Hi guys-

I am curious about your experiences with various flute shops as my cousin is looking to purchase an intermediate flute. I have been using the same flute shop for a while and recently had a bad experience with them, so I'm looking for suggestions. We both live in NC, but we are willing to try anyone as long as they will send her flutes on trial.

Thanks in advance!

I've had excellent responses and experiences with three flute shops: Flute World, J.L. Smith, and Carolyn Nussbaum.

All have fair and convenient policies for sending instruments on trial. They are knowledgeable about flutes/piccolos and have a broad selection in inventory, including headjoints. They also have a complete range of accessories (I just bought a bamboo cleaning rod and some brightly colored cleaning flags).

I was lucky to visit Flute World in Michigan in May. What a great place! And I will visit both Flute Center and J.B. Weissman in New York City in October for additional experiences. On the same trip, I also hope to visit Haynes and Powell in the Boston area to take tours of their facilities.

I've had excellent service from Carolyn Nussbaum. I did my 14K headjoint trials with her in 2006 and ended up purchasing a 14K Willimas headjoint. She sent 3 headjoints with the dollar amounts held with a Credit Card.

She also has been servicing my Haynes Flute which has an Inline G and a Split E (many flutemakers don't offer that anymore due to it's complexity) that I have not had any issues with.

Has anyone had any experience with ProWinds or Justflutes?

Online stores are generally mediocre at best because like guitars, almost nothing plays great "out of the box". A good local shop will have a tech that will adjust and tweak each instrument before it goes out the door, and that's worth quite a bit. Also, a relationship with the local store helps keep them in business(they need all the help they can get), and there is the ability to come in and get minor things addressed, often for little or no charge.

But that's secondary to the real reason not to buy a flute online. Because every headjoint is a little different and you really have to try a couple most times before you find the best one for you. Even on supposedly identical models.

@Numptie - If you want to buy a flute online, consider one of the flute specialty shops.

Flute World
J.L.Smith (Flutesmith)
Carolyn Nussbaum

BTW - You do realize that JustFlutes is in England (UK) and you will have extra shipping costs + have to pay import duty for a foreign purchase?

Thank you for the input, everyone! I have read a lot of negative reviews on some online businesses and I'm not sure how much stock to put in them, but you guys seems really knowledgeable so I will trust your judgment.

Fluteworld, JL Smith, and Carolyn Nussbaum are brick and mortar stores that also happen to have an online presence.

While I did my headjoint trials via the Fed Ex method, a friend of mine actually visited Carolyn Nussbaum's store in Plano TX and ended up buying a 14K Brannen Headjoint from her.
But instead of trying out 3 like I did (I suppose I could have sent those back and asked for more), he tried maybe 30 before he made his decision).