Hi guys, I was just wondering exactly how you tell if you really do need a repadding. I have noticed that I cannot get my lower register to resonate (especially the D) unless I press down very hard on the keys, which is very odd because I have never had to do that. Thanks!

Generally I send my flutes before something like that happens. But how do I know that? Determining a period when I have to send the flute, in my case it's 1 time a year, at least, for a COA. What is important though is that you have a technician you really trust. Cars need some attention from time to time, so do flutes. Even if it's stored it need's technical attention. In my case I do that cause I work in a daily basis at an orchestra. In the case of an amateur flutist, that doesn't play every day, two years is a good period to maintain the instrument in perfect shape.
Do it as soon as possible. Your playing is already suffering because of a problem that is so easy to fix.
Good luck

I agree with Zevang that you should take it to a flute technician as soon as possible. If you have to press hard to get the notes to come out, at a minimum it's making your technique suffer and at worst it can lead to tendonitis in your fingers or hand. If the flute is leaking now, it will only get worse.

Depending upon what the technician finds, you may or may not need a complete repad. If only one or two pads are leaking, those may need to be replaced or they could just need to be reseated. If more than three or four pads need to be replaced, it's usually better to get a complete repad. It's also possible that you may have a worn or lost cork that is causing the leak. The technician can assess the problem and tell you what is needed to get your flute back into tip-top shape.

Alright, thank you! I do play my flute for at least an hour each day, but haven't ever gotten any tune-ups for it. I don't really have a technician that I can trust however, due to the fact that we have one local instrument shop that does repairs. They have done well however on jobs such as removing a dent, so hopefully they do well with it.

Great advice from everyone. Ask around about good flute techs whenever you meet good flutists in you area. And your teacher should also be able to recommend someone. I still have a beginner flute, but assume that people who have better once might send the flute by mail to a good repair shop.

Alright, well today I brought it into the only nearby instrument shop, which specializes in guitars and band equipment (unfortunately). The person doing instrument repairs looked at it and said that he couldn't find anything wrong with it. They even brought the flute out with plugs in the holes, thinking I was not covering the holes completely (which caused me to begin laughing). I told him what notes seemed to be specifically difficult to get out without pressing harder down on the keys (below A, basically), and he said he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. I am positive that there is a leak, especially because when I play my old marching flute I get a much better tone and resonance in the lower register. He said that he would perform a check-up for around $20 and see if there are any leaks or if new pads are necessary. He also said that when he played it, that it sounded fine. I'm just afraid that he doesn't repair one instrument in particular and doesn't even bother listening to the sound quality produced by the flute.

Where are you located?
Like you there are no competent techs locally, so I send my Haynes flute from CA to TX (Carolyn Nussbaum Music Company). They specialize in flutes. She's done all my COAs on an inline-G flute with an "under the bar" split-E which is more complicated than an "over the bar" split-E. There were binding problems with this mechanism in the past which is why Haynes no longer offers it. I haven't had any problems at all when I get my flute back from Carolyn.

Thank you for telling me this, Micron! I will most definitely try this if he continues to preach that there is no issue. He explained that he would check every mechanism and make sure that each pad is sealed in four different places (per key). While I do not enjoy having to shell out $20 for him to properly diagnose the issue with my flute, all I can do is hope that he discovers it. Once again I played on my lesser flute and it sounded much better than my current flute, and I am most certain that there is something wrong with it (the nicer flute).

And cflutist, I am in Delaware. We actually have a reputable flutist named Joan Sparks who sells professional woodwind instruments and does repairs around Wilmington (which is around a 45-minute drive), who will probably be my next option if this guy fails.