Hi all-

I was wondering if anyone had recently dealt with Little Piper or Winds101? I am an amateur player, and I used to own a Muramatsu DN heavy wall that I loved but sadly sold during graduate school. Now that I'm playing more regularly again, I miss that instrument sorely. I tried several other flutes I could find locally, such as a Sankyo 201, Altus 807, Miyazawa 202, and a Mura EX, and that process confirmed that I still love Muras the best. However, given the price of a new EX, I was considering looking at used Muramatsus to get "more" for my money (although I know there's considerable debate about what more silver in an instrument really does for the player).

I have never purchased a used instrument before, and would love any advice concerning either of those sellers (or any other advice about the process in general). Both of those sellers have more Muramastus then the other places I've found on-line. However, I'm nervous about getting a used flute and discovering it needs a ton of work done on it... I'm also unsure of how to decide on which particular flutes to try - I can guess the age of different Muras from their serial numbers, but with Little Piper, they have several ADs and DSs, so I am not sure if there's a way to gauge suitability other than either going by price or traveling to Michigan at some point (I live in Illinois, so I could go but it would be a long trip.)

Thanks so much for any advice!

i havn't dealt with them but i know when buying used instruments you should try it and then allow £100 or so for a coa should it need one

I have never dealt with them either but I did buy my daughters Yamaha off ebay and it is great. I got it for $150 and spent $175 to get it in playing condition. Still a lot cheaper than new or buying from a music store in used condition. I looked for dents, conditions from their descriptions the ones with the most pictures is what I bid on, the more you can see the better I was thinking. I would do it again but probably a newer model once she has been playing for a long time, this was her first flute and I feel the price I paid even with the repairs it was the best deal I could make and the school wanted Yamaha so I only looked at Yamaha ones and just kept my eye on ebay daily. I still check out ebay for flutes because I feel that if I can find another one for the same price or cheaper and got it fixed we would have 2 Yamaha flutes. We have a Yamaha and a cheapo crappy flute which I use to teach her the notes and we play songs together. I have to admit I have never tried any other flute brands besides the Yamaha one and the cheapo one we have so I am not an expert in any way. There are a ton of recommendations on brands but it seems like you already know your brand just want to know where to buy from I would say make sure they have a try it before you buy it policy. I found some sites offer a 5 day trial period but you give them a CC which they ping the full price of the flute but don't actually charge the whole price or any price at that and once they receive the flute back they unping your CC. They ping it to make sure you have enough money to pay for it if you don't return it.

Did you take a look at Muramatsu's website?
I'm dealing with them recently and as far as I know they can send flutes for you to try playing.
That would be a better solution, since they really do all the services needed by used instruments before they sale them. Plus, they don't have lots of used instruments to sale, which can be a sign that they don't accept any used instrument to resale.
Hope it helps.

<Added>

P.S. Forgot to mention that I acctually have an old all silver Muramatsu (made in 1975 sirca) and now I'm in the process of purchasing a new EX. It will be my second option since I have a Sankyo too.

I have delt with them. If you can go in person, I would do that.

Send me a message.

Thank you to everyone for your help!