Hello, I`m 14 years old, and I`m starting on the flute. I started several days ago with my friend`s flute and am currently looking to buy my own flute. (I play the violin and the piano, so the flute shouldn`t be too hard to play.)

I`ve been reading topics and replies on certain brand names for flutes. Since I only have around $200 USD and my parents might add in $100 USD, which adds up to around $300, Muramatsu, Miyazawa, and other pricey brands are out of the question.

A lot of people recommend Armstrong, Yamaha, and Gemeinhardt for a beginning student. However, just as many people disapprove of the Gemeinhardt brand.

I`m guessing the choices narrow down to Armstrong and Yamaha. If you have any other suggestions, please tell me!

My budget is $300 (or $400, if my parents are in a good mood), so I definitely would not be able to afford the best brands.

Thanks!

- Jesse

I suggest getting a second hand Yamaha, which has been checked by somebody knowledgeable, separate from the seller, as to its condition.

Expect to have to get adjustment done for a second hand instrument, but you want to make sure you are not going to need a full overhaul/repad, unless the flute is pretty cheap.

Some Armstrongs are quite good. However there is a good chance that you get on that is scruffy in manufacture and/or disappointing in tone. This is not the case for Yamahas made in say the last 20 years.

I would suggest a used yamaha or Armstrong. When I fist started out I played on my aunt`s flute which was an Armstrong. It has lasted so far about 30 years so i know they`re pretty reliable flutes. Do stay clear of Gemeinhardt flutes. The airy tone and stuffyness of the tone will get you nowhere.

I ditto what Arak said.
I sell used refurbished Yamaha student flutes, so if you get in the market for one just drop me a line. I usually sell them for about $200-$250.

If they are available in your area, I would also reccomend looking at an Alpine flute. They are very reliable and play very well.

Alpine? I would have to greatly disagree with that, sorry. They aren`t a big name brand and are often made with very soft metal that bends easily. The embouchure cut is also made very poorly on them. They are cheaply made. As a flute teacher, I would not recommend them.

Someperson, just curious - What is your experience of different brands of student flute, over how long, on which you make this assessment? Simply in order to put it in context.

Without it being included in the 120+ brands I have played, I would have to treat it with suspicion.

If it is one of the first brands from China to be make to the standard of Yamaha, then it will need a significant test of time to establish that. The fact that I have not yet encountered it suggests (I stress `suggests`) that it has not been through that test yet.

gemeinhardt flutes r that badd hmm... i have one thats about $900
it does not sound so bad, but don`t i repeat don`t get a armstrong they r poorly made the keys all ways break, but don`t worrie about the name brand flutes unless u play in a school band, but if u play just for fun get a flute that u like and can afford.

p.s gemeinhardt flutes are not that bad u just have to work harder on your embouchure and its hard to find a cheap one.

Price is irrelevant. It can be a big misconception.
I have a Yamaha student 211 in which I bought used for $100 and it plays and sounds better than even the top brand Gemeinhardts that sell for over $1,000. My point being, it is quality, not price.

I would go with an Armstrong-an older Armstrong that a student can start out with to learn how to treat the flute and to teach them basic repairs....I bought my sister an older Armstrong and whenever a spring does something odd or something needs an adjustment, I teach her how to fix it as best as she can. (Unless it is a problem that needs serious repairs...but that has only happened once...) Plus, Armstrongs dont break down very often anyway and have good tone.

I do not understand all the criticism that Gemeinhardt and Armstrong are receiving regarding breaking down.

On a Gemeinhardt the upper pivot for the Bb key tends to work loose, but there is a way for a technician to rectify this forever, taking a few seconds.

In my experience it is very rare for a PROPERLY ADJUSTED student flute to break down, for keys to break, etc, unless the flute is of extremely poor parentage.

This is not the case for Armstrong and Gemeinhardt.

Sure I find Yamahas to be made to a standard which I regard as higher.

What does eventually happen to a well looked after flute to make it less playable, is largely two things:

1. Pads eventually wear through and leak.
2. The felt in the pads gradually crushes in such a way that the normally-open pads close at the back of the pad (the hinge `side`) before they seal at the front. This means the player has to press the keys harder to make them seal, which, of course, crushes them more and accelerates the development of the problem. Note that turning adjusting screws does not correct this problem. The key cups &/or pads need to be re-aligned to close flat on the tone holes.

On some (many!) student flutes there is an issue of non-level tone hole edges. Manufacturers who allow the greatest scruffiness in this respect, resort to particularly soft, low quality, `squishy` pads, in order to `band-aid` the problem, so when choosing a flute, squishy (usually white) pads is something to look out for. A good technician can deal with the original problem, but it is time consuming work.

The Yamaha flutes I see, which may be different from the ones in USA, come with excellent pads, but the tone hole levelness is not ideal.

The standard of tone holes and pads for the cheaper USA-brand flutes vary according to model.

In my experience, student (Taiwanese) Pearl flutes have slightly non-level tone holes, along with sloppier-than-Yamaha pivots, also the fit of the rod through the post above the F# key.. The problems caused by these are greatly compounded by Pearl using very hard pads, which are good, but not suitable for this situation, because they provide little accommodation for the inaccuracies.

In my experience Gemeinhardt has a good match of pads with engineering standards, so the flutes are reliable if properly adjusted.

In my experience Artley and Armstrong, in at least SOME models, have resorted to very squishy pads. Unreliable.

However there are Armstrong models which are very well made in this respect.

My resistance to student Armstrongs and Gemeinhardts, as others have agreed, is their inferior tone/volume/response, compared with Yamaha. However I have definitely encountered SOME Armstrong specimens which play very well. No doubt the higher models of Gemeinhardt may be better too, but I don`t see these models.

I think the castigation of Armstrong and Gemeinhardt on the basis of mechanical breakdown is probably unfair. I would place a great deal of the blame on the technician who has been working on the instrument. And almost ALL new student instruments need significant pre-sale attention, which most marketers do not give them.

The advantage of Yamaha for a novice buyer is that you cannot go wrong, unless the instrument is in a really bad state. In the last 2 or 3 decades of production, they ALL play amazingly well. Unless pads are wrecked, or there is other damage, skilled adjustment will correct any problems.

BTW, I think a significant proportion of technicians, and probably 99.9% of band directors, do not have the experience, inclination, and skill to adjust a student flute well, to a state where it will be reliable years into the future.

Ahhh, thanks you guys, especially the long reply from Arak. =]

Well, my parents don`t exactly want to bring my flute to a repair shop to replace the pads if I get an Armstrong or Gemeinhardt, so I`m guessing I shall stick with Yamaha than. =] And mostly because we don`t exactly know anybody that repairs flute and other woodwind instruments.
My previous school`s band director is a professional flutist, but I`m not sure if she knows how to repair/fix a flute. =/

My parents are those that want to buy everything new, so I`m pretty much guessing they won`t buy me a used flute whatever the circumstances are.

Thanks for helping me out! =]

You`re most welcome.

It would be a reare pro player, or band director, who knows much about adjusting a flute. However, I guess some do exist.

You could ask this person who does the work on his own flute when it is needed.

Many people courier their instrument quite large distances to get the services of a reputable technician. Others drive large distances.

A safe way to find a flute technician is to call schools in the area and find out who services their flutes.

A flute adjustment may run as low as 20-30 bucks... or so high that you can buy another student flute.

With hte budget you`re on, I suggest getting an open hole flute with plugs so that it will be like plateau keys. Then, with practice play without the plugs. I think flute is a whole lots easier than violin except the fact that violin`s lowest note is openG and flute`s lowest note is middle C.