We are looking at upgrading my daughter's flute; she currently has the Yamaha 311 and is studying grade 8. She is 15 and wishes to continue her music studies at conservatoire/college/university with flute as her prinicpal instrument. We are looking at spending around £4000 with the intention of it seeing her through the next stage of her studies.

We are taking a trip to London to a couple of woodwind shops to ensure she tries as many out as possible to find out what suits her and what she likes. From my research I have come up with the following and wondered if any of you could give me any further advice. All have silver head and body.

Muramatsu GX
Miyazawa 402 or 602
Altus 1107
Pearl Elegante 795 coda
Mateki M0-031
Sankyo CF301


Other things to consider:

Open/Closed hole
inline/offset G key
Split E mechanism
C#trill /D# roller
Gold lipplate
partial brogger/brogger system


All advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Basically, ANY of the models/brands you named are excelent options.
You'll have only two problems do solve.

One, you must find a dealer who has all of them, al least the majority, available.

Two, your daughter must try every flute available so she can feel which one is the best. Look, this is really not an easy task. She will need expert advise and someone that can hear while she plays and give her feedback of how she sounds on this or that flute.

To my own experience, and that's strictly personal, I'd begin with Sankyo and Muramatsu.

Good luck

Just needed to add about the options you listed.

Open/Closed hole - Closed hole are very rare these days. Usually only on special order. So, the commun way is open hole.

inline/offset G key - It's an individual preference. Since I presume your daughter may have small fingers, na offset G will be more ergonomic. But still, she must experiment the two options to choose.

Split E mechanism - Not really necessary, and may cause tuning problems to some higher notes. Also makes a flute more expensive.

C#trill - A good adding to a flute is the C# trill key. Makes life easier in many moments. Also makes a flute more expensive, depending on brand, material...

D# roller - Can help, but it's also a personal preference. I simply don't see any need for that.

Gold lipplate - Not necessary. Makes the instrument more expensive and usually comes off very quickly. In my opinion it's just cosmetics and changes nothing to the sound itself.
Although, if you look for a RAISER made of gold, there must be differences in tone. Again, experimentation is the key.

partial brogger/brogger system - Only available on Professional and VERY expensive flutes. Only Brannen and Miyazawa make flutes with these systems.

Thanks for your reply.

Much appreciated

You're welcome. Sorry for my typos. I was a bit in a hurry... :-)