Hey, I'm looking into buying a new headjoint and was wondering if you could recomend a few brands to go and try. I'm thinking about trying some Arista's, Powells, having a try of the butterfly one etc etc ...

Hi, what is the budget you intend to put on this?
This gives a better idea of what to recommend...

I tried a lot of different maker's headjoints several years ago. Ended up with a Brannen-Cooper thin wall headjoint. Powell headjoints were nice too.

Both Brannen-Cooper & Powell sent me a couple at a time to try. You need to compare same make & model due to the embouchure cut variations of handmade headjoints.

I also had an opportunity to try many Landell headjoints while I was taking one of his repair courses. I was in mouthpiece heaven. Purchased one with an engraved lip plate. Very nice.

The key question for you would be: What are you looking for in buying a new headjoint?
Tone
Intonation
Response
Cool looking...
You need to get rid of some money fast?...

After about spending five years trying out almost every make of headjoint on the market I can tell you what my favorite were starting from my top favorite on down...

Goosman (Buterfly) My favorite!
Williams.. I LOVED the one with the 18 Gold riser and Alder wings (This came in a close tie with the Goosman for me)
Sheridan (I like his older ones)
Nagahara (If you want a HUGE sound)
Arista (Big sound and a lot like Nagahara but sweeter)

In the long run I found out that while the Nagahara, Sheridan and Powells and these HUGE gorgeous sound to them, I prefered more of the old school sound.(Less buzz) I wanted a headjoint that would sing not scream for me. Meaning, less powerful. The main body of my flute already produces a huge sound so I didn't want it any bigger. Now I joined these headjoint to a Powell .016 wall flute so they most likely will play quite a bit differently on another brand of flute.

well at the moment i'm playing on a powel aurumite..so i'm looking for something not gold, because there's a lot on the body, more on the headjoint i feel mutes the sound, so im looking for something solid silver maybe to brighten the sound, and make it much more big and resanent. Price range i think maybe a few thousand hopefully!

hope this helps!

The silver Nagahara A or DA cut would probably been then more on the lines of what you are looking for.

What is the butterfly one like? What kind of tone does it give...and is it pretty easy to get hold of?

It has a very clear sweet centered sound and really projects well. Articulation is so easy on it that I feel like I am cheating sometimes. It doesn't have that buzz to it like a lot of them tend ot have. Everything is very pronounced on it. I love mine, but like I said it was a HUGE toss up between the Goosman or the Williams with the Alder wings. I am not sure if the Alder wings are hype or not but I liked the particular one that I played. It had a 14K lip and an 18K platinum enhaced riser and wings. It was a killer headjoint and workes very well on Powell flutes but I decided to stray go from the huge, more modern sound. It played with such warmth as does the Goosman for me. Both were the top winners for me on my Powell. Now the Goosman I would say would fit more solo type playing as where the Williams would be more for orchetral work. The Goosman can be found at Carolyn Nussbaum, JL Smith and directly from Mara Goosman. There may be other places that carry them also but those are the ones I know for sure that have them.

I wasn't too impressed with the regular silver Williams with a 14K riser for some reason. Hope that helps and best of luck finding your new headjoint.

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Oh, I should add that I am selling a Sheridan silver headjoint with 14K lip and riser on ebay right now for a friend. I almost bought that one myself. This one is an older one by Sheridan in which I prefer to the newer ones. It is an incredible headjoint. If it doesn't sell and you would like to try it out then perhaps the lady that I am selling if for would allow me to send it to you. It is a .016 wall but fits loosly on my Powell so you would have to put tape around the tenon for trial.

i tried out some headjoints a few months back just for fun. i found that i couldnt produce much of a sound (more of a sputtering noise) on one with wings and butterfly. but i play out of the side of my mouth. i tried an arista with a gold riser... i loved it. it had some of the perks of the sound of gold, but only to an extent, so i think with the aurumite (gold on the inside or outside??) you might find that something of the like to be the right fit for you. also, if you like the sound of gold but want a silver look, try white gold. i found it to have a bit different sound than the yellow gold... more of a silver/gold mix sound. nagaharas are also very nice, as was said previously.

good luck with your trials!

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correction: i could play with the wings, but i ended up having to move the head at a weird angle to play. very uncomfortable. the sputtering was before i moved it.

wow thanks guys for all your help its really made things much more clear for me!!

Kara - yeah that sounds great...im really interested in trying as much as I can, i really want to find the one!! If thats ok..i'd really love to try it!

oooh white gold sounds very nice..are they widely available or pretty hard to get hold of?

but i find with having so much gold on my flute anyway...silver would brighten it up more. I'm hoping it will help my projection much more and make my sound bigger with having less gold on the flute!!

about the white gold thing, i know that brannen makes a white gold headjoint... so does powell. theyre not very common but i know theyre out there. the one i tried was actually more expensive than its yellow gold counterpart, but im not sure if thats always the case.

good luck!

Sancan, I have someone from Europe that says she is going to buy it and it is on ebay right now. I haven't gotten payment yet for it, so if for some reason she changes her mind I will get in touch with you. You are welcome to phone me anytime also. Just contact me privately. Finding the right flute or headjoints is my speciality and I love to help. This week I have been swamped with thing and emails to respond to so I have more time to talk on the phone. I can multi task. lol! Too bad I can't practice flute and talk or type at the same time!

Buying a flute headjoint sounds just like buying a clarinet mouthpiece. Remember, look for a headjoint that works for you. Never the mind the brand. Think about these 3 criteria (not listed in any order): 1.Tone 2.Response 3.Freeness
Hope I was any help!
-Claire
P.S If purchasing a used headjoint check and make sure there are no dents and scratches ect.

Claire, some people don't like freeness in headjoints and want more resistance. Also, why would it matter if there are scratches on a use headjoint or even a dent? If it is by the embourchure whole then yes, I could see a problem with it but dents and scratches can easily be taken out of solid silver.


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Sorry, I mean hole, not whole. ugh...