I was looking around in local music shops today, and stumbled across an E.M. Winston flute, which i've never heard of. It looked almost new, no scratches or dents, for $500. I played a couple songs on it, and the sound quality is good. Are these flutes good quality? If not, which brand would be good to get? I have a rental yamaha right now, but I'm thinking of buying. Thanks.

Well, E.M. Winston is certainly not one of the better known makes of student flute, but I played one of these in the distant past, and I seem to remember that it was a solid enough instrument...Nothing spectacular, but then student model flutes rarely are, but it certainly did the job. Of course, in the end, you must decide whether you think it's a good use of your money or not. I suggest you play test as many instruments as you can to be sure that you like the Winston best, and then if you're happy with it, go ahead and buy it. Check out Yamaha, Armstrong, Gemeinhardt, Jupiter, Pearl,Emerson, or Trevor James flutes as well. Hope that helps a bit.

Thanks. I went to brook mays today, and since i'm doing a "rent to own" program thing, I have about 800 bucks on credit to spend on a used flute. We kind of bartered for a bit, and the guy working there said we could get 50% off a new flute if we wanted to buy a new one. There was a $1,300 Gemeindhardt which he said we could buy for $650, or I could keep my current flute since it's already paid off. the Gemeindhardt I looked at has off-set keys, which I really liked, and has great tone quality. If you were in my place, what would you do? I wouldn't want to show up at school with a brand new flute, with some people seeing me as a "i can just go out and buy a new flute any time" type of person, haha. What should I do?

Well first of all, don't concern yourself at all with what people might think of you if you showed up at school with a new flute. What they think does not matter, and if you do get a new flute, it should be because it makes you happy to have a tool that lets you express yourself more easily through music. Now, I personally dislike Gemeinhardts, but that has little bearing on your decision, since ultimately it is up to you. What about the Gemeinhardt would you say is better than what you play now? What's worse? Is it $650 worth of better? Must you use the credit you've stored up now, or can you wait until later down the line to apply it to a better flute? Once again, this is entirely up to you, but do take some time to think about it, and if the Gemmie seems the right choice, go with that, if not, keep your flute.

I just saw a new line of flutes advertised for gemeinhardts in a magazine. Brio it's called. Has anyone tried them? I have no idea on the cost or if it's an improvement. It says it's a sankyo head joint. Don't know if originally they used those head joints before or if it's new.

The headjoint's actually by Dana Sheridan (of Sheridan flutes) from what I have heard. It is the same sort of gimmick that Sonare, Amadeus, and Azumi are....A Chinese body with a good headjoint as the main selling point from what I've read. They may or may not be an improvement over older Gemmie models (which did not use these heads), but I have yet to encounter a Brio, so I can't offer any further information.

I'm not exactly sure what about it is better, it just sounds like it has better tone quality, and for some reason the high notes don't take as much "force" as they do on my yamaha. Just out of curiosity, why do you dislike Gemeinhardts? I haven't been playing for a very long time (just 3 years), so i'm not sure if the Gemeinhardt would be worth the money or not. I don't have to spend the money now, but since we're a bit tight on money, we figured $650 would be cheaper than 4 more years of rent (which would be $1548). But, I guess I could get my yamaha cleaned up (it has some bad scratches & dents from previous renters) & tuned. I'm trying to decide what would be better in the long run .

Okay...I'm a bit confused about what you're looking at, so could you please clarify? Are you looking to buy a flute because you are currently renting one, and it will be cheaper, or do you own one, but want a nicer one, or is it something else entirely? But anyway, it sounds like you like the tone of the Gemmie more than anything. What do you think of the mechanism? Anyway, I dislike the mechanism on the Gemmies (it's not smooth enough for me), and the embouchure hole on many is a wierd cut (some people have trouble changing from a Gemmie to other flutes once they're used to it) that is not comfortable for me, and does not produce a good tone (when I am playing). However, many, many people do play them, some quite successfully, so my dislike of Gemmies should not affect your decision.

Ok, I'm currently renting a yamaha from brook mays. I have $800 saved up from the 3 years I've rented it, and could keep the yamaha free of charge, but get it cleaned up & tuned, or I could buy the Gemeinhardt for $650 from the brook mays i'm renting from, and return the yamaha. I liked the Gemeinhardt, it was easy enough to play, and I thought it sounded good. My dad said he thought the tone quality was better than my yamaha, but I don't know.. I did a few scales, and it seemed to play fairly smooth. Your opinion on the Gemeinhardt won't change my mind, I was just curious . What do you think would be better in the long run, if I wanted to continue playing after high school/college?

In my experience the Winston line of instruments did not hold up well over time for my students that have had them - just a warning.

The Yamaha you are playing on may be in desperate need of repair - especially if nothing has been done to it since you have had it (3 years?) and before with other renters. If you are looking for a long-term flute that would get you through college as a music major, I wouldn't recommend the Gemeinhardt at all. If you just plan to play as an amateur, the Gemeinhardt may serve you fine. Personally I do not care for Gemeinhardts - I find the mechanism a little too clunky and the sound too small, but that is just my opinion.

Is it possible for you to have the Yamaha repaired and then make a choice? Or trade it in for a new(er) or better Yamaha or other brand? I certainly understand not wishing to pay rent for X more years. Good luck!

Well, the Gemeinhardt was the cheapest flute there, and $650-700 is about the highest we can go at this time.. Especially since my parents are reluctant because they don't think i'll stick with band. The 2nd cheapest was around $1500, a yamaha, but that might be a little too much. It's an option though. My parents are leaning towards just getting my yamaha repaired & keeping it, so i'm also thinking about that. I did some research on Gemeinhardts, and the info I found did make yamahas look better. No one I know has played a Gemmie over 2 years, so I'm not familiar with how they play/hold up. We're going to one more place this Friday, so I'll see what they have then make a decision. Thanks for the help!

Looking at your situation I would recommend keeping the Yamaha free of charge.

I cannot fathom losing your $800 investment in your Yamaha and then putting an additional $700 into a new Gemeinhardt flute. Unless it was a 33/KGM, but I don't think so.

However if you want to make sure you really get the best flute you can afford you should find a flute teacher in the area THAT HAS A DEGREE IN FLUTE PERFORMANCE, not music education and ask if they would help you pick out a flute. Let them play test your current Yamaha and let them play test what options you have available and get an explanation as to what makes one superior to the other. The flute teacher should expect to get paid for their time, find out how much too.

Your preference for the Gemeinhardt is most likely due to it's lovely warm/dark tone color which probably makes your Yamaha seem shrill in comparison. So long as you don't own it, you'll forget about it.

StephenK,

Why on earth would you think that a flute teacher with "only" a degree in music education is not qualified to help a middle school/high school student choose a flute? A music educator has many years of study behind them. Ed majors at my university played recitals, played in the top ensembles and had very high performance expectations placed upon them just as the performances majors did. What in your background and training qualifies you to make such a statement?

A music educator may actually make a BETTER recommendation for a young student - they are more in tune with what the student may be planning to do. A student who is in 9th grade does not need to purchase a Haynes or Powell. Any young student who is not taking lessons should not be in the market for a professional level flute anyway!

Just so you know, I have Bachelor's degrees in both flute performance and music education and a Master's degree in instrumental pedagogy. I am bothered that you seem to think that someone who has dedicated his or her life to helping and educating students in the art of music would not be "qualified" to assist someone choose an appropriate instrument.

-Ab

Any-one upgrading to a better flute - or even getting a different student flute - should know enough about their playing and instrument's strenghts and weaknesses to be able to hear the difference when they try other flutes. If you can't then perhaps you should consider renting instead of buying or keeping the flute you have.

I'd recommend going to a good shop and trying a range of manufacturers. Its a good idea to have some-one with you who can listen and confirm what you hear. I don't believe this needs to be a brilliant teacher or performer - if it takes a trained ear to tell the difference then its not worth spending much extra money! Once you've decided what you'd like then go shopping and get the best price etc. The quality of major brands of student and intermediate flutes tends to be very similar. Unfortunately, many flutes (especially in the USA) are over-priced because manufacturers set the prices (in the UK that practice is now illegal). Armed with a quote from a big reseller, you may find that your local store will match the price!

If you cant tell the difference between a big name brand and a chinese import (with a solid silver head, warranty etc) then you have to ask yourself "why pay so much for a name?"

I simply value the opinion of someone who pursued a flute performance major more than someone who only pursued general music education with their focus on flute.

The education major may well have gotten their own instruction outside of what may have been available to them as an Ed major and reached a point where they could out perform a flute performance major...

However I don't believe that is the norm. I've played with Gen Ed majors in community groups that I could outplay and many Gen Ed degreed folk in other instrument sections do not sound as if they could have possibly majored in an instrument.

And usually charging the same rate as those degreed in flute performance... It would be best to filter through performance majors, there are plenty to choose from.