Ok, so i'm a student flutist and my flute is definatly dead, as my teacher said "it looks like the previous owner used this for batting practice." I knew nothing about flutes then, so I had no cllue that it was dead when I got it in 6th grade, so now i really need a new flute. My mom can't spend $2000 on the Yamaha Allegro with silver tubing, so eithier I get the Gaminhardt 53SHBflute (open hole, silver tubing, b foot) or the Yamaha Allegro 300 series (open hoe, Just silver head) MY mom knows mothing about flutes and I need some help with this one seeing how I've only played for 3 years and never had to find myself a new flute. Which should I get?

Well the material isn't going to matter a whole lot. The craftsmanship put into an instrument is the main concern. Both are solid instruments and could serve you well until you upgraded again, so the best advice is to play both and pick the one you like. I believe that some other flutes may be well within your price range, so I'd take a look at Fluteworld.com and see if a Sonare, Azumi, or some other flute isn't a possibility as well. Any of the flutes you'll see there are good instruments, so it's just a matter of picking one that fits you well. Also consider used flutes, as you can often get "more" flute for your money. Most damage to a flute can be repaired by a good tech, so it might be worth while taking your current flute to one and to see what they say. If nothing else, it could serve as a back up instrument.

Hello,
I am assuming that you have copied the Gemeinhardt's model number correctly, and that you are looking at a model 53 S H B. Each of these things stands for something; the 53 is a newer model updated, I believe, from the model 3. The S stands for Silver, and the H stands for Headjoint. So this flute is very similar in materials used to the Yamaha 300 series, they both have a silver headjoint and a silver plated body. The Yamaha 400 would be like a Gemeinhardt 3SB, both having sterling silver body tubing throughout. The B on the model number indicates a B footjoint (you really don't need one, in comparison to a C-footjoint-but they're the fashion and so new upgrade=level flutes almost always DO ahve a B-footjoint.) To make things more confusing, Yamaha uses an 'H' in their model number system to denote a B-foot.

Used or new? This is an excellent question; because you can get a LOT more flute for your money if you find the right seller. Nancy Shinn of www.flutestar.com overhauls GOOD used flutes and sells them, she can help you find a good used flute that hasn't had a previous life as a baseball bat! Your mom will have to be comfortable doing business over the internet, though. The other difference would be that a good music store will sell 'service' when you buy the flute, so if there is a small problem they will often repair it right away, without sending it somewhere in the mail and waiting (and paying) for a repair.

So: take a look at flutestar, and also winds 101 (Liz does a great job, also). They will very likely have a very good step-up flute for you to try out, and for the money they may even have a really nice one for a fraction of the cost of a new flute. High-end flutes with closed holes, and/or a C-footjoint, don't have as high a resale value. That means that you can get a really, really nice flute without spending so much- but if you ever plan to sell it, it might be harder to sell.

As far as the choice between the Yamaha or the Gemeinhardt, the buzz with my local technicians is that the Yamaha flutes are a lot more consistent. So the Gemeinhardt might be great- or not. This leaves you with trying them out. Your best bet is to have your flute teacher go with you to the music store. When you try the flutes, does one respond better than the other? Are the low notes easier on one flute than another? How about the high notes? Can you get a prettier sound from one of the flutes? Also look at a tuner as you go slowly through a scale- does one flute have more notes in tune than the other?

Flutist06 is right, materials are less important than workmanship. There is NOTHING less 'quality' about a silverplate tube. They are usually lighter weight and so can be easier on our bodies if we practice a long time. (Same for the C-foot; a B-foot is more weight to hold up and it can be a lot harder to play low C#, low C.)

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Sorry, I wanted to add the lint to http://www.flutestar.com and I didn't get it right the first time.

Also, the flutists from Germany and Austria pretty much all play on closed hole, C-foot flutes. If it's good enough for the Berlin Philharmonic principal flute, you should be ok!

Sorry, I should have read the tips about it, but the Geminhardt is a 53SB, I believe because it has a silver body and head, and I think a silver foot, too. The employee marked it wrong.

You should try them both and have a teacher try them with you as well. There may be a sizable difference in tone, but also the feel and function of the keywork.

If you can take the flutes with you to play in your music groups that would be wonderful or even just bring along a MMO CD so that you can play along with a piece and see how you manage staying in tune in a real life setting. That is VERY important. I've played flutes that seemed nice, but when actually played with a group were HORRID! Some flute scales are better than others.

Best of luck on your hunt.

My dear Micron, you find anything non-Yamaha dissapointing

I think the 53SB is has a scale redesign and is only available to brick and mortar stores. Like the Yamaha Allegro is only available is US brick and mortar stores, which I believe is the American made version people say to avoid.

Step up the tempo <g>
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,,CNTID%253D2479%2526CTID%253D244900,00.html

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I wanted to add that the Yamaha 200 series is popularly recommended. It is even supposed to be just as well designed as the 400 series except that is uses plastic corks and is silver plated.

I would recommend a silver plate model anything and save the difference to invest in a good headjoint (their are inexpensive used professional heads floating around)

There also other reputable brands like Pearl, Jupiter, Azumi, and Lyric.

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Oi! Pardon the grammar. Writing on a cell phone.