ANybody know if there any good because I was looking for a good flute to have. SOmebody told me to buy a wood one for concert season in High school but I'm not sure. Should I?

I've heard about those Orpheus flutes.
They are made in China, and rechecked/adjusted in the USA as they arrive. Maybe for that reason they are much cheaper than other known brands like Eppler.
But it's the same old story, only playing you'll be able to know for certain about.

Zevang

I have a customer who has one of these flutes. It plays quite nicely, but the construction is horrible. Pins fall out, soft keywork. If you treat it gently it will play fine though. But pins falling out is a real big "watch out" as far as quality is concerned.

But you'll keep your local repair tech busy...I'm slowly rebuilding this one a piece at a time, every time it comes in...

Joe B

You shouldn't automatically assume that wood is what you want because someone told you to get a wood flute. Some people like them, some don't, just as with any instrument. The only way to select a new flute is to playtest as many as possible and choose the one that suits you best. Wood may be your preference, but it may not. I personally dislike wooden flutes/headjoints, but love wooden piccolos (assuming they're made well). Go try out a wood flute or two if you can, and compare it to the various metal models available.

I don't understand why anyone would tell you to buy a wood flute for HS Band. The few I have tried do not project as well as a metal flute. Invest your money in a solid silver open hole flute.

Why open hole, Msclband?

Most professionals and advancing students play open hole flute. The sound projects and is much more resonant than a closed hole flute. Open hole flutes take some getting used to, they make plastic/cork/metal plugs for the holes until you get the hang of them. Closed hole flutes are great for beginners and doublers, but a more serious flute student should invest in an open hole flute.(Especially before buying a wooden flute)!

Unfortunately, some of that is not quite correct. Open hold flutes do not offer better projection or resonance. Taking that into account, what they are good for is pitch shading, extended effects (like multiphonics), and some notes into the 4th octave. Most people will never need any of this.

Well that is why you have to take a lot of things on these forums with a grain of salt.

Unfortunatly I have to disagree with you Flutist06. Can you honestly recommend that Afroburst buy a wooden flute instead of an open hole flute? (remember that he/she is a HS student. Do you play an open hole instrument? We are also talking about intermediate flutes. If you play a gemeinhard, yamaha or pearl solid silver intermediate open hole flute and a the same version in closed hole the open hole is going to project more sound.

To me, the option between materials does not matter. There are all different levels of wooden flutes available, from junker Chinese imports, to decently built imports, to purely professional instruments. If wood is what Afroburst likes, that's fine, but if not, metal is fine too. I'm not debating the idea of a wood flute vs. a metal one. I'm debating the importance of a closed hole flute to a French one, regardless of material. I do indeed play an openhole instrument, but I am one of the few who chooses to use the open holes for experimentation with extended effects beyond the initial fascination, not to mention that the flute I play is a custom instrument, and existed before I purchased it. I did not want to take the risk of a different flute playing differently, as this one fit me so well. That last sentence of yours just honestly is not correct, as I'm sure Micron and any number of other members can vouch for. The French configuration offers no more projection than a plateau keyed flute. If it did, the notes associated with venting through the keys (Bb, A, F#, F, E) with perforations would sound much louder than the other notes throughout the range, but you never hear anyone comment on that phenomena, do you? Also, why would top notch flute makers like Brannen and Muramatsu offer plateau models in their custom built instruments if they were in any way inferior to open hole models?

Actually after reading your argument I have to agree with you. I realize that there are alot of good wooden flutes out there, but I still would not recommend one for a HS student to use in concert band. The open hole/closed hole thing is an ongoing debate. I was always taught that as a flute student progressed he or she should play an open hole instrument. As you said earlier it makes certain trill, harmonic fingerings and the 4th octave possible. I know that muramatsu powell haynes ect made closed hole professional flutes but thought they were more used by doublers. My sax friends that double all play closed hole instruments, they say they don't play flute enough to get used to an open hole model. It would be interesting to see how many professional or advanced studnets use a closed hole flute.

It's a very common misconception, and one that is still circulating, that more advanced students should play open holed instruments. Gradually, people are starting to move away from the open hole, inline G = better flute than offset, plateau thing (in fact, roughly 70% of what most makers build nowadays are offset). Last year, at the NFA convention, Brannen unveiled the Albert Cooper Orchestral model flute, with a plateau mechanism in the left hand, and French key configuration in the right, which was directed exclusively at professional flutists. As I said in a previous thread, the only reason open hole flutes are as popular as they are is the same reason that inline G flutes became associated with higher level instruments. The Paris Conservatory adopted the open hole system so that its students could learn the more contemporary repertoire that was gaining popularity early in the last century. Since the school was among the most highly respected music schools in the world, other groups began to use them as the standard without ever thinking about the benefits and disadvantages of both systems. As people rethink these things, flutes are changing.

these debates crop all the time on this forum and other forums. At the end of the day (as my british friends always say), what really matters is how you play. I have played off-set g open hole, now I have in-line and a c-foot where as I had a b-foot for years, but I essentialy play the same as long as I get off my !*****! and practice everyday.

I am not sure who told you this or if it is just your opinion, but I disagree. That sounds like something a band director would say to a student. I think that a lot of open hole flutes are being played simply because that is what is available on the market and also seems to be a trend. Though, I have to admit that I do play on an open hole flute mainly because I do like the feel or it. You most likely would have to special order an advanced or handmade flute if you would like closed holes on it. It is a silly idea that younger kids get from teachers and so on, that because they own a closed hole flute that you must buy an open hold flute in order to advance.