Hello...

I'm sure this is the umpteenth post to this forum requesting advice about a new flute purchase. I did read through a lot of old posts, but still had some questions, and was hoping that some of you might be able to pass along some wisdom and advice.

I played the flute from middle school through my first year of college. I eventually had to give up playing because of my other academic pursuits, but now that I have finished my doctorate degree and have more time, I would like to get back to playing.

My goal is to take lessons again and then hopefully get involved with a community orchestra. My current flute is basically unplayable (it's an old Armstrong 104). I was on the cusp of upgrading in college, but then decided not to make the investment if I wasn't going to be playing a lot. It's been 10 years since then, and after being stored most of that time, it has gone from being a playable flute that really needed to be upgraded to a hunk of junk.

So after doing some reading, I ordered 2 flutes on spec from Flute World-- an Azumi 2000 series, and a Gemeinhardt 3SB--my budget is in the $750-1200 range (new or used). My impression prior to getting them was that the Azumi was pretty well-liked, and the Gemeinhardt, not so much. After playing them both, I think the Azumi is much more free blowing (takes MUCH less effort than the Gemeinhardt) and responsive, but I am able to produce a significantly better tone on the Gemeinhardt.

Now I'm not sure quite what to do. I wonder if the problems I'm having with the tone of the Azumi are because I'm not used to that type of headjoint (the J1 on the 3SB seems more similar to my old Armstrong than the Azumi does). I've considered trying other flutes (Yamaha and Pearl) also. However, my main concern is that the Azumi really is a better instrument (at least in terms of the quality of the headjoint), but I can't take advantage of it because of my current playing skills. I'm worried I might be sorry in the long run if I go with the Gemeinhardt, assuming I'm able to get my skills back to the college level.

I'd love any and all opinions about either of these flutes, and/or about what direction I should be going with this purchase.

Thanks so much!!!

I think that limiting yourself to only 2 flutes that you have tried might be a mistake.

Can you keep the Gemeinhardt for another week or two to try it against some other flutes?

You also might get a whole lot of bang for your buck if you can hire a flute teacher to help you find your flute, someone who has no financial interest in which flute you buy that can help you pick out a good one.

My own complaint with the Gemeinhardt flutes is the scale: when played against a tuner, there are a lot of adjustments to make. The headjoint also sounded good when I was blowing across, rather than down into, the embuchure hole: wrong, according to 2 experienced flute teachers. I had a Gemeinhardt, and it sounded good, but when I learned to position the airstream properly (on my new Yamaha flute, 2 different pro headjoints), The Gemmie sounded pretty lousy. A flute teacher could clarify this for you, because you very well could be doing things right, and the Gemmie would be appropriate for you at this point in time.

On your budget, you might look at the basic Yamaha, refurbished, with a pro headjoint. There are a lot of different styles of headjoint, and you could get a pretty nice one used.

As usual, Tibbie gives excellent advice. I am friends with some great people that can get you a selection of re-burnished flutes and new. Feel free to contact me anytime if you need help. I have been impressed with the newer line of Jupiter flutes recently, but Yamaha and Azumi are definitely my top favorites for as far as student to intermediate line flutes go.