ashamed to say I have a 2100, I wish I had a handmade one, but htat's life.

Ah, don't be ashamed. The 2100 is very nice and it is a Powell.

I don't have any statistics to back this up right now, but my estimation is that absolutely no-one produces more flutes then Yamaha does. If that doesn't make them a specialist, what does? Anyway, I suspect that the people who work on flutes will be a different bunch from the guys who make motorbikes .
("Hey Hiroto, get that exhaustpipe of the lathe, I need to make a flute!")
They certainly are the biggest musical instrument maker in the world. They started out making organs, before they made anything else, then piano's, hi-fi, motorbikes etc.

<Added>

Oh, and they've been making flutes since the sixties, which is longer than some "specialist" firms like Altus, or some of the high-end small custom manufacturers.

..."("Hey Hiroto, get that exhaustpipe of the lathe, I need to make a flute!")"...

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA, that's great Leporello! :-))))

Zevang

Yes, Leporello, I'm well aware that some companies have not been around as long as Yamaha, but Yamaha has not been around long when you take a look at when the Boehm flute came into existence, and some of the large companies (like Powell and Haynes that I mentioned earlier). I also realize that they do not have the same people making motorcycles as they do making flutes, but my logic says (without applying my knowledge of flutes) that a company making a lot of different things is less likely to produce high quality merchandise than a company that can focus all it's time and resources on making one product exquisitely. A company focusing on one product is a specialist in my mind, and Yamaha does not qualify using that definition. Big does not necessarily imply quality (and in some cases, it actually has a negative impact on quality).

When I first found out Yamaha made flutes, I was shocked. I never amagined them making musical intruments. I grew up in a Harley-Davidson family so I've learned that yamaha bikes are cheap and not very powerful. Their bikes have metal detailed templates bolted on them to make it look like they have parts that they don't really have. I'd have a hard time thrusting a company that does that.

I think I've read JoeB state he's not entirely enamored with Yamaha flutes. I'd be interested in his observations regarding their quality. To me, they seem like well-designed, well-constructed flutes, but I am by no means an expert.

Holding the fact that Yamaha is a blanket company against the quality of their merchandise doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. It would be like if Brannen or Powell was bought by Ford but didn't change a thing about how their flutes were made. People wouldn't want to buy a flute from the same company that produces (dare I say mediocre) vehicles, despite the quality of the flutes. It's all pretense I suppose.

I think Yamaha made street bikes before they made intruments, but I'm not sure.
Other companies who focus mainly on flute or other intruments start their company simply for that reason. While as Yamaha started their company as a warehouse company where they focus on several different products.

Some other Flute company started making more stuff, their new stuff would be considered cheap but their flutes would not because that was its original purpose.

Although it's harder to find a company that specalizes only in flutes. Powell also makes furnature and electronics ECT along with instruments, and they get good reviews for pro flutes.

I wasn't saying that Yamaha flutes seem cheap because they focus on other things. Its the fact that they dress their street bikes up to look like they're more than they really are, so how do I know they don't do this to their flutes also?

<Added>

"IF some other companies started making making more stuff"***
Sorry typo

Wow. I think I'll let someone else break the news.

Wow....This got blown way out of proportion....I was merely proposing some possibilities of why Yamaha should be held in low esteem among professional flute players (in answer to Kara's post). I personally think that they make some reasonably nice instruments. I did not mean to start a whole argument over whether they produce good instruments or not (I think we all know what'll happen if we go down that path), so perhaps we should all just let this thread drop.

Wow yet again! I didn't mean to post-and-run, or cause any controversy. I was just trying to make the point that Yamaha is primarily a respected musical instrument firm.
http://www.global.yamaha.com/about/history.html
They've been making grand-piano's for over a hundred years, I saw Maria-Joao Pirez playing one the other day (on TV alas).

(I've heard they also make bathtubs... Don't know if those are any good)

Agree with you Leporello.
I've laughed about your saying, not about Yamaha.
I wouldn't laugh about the brand which was my first flute, BTW. It was a 21-S model, bought for me by my father in 1978...

And Penny... have you ever ridden an R-1? I think you would change your mind about bike making and engine power from Yamaha...

cheers,

Zevang

Don't worry, I'm just glad someone laughs at my jokes...

>>Anyway, I suspect that the people who work on flutes will be a different bunch from the guys who make motorbikes .
("Hey Hiroto, get that exhaustpipe of the lathe, I need to make a flute!")<<

There's not a comparable flute video, but my son and I watched the video on the Yamaha website about making trombones (narrated by Douglas Yeo). It was pretty cool (he was impressed anyway--he just bought a Yamaha student trombone), and included the specialty shop with the serpent trombone.

Judy

Powell also now makes trumpets under their Sonare brand with patented Powell technology (aka. adjustment screws), they are even cryogenically frozen to enchance their sound.

They even offer a premier reed product line that will probably go with their line of Saxophones.

Viva Variety!