Schoolgirl,

I play a Pearl 665RBE-Coda Quantz Series Flute also. It has the Solid head, offset G/Split E, 10K Gold Lip, C# trill, D# roller, yadda yadda yadda. This flute sounds INCREDIBLY better than any Gemeinhardt I have ever tried. It`s intonation and response will never be touched by the gemeinhardt 3SB. Just because it isn`t all silver doesn`t make it bad. You will never sound the same after using this flute. This is the Pearl brand that is top of the intermediate line and low of the professional line. The Gemeinhardt I tried along with the Pearl was a 3SB. Eventhough the 3SB was solid silver, the Pearl played much better. Enjoy!

-Dennis

AAHHHHHHHH! *excited* OMG! Now i`m sooo excited for my new flute! YAY! A lot of ppl who had a gemienhardt before, like their new pearl. And i`m so excited. It`s coming in 3 days. YAY!!! Thanks Dennis, hope i sound better on my new pearl then my gemienhardt. And you said that since it`s not all silver..and how it didn`t matter. I`m really glad to hear that. THANK YOU!

No problem! I was so excited when I got mine...I`ve only been playing on it for a month. Who did you get it through? I got mine through *as I cringe* Sam Ash. They have always had HORRIBLE customer service for me. When I purchased my Clarinet and my Alto Sax, I felt like I should have just walked out and went somewhere else. The only problem is that there is only ONE other music store in my city (which is odd because I live in a medium big city). Upon attempting to get a price for this model it was a few hundred more expensive than at Sam Ash. So I got the one from Sam Ash and had it overnighted to me! The customer service this time was exceptional. I doubt it will be the same next time. Did you get the Coda version or just the Quantz Series?

-Dennis

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Also...How long have you been playing?

I agree with Dennis, I think that are a lot better then the Gemeinhardt flutes too. Happy flute day!

The pearl 665 has a student head. The pearl 695 while still silver plated is more than twice the cost with less key features for good reason... its headjoint. I would imagine it`s manufacture have a much higher quality assurance as well for it price.

That particular flute is just incapable of a full depth and tone color range by its intrinsic design.

Not to mention the experiences of some here that feel there are faulty mechanism design/issues in the lower echelons of Pearl flutes such as the 665, not that being made near where Jupiter makes their flutes has anything to do with that...

That said Pearls are well loved even if the cheapest professional headjoints outprice that particular flute.

I generally support Pearl flutes when they are malaigned here, but if you want to be snotty it`s attacked far more than any other brand here... I`ll just keep my mouth shut and see how you like your brand dragged through the mud.

Just be glad the resident repairman is out on vacation this week. lol.

This is why I suggest people keep what they have and save or at least buy a professional headjoint they can take with them. Such a waste for a silver plated flute at that with little resale value.

One can at least resale a solid silver Gemeinhardt at near the same cost they bought it for a few years down the road. In my case it`s drastically increased in value since I got mine and I can actually make a profit reselling it! A $200 profit!!!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

May Gemeinhardt continue to be the number one flute maker in America!

It`s not nice you be snotty.

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Oi! My kingdom for a proofreader!

Dear me and my words. I was attacking a sentiment that wasn`t even present I fear. How I get carried away when the words start flowing. I can be such a heel. My apologies, I completely overlooked your personal experience with the flute.

May POWELL continue to be the number one flute maker in America! Sorry to say it, but on this board I have seen Gemeinhardt get the brunt of things far more then a Pearl. For good reason too! :O


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While we were being snotty, I thought I would add something in because I am just so good at it. LOL!!

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Really.. I am just kidding. I know what it can be like when your brand of flute gets bashed. When I used to play on a Yamaha and went on a chat forum that had a lot of pro players on it, they would bash Yamaha too.

Please schoolgirl0125 I hope you don`t take to heart Stephens little out burst. Pearl is nice and IMO, much better then Gemeinhardt anyday.

DANG! I go to sleep and there is so much activity here. Well, I HAVE seen much more in the way of name dragging of gemeinhardt more than pearl. Gemeinhardt is just rotten flute making at it`s best. The funny thing is, Stephen, I can play with any chamber group around and sound great on my previous flute. Which was an astonishing Pearl PF-521. Student model, open hole, B-foot. No frills, all silver plated. 13 years and that flute`s tone never changed, the pads never needed to be replaced until the end, and after getting the 665rbe-coda, I was amazed at how I was able to actually PLAY Ibert and Khachaturian on the 521. There was a good difference in the tone, but the 665 also had the features I was looking for. The next step IMHO is going to be the Gold Maesta from Pearl. I don`t think I will switch brands ever again. Trying out the Gemeinhardts at the store to compare to the 665 I had. THAT was painful. I felt like I needed to be dragged through the mud. Yet, the guy at the counter said to come back anytime because he actually likes to hear GOOD music. HAHAHAHAH!! I thought I sucked. Goes to show you what the standards are when you only stock gemeinhardt flutes. :P

-Dennis
P.S. Kara, you are the best! And Pearl is right after Kara!

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Oh, and regarding resale value. I am not looking to sell any of my flutes. I look for the one I can afford that gives me the best tone and octave tuning along with playability and response. If I never get rid of my Pearl Coda...it will be TOOOOOO soon! I will upgrade as I said though, but when you get up in the 30-40,000 dollar range, even having all of the $2200 back for having the silver plated 665-Coda, in the long run it doesn't even makea dent in the total cost. So who cares?! :) How do like them apples? HAHAHAHAH!!

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of course I meant the $2200 dollars for the solid silver. The Silver plated was $1289.

Lol, Dennis! Thanks!

i`m hoping i wasn`t too rude. I just can`t stand it when people come on here and start knocking brands they really don`t know about. At least that`s how I see it. Just because the Headjoint that comes with a certain flute is a student model doesn`t mean it doesn`t play like a professional one. The reverse of that is true (Watch out! Sonare is about to be slammed) Just because the headjoint is a professional one doesn`t make a student body sound great. Sonare had to be the most horrific sounding flute I played. Second only to...guess who. I might not have a degree (yet) in performing, but this self-taught flutist got a full ride to a very prominent State School`s music school. Yet I never had a lesson in my life. So, I have had a lot of experience yes. That also doesn`t mean that I am the end all to everything. You go with what works best for you. The reason I hate and abbhor Gemeinhardt flutes is this. They are OK in teh sound department. They can get a student playing right I suppose. When it comes down to getting a more professional flute, though - They never seem to be able to play any other flute well at all. i sounded beautiful on the 3SB I played with the Pearl. The Pearl just sounded MUCH better...even with a student headjoint. So please do not totally diss someone`s choice in a flute just because of your opinions. They were probably on a certain budget, or they needed a flute now and couldn`t wait to save up more money to get one. I`ve done enough rambling...I await your retort of course

-Dennis

HEY EVERYONE!!! I GOT MY FLUTE TODAY! OMG! OMG! IT SOUNDS AMAZING!! INCREDIBLE! It had a nice sweet sound and it was BEAUTIFUL. I was able to project and have this NICE sound. Pearl flute is wAY nicer then my gemienhardt. IT"S AWESOME!!!! My low notes are louder. I could easily vibrate more. And it`s very pretty too. BUT HEY GUESS WHAT?!?!

MY NEW FLUTE HAS A LEAK! i don`t know how to fix it though. My Bflat is weird and my high f. Especialy my bflat. HMM..i know something`s wrong with it, cause I played the Bflat fingering when there`s a leak and it was fine. SO WHAT"S UP WITH THAT? is it a little adjustment i need to make on the flute? Some kind of screw? help here!! AHH MAN! A LEAK...

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Besides that.uh..LEAK! it's amazing. It came a day early! OMG, wait till i play it in band tomorrow.
Dennis, i've been playing since 5th grade and i'm a freshman in highschool right now. So, like ..4 years. And i got a private teacher last summer. she's amazing and helped me get in lots of competition and helped me win^^

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Can someone help me with this? Do you guys know how to fix this? Do you think my band director would know how to fix it? Oh, and i got the coda kind. PLZ reply fast, as you know i'm not patient^^

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Oh and stephenk, it's not a silver plated headjoint. It's actually a Sterling silver headjoint with a SOLID i think 10k gold lip plate. And i didn't like the jupiter at all. I thought it was worse then my gemienhardt. that flute didn't work for me, and the soft keys and how the keys were arranged screwed me up. It's closer i think..yep.

Uh..anyone a repair person here? Or know what to look for when you have a leak. Again, my Bflat especially and my high f doesn`t work. Other than that, pearl is AWESOME! Bflat is a common leak...right? what do i do?

When you are fingering the B natural, the key between the b natural and A natural (the one you don`t press) sounds like it is the leaking key. That is one of the most problematic keys to leak on a flute. There are a few ways that you may need to fix it and without looking at your flute, it is close to impossible to tell you what to do. It may be as simple as the screw to the left (directing toward the headjoint) could need tightening. Or it could be the clutch that doesn`t have thick enough cork on it. I just can`t tell you for sure without looking at it, sorry.

You know, every time a student of mine has ordered form WWBW the flute always needs some kind of repairs and it out of adjustment. They have great prices, but they don`t set up their flutes before sending them out like they should. That is one of the down falls.

I am really happy that you love your flute. I had a good feeling that you would! Oh and..it isn`t a student headjont on that model either. I don`t know where Stephen came up with that?? It is funny because I have a "student" model silver plated Yamaha headjoint that I think plays better then a solid 14 Karat pro flute headjoint that I tried the other day.

At any rate, I would call WWBW, insist to them that you would like a flute shipped out that is in proper working oder right away and then you will send that one back once you know you have one that plays. Make an excuse up and tell them that you have a big concert coming up or something and that you can`t afford to go without a flute. Good luck and keep us posted. Congrats again!!!

Thanks! I don`t think I`ll bring it to school tomorrow and let my band director check it out. I`m going to a music store tomorrow and I`ll see what they`ll say about it. Maybe it`s really small. i hope! i hope! I don`t think i should be messing up with the screws..i might make it worse.

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Hey, Denis and every1, how long have you been playing? Just wondering, because i feel like i'm keep on telling ppl how long i've been playing. I think it's my uh..20th time?;)