HI everyone....

Ok i was telling my flute teacher today that i was soon to be getting rid of my gemeinhardt flute. I told her that I was looking at a pearl. she said ok. But then I changed my mond to either a Miyazawa, Bukhart, Murarsu or yahmaha. so then she went online and we start looking at then. Then she started talking about having different metals in the flute other than sliver.

I was wondering: Do rosegold, gold or platnum flutes produce a better sound or tone colour than the all sliver? and why arfe some lip plates golden?

I couldn't ask her the questions I was really really late for my chemistry lab.

Thanx for the help..really appreciate it

Ok i'm 16..not spoiled...FORTUNATE Ok I'm making 17 in february..I tell my mom or bro i want/need something i get it(sometimes)

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I just came out of high school doing flute in college

Another question.. does the thickness of the walls matter?

The answers to these questions are there is no way to tell. Some people hear a major difference from different materials and some hear none at all. Unless you are thinking about a fully gold/platinum headjoint, chances are any difference will be in the way the flute feels as you play it, rather than the sound. You may not even notice/ care for a difference. The only way to decide what you want is to play test flutes with various materials involved and see what you like. The reason why some lip plates are gold is that some people are allergic to silver, think it adds a touch of class, like the feel of gold, or believe that it adds to the sound. Personally I don't care what my flute is made of as long as it plays well for me. As for the wall thickness, this has much more impact on sound and feel than material, IMHO. Thicker walls may or may not be something you like, and the only way to figure out what you think of them is to play flutes of varying thickness. I dislike thick wall silver flutes, as I believe the sound to be less lively, but some people hear more darkness out of them, and my gold flute is slightly thicker walled than most gold instruments (though I didn't know that until after I bought it), but I love it. As you can see, what the wall thickness does to a flute is not consistent. Try as many options of both material, brand/model, wall thickness, any othewr options you may be wondering about as you can, and buy what works best for you and fits your budget. I may be wrong, but from the last couple of your posts, I'm guessing you haven't had much chance to experiment with different instruments. Don't limit yourself to just the few brands you listed above. There are MANY other makers putting out some exquisite instruments that you would do well to look into. You never can tell what flute will be your match until you play it.

Please be aware that having a very expensive flute such as a gold instrument (several tens of thousand US$) or a full silver high quality as a Muramatsu, even if you can afford it, could become an issue.

There is the important risk of theft, but also repairs and maintenance is almost proportionally higher and, quite important, as you are not a pro, most probably you cannot get an insurance for the instrument. Finer instruments are also more delicate and could be more fragile in some aspects.

You might find yourself in the disagreeable position of owning a nice and very expensive instrument but not daring to take it to college activities, band, etc.

I older than you but a private student, beginner to medium level.

In my case, I set the upper limit for an instrument I could risk on travel, holidays, taking it in the public transport system, etc. at 2,500 $, the price I paid for the Yamaha YFL 674.

I am very happy with it and quite sure it will serve me for many (or all) years to come. But the investment was relatively moderate and according to the life style of the rest of my activities

But even so, during the past holidays (spent at a 4 stars camping at the seashore in France), I preferred to take with me the older and cheaper instrument (a Gemeinhardt M2), as I felt less stressed by the safety of the instrument. And I still think it was a good idea.



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OOPS!
I older than = I am older

"There is the important risk of theft, but also repairs and maintenance is almost proportionally higher and, quite important, as you are not a pro, most probably you cannot get an insurance for the instrument. Finer instruments are also more delicate and could be more fragile in some aspects."

Jose Luis, I am not sure that this is necessarily true. I have had just about the same amount of work done on my Tom Green as my Yamaha (same specs as yours) or my piccolos in the period that I've had it (and I am very particular about the condition my flutes are in). In fact, I rather think the higher quality might save some repair work, as it is both a precise machine, but one that is very well built and holds it's adjustments. I did manage to get insurance on it, as well as my other instruments as a music student. My Tom Green actually seems much more solidly built, and less fragile than other flutes that I've seen without sacrificing the extremely high quality. Of course, I am sure there are some flutes that fit your description, but there are exceptions, so I wouldn't necessarily expect higher repair costs. Risk of theft however, is a very real thing. I keep my Tom Green either with me or locked up all the time to be sure it is not stolen.

I apologise for assessing something I had not experienced myself and, as you say, that seems to be wrong.

It was my idea that there should be some proportionality on price for a job performed on an expensive professional instrument than for an equivalent repair on a cheap flute, not only for the parts involved, but also the required higher craftsmanship, time and care involved and required after-sales responsibility on the part of the technician, etc.

But true is that I cannot discuss much about it as my only experience has been, so far with my cheap Gemeinhardt and it also did not turn out well (a loose cork that now makes it almost useless and requires a second repair)

This subject on instrument price vrs. repair costs, could well be an interesting thread, either here or on a new thread, I am sure the reputed technicians in this Forum could say a lot of interesting things. Please take this as an invitation, though this time I will not open a new thread.

The part about difficulties to insure is my own experience; when considering to take my instrument on our holidays trip I tried to get an insurance for it and I could not find a company willing to make it. It was easy to get insurances as part of the contents of the home policy , but not while the instrument is on travel.(I even posted here, asking for help about this subject).

I also said it was a good idea to take the older and cheaper instrument, because while there at the camping site, there was a fire one night, (in the midddle of a pine wood and a quite dry season); the fire brigade forced everybody to evacuate to the nearby beach and of course the instrument stayed under the seat of the car.

Although nothing serious happened, there was concrete risk of having the instrument melted, together with car and camping gear. For a 300$ instrument it would not have been a problem, but for, say, a not insured 6K Muratmatsu, sleeping inside a well insured 12K car, this would have been a big loss.



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OOPS!
sorry, hit the send button twice, as I noticed a typo. Just disregard this one or the following post.

I apologise for assessing something I had not experienced myself and, as you say, that seems to be wrong.

It was my idea that there should be some proportionality on price for a job performed on an expensive professional instrument than for an equivalent repair on a cheap flute, not only for the parts involved, but also the required higher craftsmanship, time and care involved and required after-sales responsibility on the part of the technician, etc.

But true is that I cannot discuss much about it as my only experience has been, so far with my cheap Gemeinhardt and it also did not turn out well (a loose cork that now makes it almost useless and requires a second repair)

This subject on instrument price vrs. repair costs, could well be an interesting thread, either here or on a new thread, I am sure the reputed technicians in this Forum could say a lot of interesting things. Please take this as an invitation, though this time I will not open a new thread.

The part about difficulties to insure is my own experience; when considering to take my instrument on our holidays trip I tried to get an insurance for it and I could not find a company willing to make it. It was easy to get insurances as part of the contents of the home policy , but not while the instrument is on travel.(I even posted here, asking for help about this subject).

I also said it was a good idea to take the older and cheaper instrument, because while there at the camping site, there was a fire one night, (in the middle of a pine wood and a quite dry season); the fire brigade forced everybody to evacuate to the nearby beach and of course the instrument stayed under the seat of the car.

Although nothing serious happened, there was concrete risk of having the instrument melted, together with car and camping gear. For a 300$ instrument it would not have been a problem, but for, say, a not insured 6K Muratmatsu, sleeping inside a well insured 12K car, this would have been a big loss.

I'm sorry Jose Luis. I seem to have misunderstood. You were talking about the cost per repair, while I was talking about how often repairs are necessary. It is true that a more expensive flute costs more to get repaired, simply because to do it right, you have to use a better tech. Some techs will even charge more for nicer flutes than they do for others. And you're right, material and overall craftsmanship I'm sure play a large role in the price difference. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

I have re-read your post and I think it's me who misunderstood. Sorry.

But there is something there I had not taken into account: you said you have managed to insure your flute while being a music student.

Was it because the flute is a professional instrument (though you mention you could also insure other instruments) or you were lucky to find the right insurance company?

Could yo name the company? I could be interested in contacting it for my instrument.

I can let you know, Jose Luis, but it'll take me a few days. I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the company, so I'll have to check with my parents (who are the actual policy holders). I'll get back to you once I get a chance to ask them.