I know nothing about the flute.

One of my musical partners has been using the same flute since elementary school. We are both nearing the end of college and have several projects coming up. Her flute has served her well, but I think it's time for something new. She currently plays on a Blessing B101. I know she prefers the sound of Yamaha and has never been thrilled with Pearl. She's also quite particular about the layout of the buttons, for example the pinky button for the left hand I've seen is sometimes quite high, but she prefers them quite low. Can anybody recommend me a flute I can gift her? I could probably muster anything up to $1000, but that would be a maximum.

Thanks in advance for the time to respond!

Two things you should never buy someone else are a pet and a musical instrument. You can make an offer to pay for or pay money towards a pet or instrument, but gifting and surprising someone is just not the correct thing to do. Let me explain why:

If a parent is buying an instrument for a beginer it's not a problem, just like buying a puppy for your child when they are very young. The child has no idea of what tehy really want and they will be learning for later in life.

As musicians get better we want specific things, certain feels, certain sounds. And you have to play different instruments until you find the one you want. Not every instrument sounds or responds the same. Here is a great example from just last night - - - -

I have three Conn 8D French Horns laying in the living room right now. Last night I played them for my wife and mother to get their opinions of how they sound. All three were made in the same year. So we have the same manufacturer, same instrument, same model, same year. One of the the horns has a slightly stuffing sound. One of the horns has a far superior sound and tone to the other two. One of them it is difficult to play a high D above the staff, while one of the others the high D speaks easily and clearly. One of the horns has a great sounding, well articulated low range, while the stuffy sounding one actually has a very good low range that speaks really well (but it sounds stuffy up in the middle range where French Horns play a lot.

If someone had given me this brand new Conn that sounds stuffy I would be very dissapointed.

If you want to get your partner a new instrument don't make it a big shocking surprise. Talk about what your partner would like down the road. Make plans to go and play some instruments if you can. Make a weekend out of it. Go on a road trip, stay at a B&B or something. Do this a couple of times if needed. Make it a process.

If you want to get your partner a dog do the same thing. Talk about what kind of dogs s/he is interested in. Go to the Humane Society, go to Breeders, see lots of dogs including ones s/he doesn't want but are close. Check out the animals personalities. They are all different.

You want the instruments' personality to match the performer. The GIFT will be so much more than just the money if you make the time to do it correctly. Hopefully just like when you were courting in the begining. There is a lot to be said for the process of getting into the relationship. The begining and getting to know each others personalities is a big part of a good relationship and it applies to a musicians relationship to their instrument as well.

The better the musician the more important the relationship.
Make it a romantic musical experience.