I know there have been many, many posts of people wondering which flute to get, and well, here's one more I'm a student in a high school honor band, and am still using my old, Armstrong 104 i've had since 5th grade. Lately its repair bills have been climbing up to the point where they've probably cost what the flute is worth. I was partial to a Gemeinhardt 2S or 2SH, but after reading some Gemeinhardt-bashing threads on here, i'm not so sure. I know I want a closed (plateau) hole flute though. My questions are: What brand flute would you reccomend for an advanced high school student? (maybe even a model number) Is the solid silver headjoint or head joint and body really worth the price jump? and is there a disadvantage to having an open holed flute with plugged keys verses a closed hole one?

Which brands I'd recommend depend largely on your budget and you musical goals. That part of your question can be answered easily enough by a search through the forum, though. As for whether the silver content is worth the price, my answer is maybe. If the increase in silver comes with a better design (specifically of the head), then sure, it's worth it, as the flute will play noticeably differently than the silver plated one of the same make. If, on the other hand, there is no change in design (for example, the jump between a Yamaha 200 series and a Yamaha 300 series), then in my opinion, the price gap is not justified. The material matters much less than the design and quality of the flute when it comes to sound production. I would concern myself primarily with finding a flute that I like and that suits my playing, and not with what metal it's made of. There is no disadvantage of plugging the holes on a French flute. They're there only for pitch shading, extended effects, and some notes into the fourth octave, so unless you really plan on playing any of these, you may be able to save yourself some money and buy a plateau model. If you think there's a chance you'll need to do that, buying a French keyed flute and plugging the holes until you either learn to play with them unplugged or have need to unplug them is a fine solution as well. It will not affect any part of how the instrument plays to have them plugged, and there are some fine quality plateau flutes available.

Thanks! That is very helpful. As far as I know my budget is between 100 and 600 dollars for an instrument that is either new or gently used and doesn't have to be repaired.

Oh, also i'm playing mostly grade five and four music, and i've got two years after this in the band and am undecided as to whether or not i'm going to continue playing in college, but if I do, it will not be my major.

I would like a Muramatzu or a Powell, but those are unfortunately a bit too pricey. So far, the flutes I see recommended in my price range are the Yamaha and the Pearl. What models or series would you recommend in those brands, or any other brands?

What I would suggest is getting a Yamaha 225, 211 or 221 and putting a nice professional headjoint on is like a Powell, Nagahara or Sankyo just to name a few. You won't be able to do this for under $600 though. I think you would be better off then buying a used Yamaha 300 series with a solid silver stock headjoint by them. I am partial to the Yamaha student flutes and I don't find much of a difference bettween their 200-400 series.

I just send you a PM.

I second Kara's recommendatiion of a refurbished Yamaha 200 series flute, with a pro headjoint. That gets you by far the most flute for the money. Probably you could get this done for $850 or so, which is about what a refurbished solid silver 'upgrade' flute would cost (or a silver head, plated body one). The difference will be the headjoint, which should be better (sometimes a LOT better!) than you would get on the upgrade flute.

If you are shopping online, for a used/refurbished flute, the c-foot flutes and the closed-hole flutes will be considerably less expensive than the B-foot, open hole models. However, if you are looking in a music store you will likely not find a closed hole flute that isn't a student model, or a C-foot that isn't a student flute either unless you are not in the United States. In fact, Jose-Luis had to get a B-foot model flute rather than a C-foot, which he preferred, because it would have been an almost year-long wait to get one from the internet flute business that he ordered his flute from.

My point is that if the flutes with the upgraded mechanism, scale and headjoint that you are looking at have open holes, just plug them and don't worry about it. A B-footjoint may be unnecessary, but if they're all that's available they'll work just fine.

Too many flute shoppers demand the open holes and B-foot because they can SEE these features, and associate them with a quality flute. You can SEE the 'sterling' stamp, and the pretty gold plated mouthpiece. You can't see the scale design, the quality of the padding job, or the responsiveness of the headjoint, so you have to play it to know whether it is a good flute (for you) or not. Unfortunately you can buy a flute/lamp/vase brand new on eBay, complete with sterling headjoint, open holes, B-foot, split-E mechanism and pointed key arms and get an unplayable decoration.

Shop for a responsive headjoint that gives you a tone you like, a mechanism that you like the feel of and that a GOOD technician deems reliable, and you will be happy with your flute for a long, long time. Shop for open holes and you get, well, open holes...

Honestly, if you don't intend on playing the flute for anything more than personal pleasure once you're out of high school, I wouldn't bother putting in the extra expense for open-hole, low-B, pure silver and the higher brands. I've known plenty of people who spent more on a new instrument than their first car, only to end up with buyer's remorse.
I know playing in band can be very competitive as well. The extra bucks won't make a bit of difference if you don't love to play. So just be smart and think about tomorrow rather than just today.

Iris I did say that I wanted a closed hole (plateau) model :P and I guess I forgot to mention it, but I want a c foot as well. I don't see a need for the b foot or open holes at all as i'm not playing jazz and b foot is essentially never needed for what i'm doing either. I was just wondering if I found a flute I really liked apart from the fact that it had open holes, and was a good price, if plugging the holes would be annoying etc. I'll definitely check out the yamaha and upgraded head joint option. If anyone sees good auctions or anything please let me know P.S. if I want to try out a couple brands of flutes should I go to a music shop and hope they've got what i'm lookng for, call ahead, or demo them from an online source?

What you really would be looking for in a music store is an honest and competent flute technician. This can be a bit hard to judge, but if the local tech isn't really up to snuff then you will be much better off shopping by internet.

If there is an outstanding local music store/tech, my opinion is that it is good to give them your business to support having them stay available in your area.

As far as used flutes, I would go with some of the flute re-furbishers rather than just an auction. The auctions can be a great source of a fabulous flute, but they are risky- they can be a source of a trashed/stinky/unrepairable flute that has been represented as 'plays just fine' by a seller who knows next to nothing about the flute.

Start here: Nancy Shinn of http://www.flutestar.com , Nancy works on my flutes and does a great job. Also contact Liz of http://www.winds101.com, she often has 'used' flutes that look and play better than what you find in the music store. The headjoint mix and match, as well as having a flute to try for a few days, should not be a problem with either of these ladies. Kara may also have something for you.

If you go to the local music store, most likely they will have student flutes and 'upgrade' flutes as their only options. The upgrade flutes are essentially the same as the student flutes in design, simply made with more silver, and with open holes and a B-foot. Most music stores will not 'mix and match' headjoints unless you arrange a special order, but you may have the opportunity to try the different headjoints they have. Most local music stores do not carry pro headjoints, or even pro flutes.

I use Powell Plug-Os to plug the open holes in my flute. They are expensive ($20-some) versus the plastic ones (maybe $3 per set) but they seal well, they can be easily removed with the little 'tool' that comes with them, and they are silver covered, so the key looks like a standard closed key. Your alternative is to use cork or silicon plugs, which really need to be fitted by a technician. You can take them out yourself with no problems, but if they are to seal well, the tech will have to put them back in.

I have a yamaha 481II. It's completly silver, but it does have open holes and a B foot, which you mentioned you're not interested in. But I really like the tone I get with it. I got it used at $1400.00 (canadian). So I guess it is also out of your price range. But if you do run across a cheaper 481, try it out!!!
-catgal

I haven't heard anyone talk about Buffet Crampton, what's the general opinion on this brand compared to some others?

<Added>

Crampon*

My flute teacher had one, and used it for a while to play outside. It had a REALLY bright tone, almost too shrill for my taste, and scalewise the A was either a lot sharp or a lot flat- I don't remenber. But the bright tone was too much for her and she sold it. I never played it, though, so it might sound good for you.

What does everyone think about me getting a YFL 421? It's a solid silver closed hole yamaha. What prices should I be looking at for new and lightly used ones?