ive heard that the miyazawas plating hasnt been that great over the last few years. im not quite sure if they have improved upon that since i last heard.

the flutes themself seem to be a bit on the "brighter" side as far as tone goes. but i like the mechanism.

many band directors dont like the "bright" sound of a flute and would rather have the darker sound. this could be fixed easily with a new headjoint or a different cut (i know miyazawa has a few different cuts out there, especially since im trailing one right now).



tim- its KIND OF what im talking about, but all the ones ive seen are to a much higher extreme. ill search for a picture.

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and yes, the muramatsu is completely japanese made.

i think with your price range youd be better off with a japanese flute rather than an intermediate model flute made partly in china, partly in the us, kinda finished in germany or france or wherever... and im not saying that because i own a japanese flute. they just seem to be the best bang for the buck in the lower-end range.

Looks pretty sweet to me..!:O

Thanks about the Miyazawas, mbrowne. I'd prefer the darker sound too..

thats not the headjoint im talking about. are you sure those are the headjoints that go with the sonare flutes?

Yeah, that headjoint came from this auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/POWELL-SIGNATURE-SERIES-SOLID-SILVER-HEADJOINT-NEW_W0QQitemZ140182523370QQihZ004QQcategoryZ10183QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

I have a Powell Signature flute and the stock headjoint looks just like that. It's not awful, but I'm searching for something a little more my taste.

In answer to your question about where the EX flute is made, all Muramatsu flutes are manufactured in their factory located in Tokorozawa, Japan.

I would also like to add my two-cents worth of info in support of those in the thread who have commented on EX flutes. I have a Muramatsu flute and I just LOVE it. IMHO it's well worth considering. I think it has the sweetest keywork you'll ever find on a flute

http://www.winds101.com/professional.htm

She runs a very nice site - and a like new condition used flute for $1000 less is practically a steal. Muramatsu are very nice flutes. Of note is that the EX is exactly like their $4000+ models other than being plated. So you get the professional benefits without the extra cost of solid silver.

A lot of companies try to enforce a quality difference between their lowest offerings and their midrange ones by making the plated ones have a poorer headjoint and a few less features. the end result being, naturally, that the solid silver ones "sounds better", despite the fact that what a flute is made out of as long as it's harder than plastic or aluminum makes no difference in the actual tone(it's aesthetics barring exotic metals like titanium or things like wood or crystal). Why? Because the materials are too uniform and too dense to resonate and add their own tone to the sound. If you are familiar with reed instruments, you'll know that a clarinet is a fancy tube minus the reed. And the reed makes a big difference. But that's because it's a very thin piece of wood. Metal requires the types of pressures found in a pipe organ - and that's a reed that's thinner than the wall of a flute.

Whew. Anyways - the result is that you can find a few makers like Muramatsu who make professional models without the fancy silver for a very good price. And compared to the old Artley, it's going to be like getting out of that old Corolla and into a new C Class. It's no Ferrari, but it's worlds better.(except in this case, it's reliable - lol - poor Mercedes can't seem to engineer a reliable car lately)

P.S. I also like the Sankyo, which while expensive, are also very good values used. The 301(Silversonic) is the one to aim for here - the 201 isn't the same quality - it's more of a midrange market addition to gain some market share.

Mbrown, that is the same Powell headjoint that comes on the Sonare flutes and the Powell Signature flutes. I don't like them at all personally. They are anywhere near as nice as the Powell headjoints that come off of their handmade flutes.

More good reading, thanks.

I checked out that website, but unfortunately the used Maramatsus seemed to be all sold right now. What do you think about Altus 907RBE. There's one pictured that is entirely made in Japan for $1999. Have they been making headjoints et. al in Britannia silver for some time already, or this new?...a good thing?

Concerning winds101, that web page is notoriously old and incomplete - Liz is a very busy person.

Email her for actual availability and pricing.

K, thanks..I did just that!