One thing in favor of the Yamaha is that when you need to do an upgrade of your flute, it easy to find a suitable headjoint to your Yamaha so your next upgrade will be cheeper. I have a Miyazawa but my Yamaha with a Sankyo headjoint is better.

I do not know if this is still an active thread or post or whatever, but...

I am a die hard Gemeinhardt kind of guy. I have easy access to a Gemeinhardt dealer and his technician.

I own a 2SP and a KGM and I would not trade them for anything. Now that I have the KGM, I rarely play the 2SP. There are several reasons why I no longer play the 2SP, BUT it still works just fine and I am hoping my son will use it in the next few years. My only complaint about the 2SP is the fact the low C and D cannot be tuned, which is hardly important if the goal is to play loudly.

Although my daughter picked up the clarinet I am hoping she will play the 2SP with me at occasional ensembles. If you are looking at inexpensive, yet sturdy flutes, I do recommend the 2SP.

By the way, I bought the 2SP from ebay brand new with music stand. The KGM was purchased locally from the local dealer.

I also have a Gemeinhardt 4SP pic and I am dieing to upgrade to a KGLTD pic.

As a beginner I loved my Yamaha 200 series. Easy to blow and learn the notes of all octaves. They have great reliability( mine was Japanese made flute). I then upgraded to a Pearl Dolce after I lost my Yamaha!! But about time anyway as I was doing ABRSM grade 6. Now doing the advanced repertoire I just upgraded to a very beautiful Altus headjoint

I would defiantly say Yamaha or used pearl Dolce if you are in anyway ambitious

Hi,
If you're interested I'm selling a used Yamaha Flute 281 made in Japan (open hole). It's an advanced beginner/intermediate flute.
I've compared it with my friend's Yamaha 221 (assembled in Indonesia) and this one has much more variety in tone, and easier to play.
If you're interested, check out my recent post!

P.S: I'm selling it in the price range of a 221, so definitely worth it!