Is Nagahara making a new complete flute for you? Or are they making a body to fit your HJ?

Only the body. That's why I chose them, first because the price will be far lower than a complete flute. Second because since I already have their HJ and I just LOVE IT, it was the natural consequence to order from them. They actually made me an exception only because I already have their HJ.

Also, what extras (if any) did you order?

Only the C#trill. I feel I don't need anything else really. I think Nagahara doesn't make those half-closing TK, maybe because of patent matters. But there are so many items of the highest technology in their flutes that I feel this will be a complete flute, no doubt!
Mine will be G-Inline, B-Foot with gizmo key, all 14K, Galway model.

You must be so excited, I can't wait to hear about your new flute too !!!!

Thanks so much for being so vibrant. I'm thrill and counting the days for my trip to the States :-)

The embouchure cuts on all headjoints were exactly the same. She mentioned that at the start of the video. I listened without looking at the video, jotting down the characteristics of each. I noticed a huge difference between the first few flutes and the later ones. It turns out the later ones comprised of silver and platinum metals. I liked gave platinum the lowest score, and 10k gold the most. Some people may steadfastly support the theory that the material from which a flute is made does not make a difference, but my ears tell me otherwise. However, seeing as I haven't played on a gold flute, I am in no position to assert any conjectures. But yes, I will of course consider other brands besides Burkart; it's just that I've never really taken that brand into my list before this occasion.

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Oh and the addition about the gym membership made me laugh - it would be awesome if it were true. I'm a male by the way.

For myself, quality of construction is very much a concern. Metal is simply not, though. From a practical standpoint, the actual metal hardly makes any difference at all, since it's really the alloy itself that makes a difference if anything. So a body from one manufacturer to another is pretty much the same other than small changes in harmonics and tuning.

Now, other dramatically different materials like wood, glass, and plastic, do make a fundamental change to the overall tone of the flute, but that also is consistent across the entire range (it's just making it all brighter or darker, louder or softer - the sound is still a "flute"). Minor changes in alloy composition or wall thickness really doesn't do much that the audience can hear.

Do a youtube search for "A New Metal for Flutes". Check out the last player. He gets pretty much every tone possible out of the headjoint. None of it's coming from the body itself, so so little that it's completely buried by what he's doing. This isn't a plug for a titanium headjoint, necessarily, but to prove that it's almost all the headjoint and the player. The body is just a means to make that tone hit different pitches.

What this means is that you can save a *lot* of money by getting a less expensive plated or normal silver body and concentrate on the other 90%+ of the sound, which is the headjoint. Obviously you want something designed with a modern scale and a B foot. (some flutes are tuned for a C foot, most are not lately).

Lastly, holes are better covered as they are cheaper to re-pad and provide a better seal than your fingers. I never found an instance where I couldn't just push or pull the note enough instead of having to start partially covering holes. If you want a true quarter tone flute, just buy one - Brannen/Kingma makes a superb one. I know a lot of makers think that open-hole flutes are better and fancier - they sure LOOK nicer - but the reality is that they actually play a bit less stable and slower. For quite often significantly more money.

So something like a basic professional quality body or similar with an upgraded headjoint can sound far better than top end models for half the price. I suspect that if you chose carefully, you could obliterate much of the $10-$20K flutes with a $5K combo like this.

Very logical and reasoned comments, Plekto -- as usual!

But you will not find much agreement from those who are so enamored of precious metals (and super-$$$ prices) that they think those flutes actually make them sound better as players.

A flute that's simply too heavy? Resulting in arm pain? No problem! The flute is so fancy and pretty that they absolutely must own it. After all, they've saved the money and they've earned the right!

I just wanted to add that by no means did I say NOT to go buy a Powell or similar flute. Powell and many others make superb flutes at the top end. But the basic model's body is sonically identical to the others. It would have to be or else it wouldn't be in tune or play properly.

A lot - and I'd wager more than half of all professional players have a high end body with at least a couple of headjoints that they swap into it. Some even use intermediate flute with high end headjoints, especially if they tour a lot and are worried about damaging a 10K+ instrument.