What do you think of this offer (from an USA seller):

Gemeinhardt 2S (Offset G, Solid Silver Head and Body, C Foot) (#21617)
Free Shipping (to Spain) Price: $769.00

Note that I would be buying it without testing and eventually having to return it from Europe would also be complicated. Warranty is also doubtful.

The quoting site is www.music123. Do you know this vendor? is it serious and reliable?

However, compared to my aging Genmeinhardt M2, is this a real upgrade -for the price I have to pay?

And, is this instrument serviceable (not by me, OK)? i.e., has it adjustments screws so that the technicians do not have to charge enormously to adjust it in the future?

Thanks for your opinions and counseling!

Is there no way at all you could try it or mabey a friends one? It`s a fair price but there are places out there with better check out some other sites and get a few quotes before committing this one.

I wouldn`t risk it. If you are going to upgrade your flute, I would stay away from getting another Gemeinhardt.
You would be better off getting a Yamaha 211 all silver plated. Solid silver doesn`t always mean better, especially where Gemeinhardt flutes are involved.

I don`t get it:0. Why are gemeinhardt such a bad flute brand? I have a 2sp, and I know it`s not the best sounding flute in the world, but i always wondered by people don`t like gemeinhardt. My teacher doesn`t like it because it`s a easy blow and it`s not able to project good. Is that true and is there any other reasons why gemeinhardt is bad? And also, i someone said JUPITER and GEMEINHARDT is almost the same. relating to tone issues and all that. Is it similar at all? And please answer if you really know the answer, because I`m planing to buy a new flute soon.

Can anyone PLEASE answer the question I just posted up there? I`m sorry, I`m not a patient person PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

i need my questions answered. UP UP LOOK UP!:0

I really hate to bring this up in fear of a whole debate against Gemeinhardt, but here we go....

IMO, Gemeinhardt is not the best of quality on the market. They come out of adjustment easily and the headjoint design on them are poor. I have yet to play on a any decent style/cut of headjoint made by that company. IMHO, the only reason they can off their flutes at a lower price then some of the other name brands is because they don`t put any money into trying to improve them in the first place.

Your teacher is correct in saying that they do not project. I don`t know any professional/teacher that would recommend them.

Still...people like them, or they wouldn`t be selling. I really believe that some (not all) will swear by them only because:

1.That is what they play on and don`t know any different.

2. They have not tried other brands.

3. That is all they can afford.

4. They are inexperienced.

1.That is what they play on and don`t know any different. 2. They have not tried other brands. 3. That is all they can afford. 4. They are inexperienced.

Yep! My band director wanted me to purchase a yamaha model, it may have been 400 series I was young and it cost $1,000 yet my gemeinhardt was only $500 3shb. I didn`t think it came out of adjustmant easily. Then I used my yamaha 674 and then did noticed the gemeinhardt`s bflat keys when you`d release them would make a clicking noise as it hit the tube of the flute that I was totally not aware of. Yet again it was 10 years old and I never had it looked over. That`s the only thing I could find. I think if that`s all you can afford it`s decent. But I agree about it`s projection. I had a very hard time projecting with my gemeinhardt versus the yamaha. Looking back now, I didn`t know about flute world. I would use them now to try out different flutes. I went to NYC looking all over to try out different flutes and only found basic student models. I try to keep an eye out for conventions or events at colleges for flute but never around. Flute world seems a nice way to try flutes.

Thank you Kara. I understand your concerns.

But your opinion on GMHis basically coincident with others posted here and is very useful for me.

I was not looking for another Gemeinhardt; I asked for a quote on a Jupiter 711, mentioning that I would rather have closed plates. Then music123 replied that J711`s come only as open plate and quoted a Gemeinhardt 2S on their own.

Right now I`m inclined to buy a Yamaha, possibly a 311 or 321 and new, if I can afford it. I never played something different than my GMH M2 and I`m eager to test it.

But local stores do not carry stocks anymore; they have to bring one on request and it complicates looking, touching and testing.

The cheapest local price for a new YL311 I found so far is 1,200 US$.

At the same shop, a Jupiter 711 would be 1.400 US$ and a J 611 888 US. The 711 is beyond my budget for the moment.

What do you think of this choice (YL 311)?

I think that the Yamaha 311 would be an excellent choice. It is too bad that Yamaha prices are so expensive though.

<Added>

If you still want a closed hole flute and you find a model that you really like but it is open hole, just buy plugs for it.

That Gemeinhardt flute offer is a bad deal, being that the price is too high.

Gemeinhardts are well known for one thing. When you buy one for a student when they enter highschool it will generally last them till they graduate without adjustment. It is extremely popular in the American school system for that reason. It maintains adjustments well.

I own a Gemeinhardt 3SB and it has served me well over the past 9 years. It has never gone out of adjustment on its own accord nor have I had to change a pad, save for 1 due to my own negligence (torn pad pulling paper through to quickly unstick).

Now regarding my own Yamaha flute. I found to my horror that the Yamaha flute I was playing had to have its headjoint pulled out a rather obscene amount in order to get a Bb in tune. When that Bb gets in tune, every other note gets thrown out of tune for very unpleasant effect. Whether or not this is attributable to one flute being A=440 vs the other being A=442 I don`t know, but even if the Yamaha had a better functioning mechanism than my aging Gemeinhardt, it was not functional for use with my ensemble so it went back on craigslist for someone else to play with (I even spent the money to have Muramatsu tech put it in order).

The big drawback of a Gemeinhardt flute is its standard model J headjoint. For most people who switch to this flute they will hear a breathy sound while playing. It is a problem I never had, until I switched to a professional head for a while and switched back. Then I experienced it. Gemeinhardt does offer other headjoint models though that does not pose this problem. Though Jupiter and Emerson offer flutes of similar pricing and it wouldn`t hurt to try them out to see if they have better heads. I did not like Emerson back when I got my Gemeinhardt, but people seem to like them today.

I fault Yamaha for its price and it`s dealers spreading FUD. The 200 series is just obscenely priced from anywhere at $800-1200US. You can purchase used ones that have been put into good playing condition by many online from around $250-350US. Nancy Shinn at http://www.flutestar.com/ does so as well as Kara here from time to time.

You should try to compare different flutes and pick the best flute though, across whatever brands you have available to you. Do check into whether warranties are enforcable in your country too.

Here in the US, California specifically, if you have a 5 year warranty and that flute has to be repaired for the same problem 4 times within that warranty period. You are guaranteed a full refund for the cost of the flute or an exchange, your choice. Also there is a national law that forces companies to give you the warranty for a product prior to purchase so that you can compare and purchase based off your warranty.

But that`s in here in the US.

WOW! This helps me a lot! You guys must be professionals or way older than me^^. I feel so young in this forum, I`m just a high school freshman=) well, thanks a lot!

Thanks StephenK

I have writen to Nancy. It seems that for the moment she has no YL311 at hand or in the pipe.
She`s offering a "Yamaha 381 - open holes, inline G and B foot, solid sterling silver headjoint; body and keywork is plated. Excellent condition, $700."

I would rather not have a B foot; I think it ads weight and difficulty without any real advantage at my present and near future level. But I do not know much about this model. If you have any comment, pls let me know.

It maintains adjustments well.

It does? That is news to me. Stephen, do you repair flutes? I only ask this because if not, for an average flutist, they most likely will not know of all the problems there own flute has and keep on playing it as such.

I would take your Yamaha into a repair tech or ask the company about it. I haven`t encountered a Yamaha with that bad of intonation before. Have you tried other Yamaha flutes out before? Maybe you and Yamaha just don`t get along. I know I don`t get along with their piccolos.

You seem to be the only one on here that recommends a Gemeinhardt. IMHO as a professional/teacher, if someone really wants to progress and go somewhere on the flute, I still would not be able to recommend Gemeinhardt. I understand ones loyalty to the brand if that is what they play on though.

<Added>

Sorry, I re read your post and see that you sold your Yamaha. Sorry if I was seemed unpleasent in the post above. I am in a bad mood, I didn't mean to take it out on you. I should refrain from using the computer when I get like this. I had to give up the little dog that I was fostering today and I really miss her. Once again, I apoligize.

It does? That is news to me. Stephen, do you repair flutes? I only ask this because if not, for an average flutist, they most likely will not know of all the problems there own flute has and keep on playing it as such.

US warranty requirements would put Gemeinhardt out of business should they have a record of faulty flutes. They provide a 5 year warranty on their flutes against defects of manufacture. Dealers of repute such as Fluteworld or NY Flute Center would not sell Gemeinhardt flutes if such allegations were true. No music store would carry products that kept breaking and causing returns.

I would take your Yamaha into a repair tech or ask the company about it. I haven`t encountered a Yamaha with that bad of intonation before. Have you tried other Yamaha flutes out before? Maybe you and Yamaha just don`t get along. I know I don`t get along with their piccolos.

There was no fault with the flute. It did not function well with the ensemble that I play with. I had an extremely embarrassing incident when I attempted to use the Yamaha to play at a church gig when the ensemble had to tune with an organ and I had to pull out over an inch to get the tuning pitch in tune. I pulled out as far I as I felt resonably comfortable, but the musical director was insistent that I continue to pull out further so that one pitch was in tune. Once I started hitting an inch I simply told him that was as far as it can go. So the damn Bb was close to in tune, but because the flute was pulled out so far playing it was such an utter tonal nightmare.

Other than that I did have to pull out It played fine by itself with the headjoint in the proper position, but I did not have that choice. So I re-sold it.

You seem to be the only one on here that recommends a Gemeinhardt. IMHO as a professional/teacher, if someone really wants to progress and go somewhere on the flute, I still would not be able to recommend Gemeinhardt. I understand ones loyalty to the brand if that is what they play on though.

I was defending Gemeinhardts reputation for building durable flutes. I was not recommending them in particular, though I do recommend them. I recommended testing various brands of flutes.

My Gemeinhardt flute was the best of a few flutes (~$1000) that I tested years ago. I did not choose it due to its brand. Nor will I ever choose a flute due to its brand name.