Well, I sold my Powell and now have a Yamaha body (sorry, French style, with low B).

I "married" it with a Haynes (older) head-joint and the sound is wonderful.

I'm very pleased with the tone and response that I'm getting.

I did take other people's advice on the forum and selected an "off-set" G. I don't have to plug it, but I do find that it is more easily "reached", and works perfectly with my style of playing.

The well-infomred rep who sold me the Yamaha (at some $1,700) told me NOT to spend any more than that on a Yamaha, because anything more costly ---- well, you're within striking distance of better flutes, such as Muramatsu, Miyazawa, etc.

The head-joint cost nearly half of what the FLUTE cost!

But in the end, it was worth it. I didn't know this, but Yamaha "certifies" artists (such as Tracy Harris) --- and this appears to be a rather coveted award.

Hopefully I picked the right flute and head-joint. It works for me.

Regards, Jean

Must be a great combo to exceel the Powell, but headjoints make a big difference. Congratulations.

Spelling correction - "exceed" not "exceel"

If I buy another flute I'll definitely go for the off-set G.

While I really love Yamaha flutes, it baffles me a bit as to how someone could give up a handmade vintage Powell for an intermediate line Yamaha. I guess I would have shot for the 800 series and got something comparable. I don't much care for Hanyes headjoints. I suppose that is why they are not that popular. But that is good that at least you to something you like. That is all that matters.

Not really. Yamaha does this with pianos as well. They take existing designs and are masters at copying and squeezing out imperfections in the manufacturing process. Are they Kawai or Steinway or Mason and Hamlin? No. Are they within striking range and only a truly advanced player can tell the difference? Absolutely.

So you get a body that is as good as any other top-end body out there, or very very close to it. The body is all about making different notes as well, so mechanical precision is a good thing, much like how you want the action on a piano to work.(and why many pianos are now moving to synthetic parts or to electronic actions that mimic the manual ones very well - just far more precisely)

The headjoint... yeah, nothing special(though perfectly serviceable, IMO).

I know of many players who have a Yamaha or similar middle-line flute as their main choice and have a handmade headjoint on it. (plus there's the practicality - no point risking a flute as expensive as a typical car on a gig)