Well this is strange for me since I was a pianist and drum player. My Daughter (age 10) is going to be taking flute lessons at school. We went to orrientation night, should be called raid your wallet night instead. We were all told that we would have to rent the instruments our kids would be playing from the only rental place within a 1 hour drive, go figure, because the school does not supply instruments... Any how looking over the prices and picking between either the "New" Gemeinhardt or the "Like New" Armstrong 102, we went with the "like new" since it was more cost effective for our budget. Now looking on-line, read that as E-bay and other discount stores, it looks as though we can get a new Yamaha student model for about $140.
My question to all you avid flute players is this, think back to what you were like when you first picked up a flute and using what you know now what would be a cost effective brand / model of todays flutes? I don't mind if its a used flute as long as it will work for at least 3 or 4 years. I figure with the normal attention span of a 10 year old if she is still playing the flute 3 years from now I can look into buying her a new one.
I have just become so overwhelmed by the multitude of brands, last check my list had 12 differnt brands; Armstrong, Lazarro, Cecilio, Jupiter, Pearl, Gemeinhardt, Yamaha, etc etc...

Finding a new Yamaha flute for less than $300.00 is very suspicious. There are a lot of knock off flutes out there. We have had a run of fake Jupiter flutes on ebay lately. Look out for the Yamaha in "" on ebay. It is not a Yamaha flute. They say it is like a Yamaha. Read the whole add before you bid. Sometimes the shipping is well over $100.00.

If I were you, I would stay away from ebay. A lot of the flutes on there need a lot of work and you can get burned.

I would stick to the good name brands. Yamaha, Pearl, Armstrong, Jupiter, Gemeindhardt, Emmerson, and maybe some old Artleys, Bundy, Selmer. These are a few good name brand repairable flutes. Some other brands are not good quality. And if you buy a really old flute, it could be hard or expensive to repair.

Some of the people on this list sell used flutes for good prices. Suzie has some flutes up on ebay right now and she will be honest as to the condition of the flutes. She might have something in her repair shop.

Kara sells a lot of nice used Yamaha flutes.

Sometimes I have a few student flutes, but right now, I am in the middle of repairing a bunch of flutes.

Flute World has used student flutes. You have to call them to see what they have available.

http://www.fluteworld.com/index.php?action=prod&wart=48726&ppk=ta

I hope this helps.

Alieanne.

I forgot that you started that great site!

You can get one from Alieanne. She has been on this forum for a while. She won't steer you wrong.

Hi there! Well shopping for a good beginner flute can be quite the task if you are a non flutist. I always recommend Yamaha or Jupiter for a beginner. They are the easiest to play and well made.

I do have three Yamaha student flutes available. All with Gold lip, crown and rings along with a pretty gemstone crown. I sell these for $325.00. They have all been completely re burnished and look very close to new. You are welcome to visit my page. Click on the Yamaha 225S. If you click on the slide show, you can hear a sample of me playing one of these Yamaha student flutes.

http://albums.phanfare.com/fluteragious

Thanks to everyone that recommended me

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"You can get one from Alieanne. She has been on this forum for a while. She won't steer you wrong."

I second that!

winds101 also has a good selection.

You want a Yamaha 200 series. Closed hole, C footjoint, basic model. I've played most of the basic beginner brands over the years and the Yamaha is clearly the best in terms of having an easy and repeatable tone and tuning, while also having good construction.

Note - it won't sound as good as some of the others, but it's a *lot* easier to play than a Gemeinhardt or Armstrong or most of the others.

A used, like new Yamaha 200 series will last through high school and since most of the value is already depreciated out of it, it's going to be a good investment for $300 or so.

AND, if you need an upgrade at a later time, the handmade Yamaha professional headjoints fit the student models as well, which can be a very low cost option to dramatically improve the quality of the sound.

Winds101 is not selling many student models. Liz specializes more in professional models. Do you work for Liz?

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What ever she is paying you, I will double it! Hahahaha!!!

Well thanks everyone for the links and advise. Right now my daughter is using an Armstrong 102 and she is doing well (I think) she has been "playing" it for a couple of days and can... flutter I guess is the word. She got the Armstrong from the rental company, they are "selling" it for $500 though and it seems too steep to me. Like I said earlier the rental company seems to have this area cornered since we are on an island in Rhode Island.
From what I read the Yamaha's seem like a good beginer flute that might be within our budget... I wil be checking out everyones web sites later today, I do actually have to work.
I read a little closer on the "YAMAHA" E-bay auctions.. Mulner was the actual brand... never heard of them.
I will be forwarding this info to the household financial wizard (my wife) and we can explore our options now.
I am also going to be talking with the US Navy band's flute player tommorow (yes I am in the Navy) and see if she has any local hook ups.
Thank you again for all your help and if you have any advise I can give her let me know.

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OHHH! One more thing, my daughter is small so is it better to get her one of those curved head pieces. She has small hands and I noticed she has a little difficulty reaching the keys on the Armstrong that she got from the rental place. But I was also thinking that this may get her used to the flute being in the wrong position... such dillemas!
I only ask because I remember when I was first learning piano I had a hard time to reach all the keys but my teacher said I would have to learn to deal with it since I would grow into the piano, which I did, I just don't want to put the money out for a flute and then have her get discouraged because it is too hard for her to play.

You can find the student models with curved and straight headjoints. Some of them come with both.

If you buy a used Yamaha flute with only a straight headjoint, I saw some curved headjoints on Woodwind and Brasswind website for a good price.

Good luck.