I'm about to be a junior in college, music ed degree, and I'm looking to purchase a new flute. My limit is $10,000. I've tried several that I like including a Muramatsu, and a Haynes. Here is my problem: I've heard that Haynes is no longer domestically owned, and that the quality of the instrument has gone down, but not the price. I've heard that some shops are even refusing to sell them. Does anybody know if this is true? I've heard contradicting stories. Also, I plan on trying a few Burkhardts. I played on some at TMEA and thought they were absolutely fantastic.

while it is true that Haynes is now owned by Eastman Strings, their quality is actually at its peak, the new flutes coming out of Haynes are truly superb, I used one recently on tour in Boston and it was amazing, call or email them and set up a trial, you won't be disappointed..

it is all personal, if you tried one you like and it is your favourite then it might be the one for you, don't let the fact some music stores won't sell them put you off, haynes are still a good make and technicians will still work on them (if your worried about there quality going down try find a nice used one and try that and then make your own judgement),

yeah, I really liked the one I tried, especially when they put a different headjoint on it. I still need to try the Muramatsu with a differend headjoint, and I have some Burkarts coming in, and then I'm heading to another shop to see what they have.

are you in the USA? if so, call them for a trial, they are also sold at many dealers overseas..their website www.wmshaynes.com, lists all of them

10K is far too much money, IMO, for college.

I'd suggest a standard/mid level Powell or Sankyo or similar at most - preferably a mint condition used one for maybe 3-5K. To be honest, most pros don't even have a flute that nice. Between traveling, gigs, insurance, and so on, it's just not worth having such an expensive flute. Doubly so for college, IMO.

Well, my limit is $10,000. I don't know if I will actually spend that much. I'm currently playing on a Powell Sonare 7000. It was a great horn through HS, but the durability just isn't there. The keys come out of adjustment way too often, and I want a solid silver flute and that's what starts making the prices go up. Also, the range of what you can do to the sound is very limited. I've been working with a breath builder in my lessons, and I can't push that much air through my current horn without cracking, but on the professional models, I'm not using enough air. So, I don't think I'm spending too much. I don't want a flute that will wear out in 5-8 yrs; I want something that I may never have to replace.

Oh, I forgot to mention, yes, I am in the US, and all my college stuff is covered by scholarships. So I'm getting a student loan to pay for the flute.

Good flutes don't really wear out, though. Almost any of those professional flutes will work. I just suggest to save some money on the fancy options and get a good workhorse. spend $2-4K on a body and another 1000-2000 on a custom headjoint and you'll get the same results for half the money.

The only question is - what flute. U.S. and Japanese made flutes tend to be incredibly tough and well built as a rule(same as guitars, go figure). And, yes, the U.S. made Powells are much better than the one you had.

Now, if I really really had $10K, I'd go for something handmade like Landell or some other smaller maker.(IMO, these two have the most accurate scale currently) But that's kind of overkill, really. At that level, almost every flute plays superbly and there are no corners cut.

Haynes does have a mass produced model, the " Amadeus ", that is made in China and allows students to get into the Haynes family at a reasonable cost. But that shouldn't put you off on their domestically made higher end products.

Thinking about it, you should go to youtube and look at James Galway's demo of 16 flutes he owns and listen to the different tones. It might give you more info for higher end flutes.

If you're looking with such a large spending window, you should go somewhere like fluteworld, tell them your spending limit, and they'll give you flutes that you could buy to try and then you'll have an idea of what you're looking for.

Also, powell makes the handmade conservatory model that is handmade and gets you any option of headjoint for under that, including the aurumite 9K, which I love.

and haynes has the classic flutes, the Q series I think, that are made overseas body-wise and tuned up in the U.S. with handmade Headjoints in the USA that are cheaper too.

but you have a large spectrum of money, so try what is out there.

good luck!!

With up to 10K in your budget, there are tons of great flutes out there. All silver Pro flutes start in the 5K range and go up from there. You should have no problem finding a great flute with options that you want to fit that budget.

Joe B

So, did you find your Haynes flute? I have a beautiful solid silver, handmade, open-holed B foot flute for sale, can't play any longer due to a disability that makes it painful, and would love for someone to enjoy it as I have.

My student loan didn't come through, so I was unable to purchase a new flute