My flute has a buffet straight head joint of unknown age and the rest of it is a 1988 armstrong 104. The keys need new pads, and the cork in the head joint is loose. The repair place my Mum (who is not a musician) took it to said the pads could not be replaced as the flute was too old and it was a write off and I should just get a new £200 Yamaha (about $355).I don`t want to give up on this flute as this is its first major failing in the 13 years I`ve been playing it and I`m a bit skeptical about this advice as he didn`t recognize a split E mechanism when he saw one. I`d be really grateful for a second opinion.
Vicky

Phone John Packer on 01823 338517 (repairs) or 01823 282386 (shop). They fixed my flute and could probably give you the best advice. Their website is www.johnpacker.co.uk

Just express that this flute is your backup flute and it has sentimental value so that a repair person doesn`t outright refuse to repair.

Straubinger`s website lists certified flute repairmen across the world:
http://straubingerflutes.com/pad_technician_intl.html#England

Keep in mind that the cost to replace ALL the pads may be the cost of a new Armstrong flute and is probably the reason they would refuse to repair.

you wouldn`t get straubinger pads on a begginer flute...those are only for professional model flutes. There are regular felt pads that you can use.

as for the repair man`s advice I don`t agree with him either. Why would you buy another begginer flute to replace the begginer flute that you already have? I would suggest if you`re really serious about flute then you save up to get an intermediate flute which are in the $1,000-3,500 price range. You can look at other posts to see which models you could consider. But in the meantime your flute that you have now is fine.

John Packer are also one of the cheapest flute repairers I could find. My Miyazawa cost £80 to repair and most other shops charged £140+

I agree with Piko that you should explain it`s sentimental value and that you need it as a back-up flute.

If you dont mind me asking, where in the U.K. are you from?

The repairer kis possibly not interested in more work, and more interested in making a quick buck from a sale.

I very much doubt that you would get such advice from a technician who does not sell instruments.

If you like your Buffet, then Buffet is definitely a brand that is well enough made to be worth repadding.

Find a new technician! ask a variety of established players and teachers until a pattern emerges of a trusted technician.

Bear in mind that for an older student instrument, especially when the head does not match the flute, the resale value after servicing may be around what you spend on the repad/complete overhaul.

I am not a Straubinger-certified repairer. However I have worked on enough flutes repadded by such people to know that being Straubinger-certified is NO GUARANTEE of good workmanship.

ANY decent technician can do a good job of installing Straubinger pads, and any other pads, using standard techniques for installing pads. Indeed there are other brands of pad very similar in design to Straubinger, and technicians do NOT need a `licence` to buy them to install. IMHO Straubinger makes this requirement as part of elitist hype. It is insulting to good technicians. So on principle I would choose the opposition pads.

Furthermore, Straubinger pads are not the ultimate pad. They have their own problems, including splitting membranes at the edges of the pads, and being so hard that they make a loud slap on the tone hole.

Straubinger, and other top quality, rather hard-felted pads are often quite unsuitable for student flutes because they cannot seal reliably unless the pivots and tone hole edges are adjusted to very fine tolerances, which seldom exist on student flutes.

I`m from Cambridge, but I`m a student at the moment and I`m on my first visit home since December at the moment. Most of my time is spent in Surrey!

This isn`t my back up flute! It`s the only one I`ve ever had, and I`m not sure that getting a better flute is really sensible for me because I`m spastic,(never get born 10 weeks early, it can be very bad for you) so I might hammer it accidentally, and any performing I do is busking on the street, so by the time I`m fighting the wind blowing down it in the wrong direction, I don`t think you`d hear the difference.

Thanks for all the advice. I`ll look at John Packer

Vicky

I was asking because if you live in scotland, it would cost a lot for it to be collected but living in England shouldn`t cost too much. I`m from south Wales and it cost me £10 for it to be collected because I didn`t want to post it as it`s not insured.

Hope you get your flute fixed and let me know what they say

I suggest Straubinger certified technicians only because your only alternative is a repairperson you have no experience with. There are horrible repair people out there that have no business adjusting flutes... bending key cups... using glue... EVERYWHERE.

I believe most if not all of the major professional flute makers use and recommend Straubinger pads above all others. Miyazwa`s has an article by David Straubinger on how his pads are an improvement over traditional pads. http://www.miyazawa.com/articles/other10.htm

You may not appreciate your not being able to install Straubinger pads without certification, but certification is merely a tool to make sure only those who know how to properly repair a flute have access to Straubinger pads. Otherwise Straubingers name would not be worth as much as it is now.

"Miyazawa`s has an article by David Straubinger on how his pads are an improvement over traditional pads...

Isn`t it rather naive to attach ANY weight to such an article. Of COURSE Straubinger would say that. So would Bartholomew Wigglesworth if any manufacturer got to use his pads.

"You may not appreciate your not being able to install Straubinger pads without certification"

It is not a matter of me not appreciating this. I could very easily get certificated, and insulted in the process, being told how to do something I already know how to do! It is a matter of me boycotting a manufacture who uses this crude tool to impress the gullible in an attempt to artificially hype his product with pseudo-elitism. It has obviously worked on you! Many other technicians feel the same way as I do.

"...but certification is merely a tool to make sure only those who know how to properly repair a flute have access to Straubinger pads..."

You don`t seem to get it. Yes, this is the tactic, but it doesn`t work. I have seen enough foul installation of these pads to be convinced. Yours truly, uncertificated as I am, gets to be one of the ones to correct these installation botch-ups!

"..Otherwise Straubingers name would not be worth as much as it is now."

The name is worth what it is worth because of cunning marketing and gullibility. To me, the techniques used lack integrity, so I have little respect in that direction.

That is why, if I were to use Straubinger-type pads I would use the Star-LP pads from a extremely respected source that you may not have heard of, Music Center. Take a browse at the credentials and info at
http://www.musiccenterspa.com/Produzione/index.html

This is the source of almost all my pads. A USA top supplier to the repair trade, Kraus, also gets their pads from Music Center.

Straubinger, by comparison, is a very small name in pads.

Quite frankly you could be the best repair person in the world and I would not walk in the door unless you had any credentials.

Any search through Larry Krantz flute list archive shows that many professional flutists and flute makers regard Straubinger pads as superior to all others from their posts on the subject, hence their popularity. In my area alone I have 3 Straubinger technicians and 1 Muramatsu technician. If you have no credentials I am not going into your shop. Sorry.

My own personal experience is as such: I rely on other people`s good experiences. People I trust, who have a like attitude regarding their flute, who have had consistent, excellent results with an honest, skilled technician exhibiting utmost integrity.

In the past I went with other criteria, including convenience and good advertisements, and I was significantly disappointed. Subsequently, I changed my criteria and went on the hunt.

I live in a large metropolitan area and have a lot to choose from. My technician does not have a large glitzy place -- he does not sell instruments. I am inconvenienced to drive to his place, but I know many, many others who drive hours to bring him their flutes.

I feel very good about my decision, and would recommend him to anyone. I also would follow him if he would happen to relocate.

Just for kicks, I looked on the link for the S. pad certified techs, and wasn`t surprised that he was not listed. I was actually somewhat pleased in a deep, dark way. I like his independant nature and think it probably contributes to his unbiased assessment of my needs.

On the other hand, there is no way that I am asserting that a S. pad certified tech would be unethical and attempt to push that brand, just because they are certified by that company. I don`t have any personal experience that would prove that. As in the purchase of an instrument, finding the right tech is something that should not be taken lightly.

P.S. I use similar criteria for my mechanic. I have brought a lot of business to him from people who are now eternally grateful for his honesty and integrity....he is also independant.