Im upgrading for my daughter she`s 16,playing for 6yrs.
She plays in a youth symphony & plans on playing in college.
Are these models sufficiant,which do you prefer or do you recomend something better?
yamaha 500-$1800.00
sanko etude model-$2000.00

I would personally go with Sankyo, but set a budget and try several in the range you are able to spend, she will know which one plays and feels the best

www.patrickandfriends.com

Have her play test them in the store. Play test several of the same model if possible. Also bring your old flute to compare sound and playability.
Both are good models.

I prefer the scale on the Sankyo better then on Yamaha. I always seem to have trouble with the intonation on Yamahas. But, like the others said, have her try them out for herself. Taking a tunner would also be a good idea.

Here`s a Trevor Wye article on checking a Flute`s scale:
http://www.larrykrantz.com/wyept1.htm#wyecheck

thanks all for the advice, but while I`ve been trying to gain flute knowledge,and it will come in handy, Mara {my daughter}suggest that since she plays pic more in symphony
& concert she would like a wood pic.
Kara,the burkhart sounds great but a little to much $$$.
Im looking into the ypc62.

If anyone has any suggestions sound off

If you want to stay on the more conservative side, the Emerson Boston Legacy is wonderful. If I am not mistaken, it runs less then the Yamaha 62.

I tested one out and took it to rehearsal and I was very impressed by it. I found the Emerson to have a more consistent scale then the Yamaha 62. That is a huge factor if you are going to be playing piccolo a lot.

I owned a Yamaha 62 for about five years and I can say that they are very well built. (I did have to go to another piccolo because I just couldn`t stand the intonation issues of it though.)

I can also say IMHO that the Emerson is very well built also. I really don`t think that you could go wrong either way.

If you are going to have your daughter test different models, I highly suggest that either you have some sent to her by mail or go to a good company like Flute World that just specializes in flutes. That way you can be guaranteed to have a well set up flute.

I`ve noticed I have a heck of a time with my intonation with my yamaha. I`ve been working with a tuner and just can`t seem to adjust well with it or rather worse yet it`s just very difficult to keep it in tune. I did not have to play in an ensemble for the summer and I have been adjusting my lips to see what works best. That may be causing problems but ever since I got it it has been more difficult to tune. I love the sound on it just it`s not tuned very well and in my community band it causes issues. Any suggestions how to deal with this? I tried everything from checking my cork, my embocure placement, adjusting my lips to lower or raise the pitch (when I do that my sound craps out though and not as full), full breath support it just will not stick to it. Well I suppose the tv in the background doesn`t help either while I`m working with the tuner!

Oh i suppose I can try the website provided here but wow I don`t have that much time or energy to figure it out! But great to know!

I do have a very thin upper lip and my embochure hole is to the side of my lips (the right). I know that many have differnet lip positions but I still feel due to my position my lips cannot physically be very flexible. My bottom lip seems ok just my upper lip there`s no flesh there!

When I first picked an the flute in elementary school I could not for the life of me blow across the flute. The director reached for a clarinet and (sorry clarinet people) I started crying so he stuck it out and I finally made a wimpy whistling sound!

I`ve tried slow practice to get my lips more centered but doesn`t work and even if I did as I stated above I need it to the side just to get some flesh to make a sound on the flute. So I try positioning the flute directly where my air stream blows across but then it`s too far to my right, the flute itself, and then I loose my flexability to leap from low to high notes.

While I love Yamaha flutes, and I also think that have a wonderful sound to them, I HATE the intonation on them!!!! Rest assure Mysticalwaters1 it is not you. I went through the same thing you did. I had a 400 series for about three years and I got so fed up with it. I changed to the 500 series which at the time seemed a lot better.

For some it works, but not everyone and I guess I am one of them. I thought I had problems on the Yamaha flute, and then I purchased one of there wood piccolos. Ugghhhh!!!!!

The scales that work best for ME are the ones on (newer) Haynes and (newer) Powell. While the Japanese flutes are wonderful, I seem to have more trouble with the scale on them.

HI Mystical waters
How is your posture? After teaching many students, I find intonation problems are usually related to posture and hand position more than anything, work with a good teacher. The majority of the modern flutes, especially from Asia, are pretty easy to play in tune

www.patrickandfriends.com

Hey thanks! My posture I think is good overall but if I`m lazy I catch myself ducking my head down which causes problems but that`s really all I notice. I stopped taking lessons due to time and college. Now I feel I am just too old but if I`m paying it shouldn`t matter. I may try it again for feedback. I`m also practicing singing the pitches before I play to help out.

hi mysticalwaters, thanks for being open-minded, I have attended and lectured at enough flute and education conferences to see young players with intonation problems that is ascribed to the flute and not the player

I would go with a Sankyo if it was just a matter between that brand and Yamaha...Might I suggest an Armstrong? There are many good flutes under that brand; concert-ready, reliable...And I would also suggest a DC PRO. They are affordable, flashy (although that doesn`t really matter if you are looking for plain quality) and are built well.