Fluteworld currently offers the Yamaha YFL674 at $2,389:

YFL-674 Same as YFL-674H with C foot. ($3,860.00)
$2,389.00

I'm in Europe, so before placing the order I just checked with them. Just in case..

See this most incredible answer I received:
"
Dear Jose,
The YFL674 is available only as a special order, and normally takes anywhere from 9-12+ months to be completed. There would be no returns, exchanges or refunds on special orders. Pricing on this model is also on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to proceed with a special order, let me know and I can inquire more with the manufacturer.
Thanks,
Diane
"
So, 12+ months lead, for an online "special" offer. I had never seen that before. Had you?

Maybe in Europe it is special order or something, but not in the US. Weird...

All the contrary. This model with a C foot (YFL674) is currently available in Europe. I was interested in their offer only because of its lower price.

It should also be available in USA, as Fluteworld advertises it in their WEB. Only that one has to wait till 2007 to get it...

I would imagine that perhaps the US distributor doesn't keep a flute at the level in stock with a C footjoint, and therefore they would consider it a special order/non-stock item from the factory in Japan, and therefore it would be considered a special order for the dealer. And, since the dealer would not want to be stuck with an instrument that is not a stock item, they would also enforce the special order policy as well. Maybe the dealer is still required to list the flute in the brand's instrument line-up. I bet there are other models on dealer's websites that are considered special orders per the manufacturer that the dealer has to list anyways. I did a little research and several other US dealers told me something similar.

9-12 months doesn't seem like to long to wait for a non-stock item. If I was special ordering a flute, I would want to know that nothing was being rushed, and that the quality wasn't being compromised. And also, not knowing how Yamaha has their equipment set up, maybe it is more difficult to make just one C foot model with American specifications at that level, as compared to the larger amount of B foot models that they might make on a regular basis.

I hope that makes sense!

Whoops, I forgot to mention that I notice Yamaha is one of those brands that has a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) that they make their dealers enforce in advertising. I bet that the C foot model is probably less expensive than the B foot model, and you just need to contact the dealer to get both prices!

You are right. That's why I posted with this post name.

But I got tired of searching and getting quotes from remote stores I could not visit and weird places I did not trust.

I agree it's unusual to offer a particular instrument on the Web (with prices and buying cart and everything and then say "thank you for your purchase, just sit and wait a year or two". (as was practically the case with Flute World and the C foot YFL674)

And I will have a B foot?, yeah, I do not need it and it is heavier and slightly more expensive than the same instrument with a C foot.

But I need a new instrument, now.

The price I've got was quite good (even lower than the one quoted on the web). If everything goes OK and as expected, I will have saved some 30% of the price I would have paid if buying in Spain, UK, France , Germany and Switzerland (yes, I tried all those places!)

Flute World has shipped the YFL 674H in 2 days and the instrument probably has already arrived or will arrive in Milwaukee next Monday. And I will have it with me on May 2!

That makes me very happy and I do enjoy the rather rare opportunities of feeling so.

There's of course the risk that something goes wrong or that I have difficulties in adapting to the EC.

For the first problem, I prefer not to speculate, I cross the fingers, say a prayer to the goddess of music and wait.

For the second, I take the EC (potential) problem as a new challenge and I like that.

After all, to start learning to play the instrument at my age was a much bigger challenge!. And I'm doing reasonably well, so far.

Thanks a lot for your opinions, they are always welcome!

Sorry I forgot to answer rs fansite.

Yes, I did contact Flute World (but no Yamaha; F.W does not say it would ship immediately, just the price there and with that they would comply -if I waited for 9-12 months-).

Flute World then quoted me slightly reduced price for the 674H, to make it closer to the advertized 674. It was not much, but a welcome gesture.

So I bought the 674H and I am now waiting to receive it (and very anxious, of course).

If you don't like the EC, maybe FW will swab with the CY. I personally like the CY best. It seems that the younger generation likes the EC and the professional level people like the CY. At least that is what I have gathered talking to other dealers and people in general. The EC is clearer in sound and more bolder than the CY. So if you like a clear sound, you should really like it. I just find that it lacks body is all, but everyone is different.

If I may ask, why didn't you just have FW ship the flute to you? Do they not ship out of the US?

I am sure you are going to be just thrilled with it after having to play on a Gemeinhardt M2. Have fun!

<Added>

Meant to say "Swap" .

I actually called Yamaha USA/America yesteday, anticipating arguments, and they told me the same thing that Flute World reps did - they do not keep it in stock at their warehouse and it would time to get it in. Since it is not a normal stock item, they don't have any on order, and therefore would need to special order one from the factory.

Jose, I forgot to mention that I have dealt with Flute World for many, many years, and I have known them to be one of the most honest dealers you could do business with. I am sure that if they said it was that long of a wait, then it must be so. I special ordered an item from them about 2 years ago, and was in the store at the time of placing the order, and they took the time to call the manufacturer right then to double-check on time it would take to get it in, pricing, made sure that all the specs were correct, etc, etc. There are a lot of dealers that do try and rip off their customers just to make themselves extra money, I am sure. All of my friends and their students purchase only from Flute World when looking for new instruments because they are willing to go above and beyond. A friend of mine ordered a plateau model professional Pearl from Flute World last year, and it wasn't the dealer or distributor that caused the delay in her getting it, or making it a special order, but it was the factory in Japan. It just wasn't as common of a model in the US, so it wasn't something that either party had on order. So, it takes a while to make something. But, the companies insist on them being advertised on the dealers websites - go figure!

I hope you enjoy your new flute when it arrives, and I am sure Flute World will take care of you!

Yes, Kara, they would ship here directly. But I prefer to have it taken here by a friend, because I could have customs problems here, I do not know.

Anyway, there was this opportunity, my friend was very helpful as he saw me asking and searching everywhere and I accepted his offer.

Concerning the EC, probably for a student like me it is better to have a brighter tone than more body. There was no choice, as Yamaha only offers EC from the YFL 500s up.

Thanks rs fansite for calling them and confirming about the long delay in shipment.

I must confess I was a little angry when I posted "this people cant'be serious".

I haven't yet learnt that I must count to 10 (to 100, sometimes), before verbally answering to something annoying and let several hours pass before writing or posting.

In fact Flute World has acted seriously and they say they shipped in 2 days after I chose the model available and placed the order. They also made a reduction in the price advertised on the WEB.

The only thing I still find weird is that the long delay was not clear when I tried to buy on-line, It was after a personal request by email (just in case, as I said), that they told me of the "special order" issue.

I believe that if a company has a product for on-line buying, with a price on it and ready to be pout in your purchase cart, it cannot have 9 to 12 months lead.

Internet does not (or should not) work like that. It is somewhat deceiving, don't you think so?

I agree; the YFL 6xx models are available with C foot in Europe and it is the most common option here, but they seem to be more "special" in USA.

As for the cut option, I meant to say that the standard option for the YFL 674H, as offered by FW, is the EC. Maybe I did not dig deep enough in their WEB, but doing that could only add to my confusion and hesitation. I had to decide and I hope I made the best choice possible considering my limitations in knowledge, time and budget.

I may consider changing to the YC or other cuts /headjoint in the future, when I reach a level that makes these differences important. For the moment I have ahead too much to learn!.

jose_luis,
I wouldn't worry about the EC or CY issue for a while. Actually, I believe that one letter is the cut of the embouchure hole and the other refers to the taper of the semi-paraboloidal head joint tube.
I have one of each here and neither the cut or taper gives me much to ponder. The particular shape of the embouchure plate is a difference that I have to adjust to though. There are differences in response between the two but they may not be that noticeable to the average players. I would even go so far as to say that most listeners would not be able to hear a difference if they were blindfolded even if they knew what to listen for.

At any rate, head joints are something to play with when you have a few extra hundred $$ to spend. For now, it should be a noticeable improvement over your old Gemmy response.

As I wrote earlier,
Hope everything works out well.
~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

I don't know if I would call it deceiving. Maybe the flute manufacturer makes them list the specific models, and they don't allow them to actually say it is a special order. At a company I used to work for, that also had an online store, this happened from time to time. Weird restrictions that the dealer had to abide by.

Like if I wanted something such as a white gold handmade Powell flute with rose gold keys and extra options, Powell wouldn't have this model available sitting on the shelf. But, it is listed on dealers websites. Most dealers probably wouldn't want to place an order for a customer without considering it a special order, because there is that chance that after the 9-12 months waiting for it to be made, the customer may flake out and then the dealer is stuck with this WAY expensive instrument collecting dust on their shelves. Speaking to Powell reps before at shows, I know that they only have a few demo models that they take to shows (except for NFA) - normally one of every so many models available. People can try them out, but if they only have one of the particular model, the customer that wants to purchase that model would have to place an order and put a percentage down (nonrefundable, of course) and then wait for the flute. So, if you ordered the said Powell from the dealer instead of Powell directly, it would be the same case. Powell would consider the flute as a special order for the dealer, etc, etc. I hope this makes some sense, cause it is late here and I am really tired! I can see I am babbling! So, I guess my point is that if the manufacturer considers it a special order for the distributor, then the distributor would consider it a special order for the dealer, and the dealer would consider it a special order for the customer ultimately purchasing the flute - but as you can see with Powell, for example, those models would still be listed on the dealer's and manufacturer's/distributor's website.

Out of curiosity, Jose, were you able to find a place in the US that had the 674 with a C footjoint? I notice that many C foot professional models tend to be special order items, as B foots are more popular right not in the US.

I don't know if this means anything to anyone, but I read somewhere that the US flutes are made to US specifications, and the model numbering on the packaging will have an "A" at the end. Perhaps this is the reason for the limited availability of the 674? Maybe it is easier to get in other countries because the C foot is more common there, and the distributors in those countries may keep it in stock because they don't need to worry about special American specifications on the instrument? Just a thought that crossed my mind!