process a very unique sound that you don`t get today.

I will go search for it on the web and see if I can find it again.

Any darkness is probably to do with sulphur from the atmosphere reacting with the surface of the metal. The reaction can permeate qute deply into the surface. It can happen significantly during the heating processes of manufacture, and is often covered up by silver plating over the sterling silver. (But not in Powell flutes, I hear Kara adding :-)

A flute body that vibrates more, is probably more to do with the springiness of the metal, which in turn is dependent on the hardness, which in turn is due mainly to how much the metal is `worked` (distorted to a new shape) during manufacture without subsequent annealing (heating to a certain temperature for a certain time) to remove this hardness. It also may be affected by the thickness of the wall of the tubing.

Although this may be a good feeling under in the hands (which the player MAY perceive as a good SOUND), it has been demonstrated both by scientific calculation, and by double blind testing, that this vibration is insufficient (i.e. not enough amplitude) to contribute audibly to the sound a flute makes.

I loved it with the thin-walled Haynes I used to own a long time ago, before it was run over. The tubing of that flute was also very much work hardened. I could squeeze the end of the head to visibly oval, and it would spring back to round.