my 10 year old badly damaged her ($489) gemeinhardt m26139 that we purchased at an instrument sale at her school. the only other place here in new orleans that sells flutes offers a ($399) selmer fl302. if quality and sound are about equal, i would like to get the less expensive one. any opinions?

You can go to wwbw.com and they sell beter flutes at beter prices.

there are other online sources that are good, try www.music123.com, or www.fluteworld.com

are you saying that i can buy a better flute at these places, or the flutes i mention are decent but overpriced? thanks for your ideas, i'll look into it these sites.

Both

There are also these flute specialty shops:
http://www.fluteworld.com
http://www.flute4u.com
http://www.kesslermusic.com
http://www.flutes4sale.com

If you're willing to make the trip, there are places in Slidell and Metarie with good deals sometimes

Gemeinhart is a little bit better then Selmer, but I don't recommend either brand to any of my beginner students.

thank you all so much--i've decided that i'll order a student gemeinhardt from music123, basically the same one that i'm replacing, but at a far better price (and no shipping and taxes!). i've asked the band director to offer these websites to parents in the future. but i am curious about what brand kara would recommend a beginner before i make my final decision.

also, i've found that wwbw and music123 have nearly the same online store format with below msrp "unadvertised" prices. has everyone out there had a good experience with ordering from them, just curious.

thank you all so much--i've decided that i'll order a student gemeinhardt from music123, basically the same one that i'm replacing, but at a far better price (and no shipping and taxes!). i've asked the band director to offer these websites to parents in the future. but i am curious about what brand kara would recommend a beginner before i make my final decision.

also, i've found that wwbw and music123 have nearly the same online store format with below msrp "unadvertised" prices. has everyone out there had a good experience with ordering from them, just curious.

I've ordered clarinets, flutes, and guitars through wwbw, music 123, and musicians friend and they were all pleasant experiences. In fact you can call then and talk to someone about the instrument you are considering buying.

i didn't think i would have any trouble as the salesman i spoke to at music123 was very educated about flutes and helpful, not to mention, patient. it's just that the music shop (are you from n.o.? the one with two stores in baton rouge, no longer in metairie) told me that these sites where they have to email you their prices, are doing this illegally.

thanks for your reassurance!

nolafan,
I think that Yamaha and Emerson are good, but really Gemeinhardt isn't bad, it just takes more work for a lot of beginners to get a nice sound on.

from what i have read in this forum, we will definitely be upgrading to a yamaha when the time comes. thanks.

Hey, now there is an idea. I even like the first act head on my Yamaha.