I played the flute for about 10 years then sold it about 8 years ago. I want to pick back up and play for church. I owned a Yamaha 581 open hole before. There are so many out there its so confusing! I can't spend more than $3000, less if possible. I want solid silver head and body,open hole, b-foot, offset g, I'm indecisive about the C# trill. Here are the brands I'm tossing around. Trevor James Virtuoso, Pearl (Quantz Series), Azumi 3000, and the new Avanti 2000 that's not out yet. Oh, and maybe the Jupiter 1011. Okay, what is anyone's advice? Does anyone have any feelings about these flutes? Thanks.

I would concentrate on the headjoint and keys and so on and less about the actual body. It's been brought up many many times before how the metal is largely irrelevant to the sound of the flute. Barring exotic materials or alloys, there's just no difference in the sound.

It's bling that you pay more for.

For instance, a Yamaha 584 - the replacement for the older 481 is identical in every measurable way to the 684 other than one costs you $800 more for the privilege of having a silver body. So, look for a lower end professional model that's plated. Save some money AND get better sound.(Muramatsu, Sankyo, and so on)

Note - just because they say it's professional doesn't make it so. Yamaha for instance, isn't in the same league as Muramatsu or Powell, plain and simple. Pearl, otoh, makes fine flutes but their bottom model or two are also not quite what they bill them as. You should be looking at their top end models - except the plated versions. For instance, the Pearl Pro models really start at the Coda and Elegante, with the Coda being the plated one and a much better deal for the money.

On the Pearls, the CODA isn't a specific model.. its just you add certain gadgets- C# trill, D# roller, and 10K gold lip. The Quantz series and the Dolce/Elegante both have the coda option.

I have a Pearl Dolce CODA and I love it, except I prefer the Yamaha EC headjoint to the Forza it comes with it, but thats just me.

The Elegante is the same as the Dolce except it has an all silver body instead of just a silver head and plated body. I think both of these (Dolce and Elegante) are a bit of a step up from the Quantz series, and the Dolce CODA is actually cheaper than the Quantz 765 (all silver) CODA model. I tried a 765 and the sound I got out of it was very thin.

You can get an Pearl Elegante CODA for $2,599.00 from FluteWorld.

For instance, a Yamaha 584 - the replacement for the older 481 is identical in every measurable way to the 684 other than one costs you $800 more for the privilege of having a silver body.

The 584 did not replace the older 481. The 481 is still made with the CY headjoint and Y arms and has a solid silver head body and foot.

The 584 has an EC headjoint with pointed key arms, and only has a solid silver head.

The 684 is all solid silver except the keys, so it is not identical to the 584. Unless you meant is plays identical?

Leigh, you may want to search through the forum a bit as the topic of shopping around for a flute comes up a lot on this forum. I am sure you would find it helpful.

I am sure that many people get tired of having to repeat themselves and stop posting on these topics now.

Yes, the 500 and 600 series Yamaha are exactly identical in every way other than what material they are made out of. In this specific case, it might as well be what color paint you get on your car - the regular or the metallic.

ie - just save your money or get something better if you really have that much to spend.

I did a recording gig with a guy who was playing a Haynes, cfoot, from 1927 wtih closed holes, he sounded fantastic, guess why..he is a great player..

Nope, didn't used open hole for shading much. That's just all I've ever played. Now I'm leaning toward Sonare 7000 and looking possibly at Haynes Classic Q1 or 2. Also, heard good things about Muramatsu. I did play the demedici and it sounded great. Help!!!

im leary about the sonare. until they can prove that their flutes wont be of the same quality as they used to be, i will spend my time pushing people away from them.
if an intermediate flute is what you want, go for the dean yang or the azumi or even the dimedici. just no sonare!

and i tried the new avanti flute (both the 1000 model and the 2000 model and i can honestly say that they werent that great. the sound was so thin and the mechanism seemed "thick".

id stay away from the yamahas. im not impressed with them at all. overpriced for what they are. and you can put your money someplace else and get more flute for the money.

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if youre considering a muramatsu at all, id buy it. id throw out all the other options and buy it. heck, id even buy it without trying it. its that good of a flute.

Good point, Patrick. My Juilliard-trained flute buddy sounds fantastic- definitely better than I sound- on my $400 Pearl with its stock, silver-plated headjoint. (She does sound better on her own Brannen, though.)

I do think, though, that you should find a flute that sounds good for you, and is a joy to play, that you don't have to fight to get a good response from.

Assuming that you are not considering a used flute (and you sill often get a lot more for your budget this way, whether you have $250 or $2500), you'll be looking at new flutes at the music store.

OK, so try a blind test. Have someone hand you flutes, that you don't know which one is which, and play them. Have your friend keep track of which one or two you keep going back to.
One of these will likely become 'your' flute.

Some things to look at are tone (long tones), can you change tone color easily or does the flute play only sweet, or only bright? Some sample tone color ideas are: rich, ethereal, strong, etc. Try with and without a vibrato.

Pitch: Play through a chromatic scale, or a series of major scales, with an electronic tuner on the stand (they'll surely have several at the music store to use during a play test.) The more notes that you have to correct for pitch, the more adjustments you will have to make while playing to stay in tune.

Feel/keys: Is the flute comfortable? Is it really heavy b/c it has a split E, a C# trill, and a B-foot all in solid silver? (Silver-body flutes are heavier than their plated counterparts.) Is the key configuration comfortable for you? You can plug open holes pretty easily, but you don't want any uncomfortable fingers.

Response and articulation: Are the very highest notes, and the very lowest notes easier to play, or more difficult? Is fast tonguing or double-tonguing easy, or more difficult? Note that a flute that is really responsive to articulation might be really bright sounding, and not as rich for long tones.

This is where you consider what type of playing you do most, and which flute you simply like to play the best. The right flute for you will simply be the one that you really love to play, and may be completely wrong for the next person, so we generally don't tell people that they should buy one specific model between reputable brand flutes.

we all have the flutes we dont like (in many cases, they are the same ones) and we all have flutes wed die to have (in many cases, they are NOT the same ones).

however, we all have flutes that we know are good and would recommend anyone to buy (in many cases, they are the same ones).

good luck!

"Feel/keys: Is the flute comfortable? Is it really heavy b/c it has a split E, a C# trill, and a B-foot all in solid silver? (Silver-body flutes are heavier than their plated counterparts.) Is the key configuration comfortable for you? You can plug open holes pretty easily, but you don't want any uncomfortable fingers."

Tibbiecow!

You got that right! I bought a used Armstrong and I played it okay. I really wanted a Yamaha at the time but I couldn't find the type I wanted for cheap.

I thought that the Yamaha sounded better. My husband thought so too.

I finally found a used Yamaha about two months later at a local shop and I have had nothing but trouble.

My instructor was wondering why I was having a hard time with the low notes C#,C and B. The keys on my Yamaha foot joint are larger than they were on the Armstrong. They are even larger than on her Brennan and she has a roller. She let me play her Brennan and I had no problems. I flew up and down the flute. I figured out that I was sometimes hitting the Eb key a little and opening it when I was trying to play the lower notes. I also suspect that my flute might have a leak.

My hands were broken years ago and they are not healed correctly. I can move them just fine, but they sit on the flute a little strange. My hand position on the flute was also pointed out to me yesterday. My right index finger leans to the left when I am holding the flute. I was wondering why my right index finger was sometimes hitting the Bb trill key. I never had the problem on the Armstrong. The key sticks out a little farther on the Yamaha. I sat the Yamaha down next to the student Armstrong and took note of the differences.

The foot keys on the Armstrong are a little closer to the body and the keys are smaller. The Bb trill key is furter from the F key.

I am now going to have to go flute shopping yet again.

I want to try a Haynes. I like the Pearl and I have played a Powell that I really liked but is out of my price range. I like the Brennan but that is way out of my range.

When you test flutes, I guess that you should really pay attention to hand position. Especially if you are prone to tendonittis or if you have a problem like me.

Good luck!

Pearl, otoh, makes fine flutes but their bottom model or two are also not quite what they bill them as. You should be looking at their top end models - except the plated versions. For instance, the Pearl Pro models really start at the Coda and Elegante, with the Coda being the plated one and a much better deal for the money.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by what we bill them as. They are simply Quantz models (505 through 765).

Dolce and Elegante are intermediate models, not pro. Cantabile is where pro models start. Coda models as already pointed out feature 3 specific features on models 665, 765, 695, and 795...

Joe B

If you have a special hand problem, due perhaps to a poorly healed fracture, arthritis or something else, it should not be too difficult to have key expensions made to fit your peculiar conformation.

A small metal tab can be soldered onto a flute key making it easier for the finger in question to reach and close the key. An otherwise ideal flute with an inline G key could easily be made to 'fit' like an offset G flute simply by attaching such a tab.

As for who would do the work, and at what cost, you would have to ask a good instrument repair person. I know Kara has experimented with such extensions: Kara, about what does it involve in terms of cost?

John Lunn, who is no longer making flutes, made an alternative footjoint key cluster that sits at an angle, making the footjoint keys easier to reach.

Oh, and Vamp, are your right-hand keys plugged? I have trouble with the lowest footjoint notes if my right-hand keys are not plugged because my right hand, third finger slips off center when my pinky reaches to cover those footjoint keys.

Hi,
I have tried it with and without the plugs. It makes no difference. Eventually my fingers start slipping on the plugs. I have really sweaty hands.

The keys on the Armstrong footjoint are different. The keys on my instructor's Brennan are different *I don't have $50,000*. I didn't have a problem with either of them and they had B footjoints. I may just look for something nice with a C footjoint since I don't use the B that often. It just seems for resale, the B footjoint commands a better price.

I played a pearl 765 today and I was having problems with the footjoint too. I compared the footjoint with the Yamaha and the keys on the footjoint are placed the same. I didn't have a problem with the Bb trill key on the pearl that was nice. It was set differently than the Yamaha. It was more out of the way of my index finger.

I am going to see if I can find a Haynes, Altus, Muramatsu, Sankyo and I am even going to try another Armstrong. The Armstrong will be a desparation flute because I don't like the tube. The only headjoint that you can put on an Armstrong is an Armstrong. You can read that nightmare story under Armstrong headjoints in this forum. I know that I don't have any issues with my right hand on an Armstrong since I have owned one before with a B foot.

And the drama continues.....