i would listen to what these people are saying if i were you, they know what they are on about (micron is a technitian and kara is a very knowlegable player so listen) you would be better off getting sometheing like an intermidate yamaha and then upgrading the headjoint later then spending all that money on a fancey student geimenthaerd(sorry i can't spell that ever).

Micron, please do not say that ! You and Kara have convinced me for the most part, and I will not get the instrument. Thank you for talking me out of it!

Should I go for one of the intermediate Yamahas on Liz's site? Is $1000 or less enough to buy an instrument that would suit me? I am in totally new territory, because I have never really worried about which type of flute I should get, as long as I've had one. Strangely, that Deford I have is the first instrument that has ever belonged to me, and the rest were school instruments (bleh ).

Just please do not feel like you are wasting your time in helping me out. I really appreciate your input.

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Oh, and maybe those school Gemeinhardts seemed good because I was relatively inexperienced at the time I have played them... Going against the grain of this forum and buying one would most likely disappoint not only you guys but my band directors as well...

Could you please point me out some good deals on Liz's site that falls below $1000? I would like to have a choice between good instruments without wasting my time browsing through flutes that I do not know.

I have my eyes on that Yamaha Allegro under the intermediate tab. Is that a good buy?

hold off on a new flute for a little while and save up for a low end professional model for college. many teachers will tell you once in your first year of college to take out a student loan and buy a good flute if you have a student flute combined with any headjoint.

One of my band directors' primary instrument is the flute. She would know, I assume, what to do.

Just give Liz a call and tell her your situation. She will tell you what some of your options would be for what she has in stock.

I am considering on parting with my Muramatsu EX. It would be a tad out of your price range at the moment though. You are welcome to view it here..

http://albums.phanfare.com/5081214/3597774#imageID=63438749

Thanks! I got it with a flute I purchased off of ebay a while back. I redid it though and lined it with good velvet and took off the orange like finish that was on it.

I don't really advocate "intermediate" flutes, because they don't play any better than student ones of the same model.

My sentiments exactly! In fact, I agree with everything Micron just wrote. It can be hard to help if we don't know what level you are at.

Kaflute, I put the flower in the case. It used to have a round hole there where cork grease was most likely supposed to go. Who ever made the case obviously didn't know that you don't use cork grease on a flute.

To add more..
If you are going to college to play the flute then my advice would be not to waste money on a so called "intermediate" flute and go for the lowest end of some of the professional lines like Muramatsu, Miyazawa or Altus. The Yamaha 500 and up series are really nice too. You can find some of these used for great prices also. Liz has a few I am sure. It may be out of your price range now but if you can stick it out on your Deford for a while and save up then you may even be further ahead. If you have a job you may be able to finance something. I will go take a look around and see what I can come up with.

I recently upgraded to a Pearl Elegante 795RBE-CODA. I absolutely love it, and if you are able to spend the money, I think its an excellent flute for the price.

I suspect that you are having trouble with your DeFord flute because it has some leaks, and needs a good adjustment.
Tone (especially fuzziness) and response of a flute suffer a lot when a flute has leaks.

So, you may be able to do as Kara suggests and get by with your DeFord flute until you get the input of your teacher at college. This way, you will have some time to save your money up.

Take a look here at what being a flute performance major at University (a major one, with a good music program) actually involves:
http://www.jennifercluff.com/blog/2007/09/skill-levels-for-incoming-college-flute.html
and:
http://www.jennifercluff.com/collegereality.pdf

I have to suggest again that you find a flute teacher and get lessons. I went from first chair in high school band, to nowhere near adequate (in terms of the level of my playing) at the university music program where I went to school. I was a science major, but I would have LOVED to play the flute in college. I could have got a LOT more out of my tuition money, if I had been somewhere near the level of flue playing then, that I am now. In fact, I was so discouraged by what the music director at said college told me that I essentially put the flute down for more than 10 years! Granted, he might have told me where to go for lessons, and what I needed to achieve in order to come back for another audition instead of saying essentially, "You're nowhere near the level you need to be to play here, and since you're not a music major/minor, you can't get instrucion here."

If the DeFord won't do it (maybe it has a ding in the embouchure hole, or bent/binding parts that just aren't worth repairing), a Yamaha 200 series should get you by very well. You may be able to find a handmade, pro headjoint to go in it, especially at Liz's, if you can swing it, but the stock CY (plated or solid silver) headjoint on the student Yamaha is an excellent headjoint to get you started on creating fantastic tone. In fact, I have a Yamaha 285 flute that has been customized by someone else: It is essentially the equivalent of a 300 series with a handmade headjoint. It had a B-foot fitted to it, and has open holes. The headjoint on it is a CF, and it is really a nice playing HJ, from what I and a few of my flute-teacher friends have evaluated. It is at the shop right now, it will need a clean, oil, adjust service, but should be about $750 by the time it is 'as new' again. You could also put this sort of flute (c-foot, you likely won't actaully need the the B-foot for a good, long while yet) together at Liz's for about the same price. It would be even less expensive if you go with a used, machine-made silver or silverplate (stock) headjoint.

Wow, Kara, Thank you ! And apology accepted, Micron. Maybe you two are right about the whole intermediate flute thing being unnecessary. I will take a look at some lower end professional models, and see if I can come up with one that is a reasonable price.

If this helps, Kara, here is my flute life story, and my take on my flute strengths and weaknesses (as unbiased as I could make it). You can skip right to the bottom to the NUTSHELL if you are uninterested, because it is LOOOOONG.

I was 4th chair flautist in my All-County band this year, 7th last year, and I have been playing for 7 years. I have switched schools many times; I have been to two middle schools, and this is my third high school.

Some of my band directors, particularly the middle school ones, were really not that helpful, because they never offered any advice to improve my playing. They did see my promise, however, and once I had entered a band halfway through the year as last chair. It was only possible to escalate up the ranks one chair at a time by 'challenges' towards the person in front of me. There were at least 15 flutes, and there was only one challenge per week, making it almost fruitless to even try becoming a reputable chair by this method. The band director changed my circumstances so that the people in front of me could concede their seat, making my move up faster. This only worked because I was an intimidating flautist (to only the other students, of course ). Still, I did not make it to first chair, but second or third. In every other circumstance, I have completely dominated the flute throughout my middle school years, keeping first chair easily up until high school.

It was a real shock to drop so far down the chain as a freshman, and I struggled to hold on to both the strange new world of marching band, and my ego that seemed to have disappeared overnight.

My first year was horrible, but there were only five or six flutes, and I might have been the fourth. One girl made me sound as if I had a sock in my instrument.

My second year was basically the same way, but the seniors have graduated, and I moved up into second chair. Said girl was still ahead of me.

Last year was a school change, and was an incredible break in comparison to my previous year. I was both first AND last chair in my band (yep, the only one, although the band had only about 25 people in it). The freedom I had both had positive and negative influences on my playing. Yes, I have improved, but I have become notoriously loud to compensate for the missing flutes, and as a consequence, has been tough at work to perfect a piano, let alone a pianissimo.

This year I have been alternating between fourth and third out of at least ten for a while, before I had a REALLY good chair test and made second, to which I still hold today.

ME AND MY DEFORD IN A NUTSHELL:
-Superb sight reading and technicality
-Good tone on lower octaves
-Expressive style
-Okay high notes, difficult to play pure tone, especially E ()
-Loud, but can play soft with much effort
-Fair phrasing and breathing, could be because I play a little louder than others, and/or because I try to play a rich, full sound and fail to meet my own standards...
-Fair Articulation, esp. fast parts

My band directors say that I am better than my instrument allows me to be, and that for college, I am going to need to upgrade. Is this enough to fathom which instrument might suit me best?

Oh, and my flute autobiography is certainly long enough to deserve an ending, but I am not sure whether "and I lived happily ever after" quite takes the cake...



<Added>

I forgot to mention that for the first semester this year, the marching band was so large it needed to be separated into two classes, and I was first chair in my half. The girl with the Yamaha and another girl that doubles on piccolo and usually sits behind her was not in mine.

<Added>

Lately I have been good about volume, so I am getting better in that respect. I am just stating that I am louder than most other flutes, and playing softly is mostly about perspective; solo soft is a hint whispery, but ensemble soft is quite doable. Being soft in an ensemble, esp. one with brass in it, is a walk in the park.

All these posts appeared to have been written while I have been typing this one!

Tibbiecow, the flute has been serviced with a complete overhaul in pads when I first recieved it, because it has been sitting in someone's garage and the pads were chewed by bole weevils. Don't worry, the thing was cleaned.

Kara, I will take a look at these instruments. Please let me know if...

1.My post has changed the plausibles to something more specific, or
2.Whether or not Liz sends instruments for trial. I would like to know before I call her, because it will save $ on long distance fees, if only by a minimal amount .

seriously, if youa are in the new york ciy area, give j.b.weissman a call. it's worth it.

but a gemindhart sounds good. i like their piccolos more than the flutes. it is wise not to rush into these things. don't forget buying an instrument is an investment. take it seriously.

p.s.- don't forget about the sedona! really great

I live in central North Carolina in a town called Asheboro, near UNCG in Greensboro. It is this college I would love to attend, and my second would be Appalachian State Univ.

Do you take private lessons? If not, you may want to consider doing so if you plan on pursuing any type of career in music via college. At the very least take a few lessons with the professor at the school you'd like to go to.