Hi!
Been playing flute for close to four years. Play in church choir, marching band, and concert band. Have a used Armstrong (model 104, I think) flute. It's been to the shop a handful of times with lots of problems. 99% sure I will be playing throughout the rest of middle school and high school. Doing a bit of research on buying an intermediate flute. Your input?

Hi there -

are you happy with your Armstrong flute?

I've tried a few flutes - I like the Trevor James sound a lot. It's very warm and rich and they do a range of models.

Sounds like if you do a lot of band stuff/outdoors, you might not want to get too expensive an intermediate flute in case it tempts others!

Thanks for answering! My initial plan was to keep the used one I have and use it for marching band, and use the intermediate one for concerts and anything going on inside. My Armstrong does play and sound good, I just don't like how it keeps getting broken (because it's used)! I actually got the chance to use a Yamaha intermediate/advance flute so--not sure which--for a week or so while my current one was in the shop, and honestly, the Armstrong I liked better compared to the Yamaha, tone and sound wise.

Sounds like a good plan!

I guess you might like to have a deeper/richer tone for concerts and recitals.

Re: Yamaha - they aren't cheap, and for the money it seems that a lot of other manufacturers do just as good a flute esp. in the intermediate range. I'm still yearning to get my hands on a Demedici (not the cheaper Jupiter range).

You could prob. get a decent silver headjoint as an intermediate flute. I'm not there yet - I'm still trying to learn basic flute stuff but I do find it fun playing with all these expensive flutes lol.

Do you know what costs would be, just silver head joint vs. all silver? If you've got any experience w/ brands, do tell.

Some good intermediate flutes to look into(from my experience):
yamaha. if youre on a budget, get a nice used 200 series and get it COA'ed. the 300 and 400 dont play much better, especially for the huge price jump.
sonare- the ones i tried had iffy mech. but that was a few years ago, and ive heard they've gotten better.
azumi-overall better than the sonare(in my opinion, of course)
diMedici- around the same price as the sonare/azumi and the like, way above the regular jupiters.

what would you say your budget is around?

Well, I haven't asked Mother and Father what price point is--right now, I'm just looking around online to see what people have to say about brands and prices. And if I do get one, it wouldn't be for probably several months to a year or so and it wouldn't come out of my pocket. I haven't outgrown my student flute yet--but when I do then my parents told me they'll consider...so right now it's undecided!

Hi,
IF you are having trouble with this Armstrong, I would not just buy a silver headjoint for this flute. It will probably not solve your problems. The fact that it is used (pre-owned) is probably not the issue with it not working correctly. That is either from how you are using the flute or from how well it's being repaired. Those two issues can have many factors regarding them.
Just as you've suggested, many students will buy a 'step-up flute' for concerts and use either a piccolo or the beginner flute for marching.Good luck with your decision,
:-)

Lately I've noticed a lot of stuff about it I haven't noticed before. Just appearance wise, it's a bit rusty (just s blackish color) under the keys in the hard to reach spots. Recently, we went to get it fixed because a spring had popped out, and the man fixing it also said that a part of it was actually bent, but it was probably from the previous owner. It's been through a lot!

Do you know what costs would be, just silver head joint vs. all silver? If you've got any experience w/ brands, do tell.

Hi there,

there's quite a good consensus about which flutes - solid head is more important than solid lip and both more important than solid body.

you can check the price lists on shops for mid-range flutes:

http://www.topwind.com/instrume/flautas.htm

The Dimedici series from Jupiter, Trevor James Cantabile and a host of others are worth looking at. I started on a Trevor James student flute and when I've tried their mid-range ones, I kind of feel like i'm missing out. The Dean Yang series also get some good reviews. Jennifer Cluff's site is what I looked at when I was curious about an upgrade. Really need to try them out in a shop. The shop I tried were very good to me and let me try loads of flutes even though it was clear I was broke and possibly just wasting their time lol

If it's okay with admin to post links - here's a price comparison list from a shop. Theirs is the cheapest I've found:

https://www.prowinds.com/merchantmanager/index.php?cPath=2_19_295

https://www.prowinds.com/merchantmanager/index.php?cPath=2_19_295&page=2


I don't know why the Yamaha flutes are so expensive. You can get a silver head joint flute from another similar manufacturer. They are good flutes, but are they worth the $500 extra? I don't know if playing one would make me sound $500 better.

I decided not to buy a new flute anyway. My Trevor James is good enough to get me through my grades. I'm saving up for a proper alto flute but I can't sit exams for alto flute where I am. It looks like alto flute is a real speciality thing and after trying one for a week, I'm really hooked. I love the deeper resonant sound. It's heavy and it's big and I'm going to have a right arm muscle like He-Man by the time I finish learning how to play it, but it just sounds sooooo good! Sorry that's off topic, but if you can find one to hire or borrow, have a go on an alto flute!

I actually did a typo on that--I meant just a silver head, or the entire flute out of silver--but maybe I should do that. So if I was about to get a flute, these are the things I would probably consider on it:
-B foot
-silver head/entire silver instrument (?)
-offset g
I don't think I'd consider open holed yet.

This is also getting off topic--say I do get an intermediate flute and decide to continue playing through middle/high school and college and beyond. A) will I get to the point where I will need to upgrade to a another flute? and B) Or would I be able to use the intermediate flute and just upgrade a head joint?
If you really like the alto flute then you should get it.

I haven't got enough experience to say that I can hear enough difference (to justify the cost) of an entire silver flute. Even an entire silver flute, would maybe only have silver plated keys and springs (if even that). The solid silver body would be much heavier, and maybe the difference in sound quality is more subjective, than measurable or recommendable?

A solid silver head joint does make a huge difference though! That is the single first best upgrade I'd jump at!

The B foot isn't hugely important to me (I intend to play alto flute mostly, so the extra cost for a single note, which I can get from an alto flute doesn't add up lol). It makes the flute longer and heavier, and maybe adds a dark timbre to the higher notes when played. Some of the more experienced players can tell whether it's true that a B foot makes the third/fourth octave sounds better. If it's true, I would really want a B foot because I really struggle with the higher octaves on my student flute. But I wouldn't want a B foot on my student flute.

Off-set G is compulsory for me. My fingers aren't that long!
Equally, a split E makes it easier for the higher notes.

I was told not to bother (gently) with open holes by a sales assistant until I got loads more experience. It's not the same as covering the holes of a recorder, or a Shaukatchi flute.

If you can get a laser cut lip plate, it is far more precise than moulded ones. A curved lip plate would help too (for embouchure seal), but isn't cheap. I see a lot of gold plated lip raisers and plates - I've tried one and it is really comfortable. But it doesn't make my playing sound $700 better. My student flute only cost about $200 second hand!!!!

Check the B/b flat rear hole and key work: some flutes have a more fluid mechanism, so that you can easily slip from a B to a B flat in any octave. My loan flute was terrible. It had no name on it and there was a massive lump for a rear key and when you pressed it to play a B note, there was no way you could slip into a playing a slurred B flat without letting go of the key to depress the B flat key.

Definitely go to a flute centre to check them out! It's a once in a lifetime purchase so it pays to take your time and find out what other flutists use in the marching band so that you can settle on a dream flute.

This is also getting off topic--say I do get an intermediate flute and decide to continue playing through middle/high school and college and beyond. A) will I get to the point where I will need to upgrade to a another flute? and B) Or would I be able to use the intermediate flute and just upgrade a head joint? If you really like the alto flute then you should get it.

Like someone else mentioned ... I don't think your Armstrong flute is really worth the silver head upgrade. You might as well upgrade to a full/new intermediate flute, and use the Armstrong intact for outdoor playing.

If you have an intermediate flute, that really is all you need, unless like 1% of us, you go on to play virtuoso solo or professional! I know if I buy a flute, I would never sell a CD to recover the cost of a new intermediate flute. So in that sense, it isn't an investment at all: it's money sunk into enjoying playing the flute which I will never see again! That is, unless flute remixes of multiple variations of "Three Blind Mice" suddenly become worldwide hits.

I can't just buy an alto flute lol. Got to do the saving up bit first! Its expensive for me because I can't just ask my parents to dish out $3000 for an alto flute lol. Then there's flute insurance too. It's expensive travelling, and even worse if you are asked to put an expensive flute in the cargo hold. That would wreck any instrument! So I'd rather hand-carry a flute ..and an alto flute is *just* manageable.

Come Christmas, I hope mommy and popsicles will get the hint