Hi,

I currently own a Gemeinhardt 50 Series 530SB. I have always liked this flute's tone but ever since I got it, it is quite hard to play anything below low D flat. I have picked up other flutes and been able to play the lower notes easily. So, I have recently been thinking about trading my flute in for a different one.

I have tried out a few different ones, and currently have a Yamaha 684H out on approval from the music store, but all the ones I have tried so far do not have the same quality of tone that my flute does. In comparison my flute seems to have a warmer tone that I am partial to verses the brighter tone. I've had others listen to the differences without knowing which one I was playing and they agree.

So, I was wondering, first if it could possibly be the fact that I am used to my flute and therefore have better control over it, or if it is just that the flutes that I have tried have brighter tone. And if so, is there any recommendations for a flute with a warmer tone? I know that they all play differently and even so for different people, but perhaps just in general what has everyone noticed. The only real requierment I'm looking for with the flute is an off-set G.

Thank you!

it is because you are used to your old flute. whats really doing it is the cut of the embouchure hole...if you get a new flute and work with your embouchure you can get your tone back to sounding dark. ive heard that the gemeinhardt headjoints are cut in an unusual way that very few others resemble and that many players have trouble with tone switching to a new flute if they learned on a gemeinhardt.
this could explain why aaalll of the flutes you've tried sound brighter...the gemeinhardt cut is uncommon. if someone learned on a flute with a more common shape there are more flutes to be found with a similarly cut embouchure hole.

all you have to do is work hard to recreate the tone you like on a new, different flute. really pay attention to what you do with your mouth. change one little detail at a time and note whether you like the sound better or not. dont do more than one thing at a time differently because then you will be confused as to what aspect you changed made the positive difference and you wont be able to recreate it. do tone exercises. find the note on your flute you think sounds the best out of all of them. play that note as a long tone with the best tone possible and then play a half step above and try to make the tone exactly the same and go back to the original note. do this to the top of your range and to the bottom as well.

somebody correct me if i have something wrong.

You may have a pad leak. Have it checked...

First I would hear jose_luis advise. Flutes are just like cars. They demand mechanical care from time to time, and this is the difference of thinking you have a good instrument that although doesn't play certain notes properly.

In case you decide to change to another brand/instrument, note that even if you experiment playing a new instrument this is done just for you to have an idea of what kind of tone you may produce. Adaptation can take several months, until you can get the tone you want from a new instrument.

Of course it's easy to determine, among many flutes you experiment, the one that responds better to your needs. But even so, you will need time to get accostumed to it.

cheers,

Zevang

Okay, so I've done a few things today.

I tried out a Azumi 2000RBO and I really liked the tone in the higher range but the lower was a bit...eh. So I took the headjoint from the Yamaha which was a EC and I loved it! It sounded much better than my flute and the Yamaha as well. It also had a lot better response. I am going to try it out a bit more to see if I keep my opinon, but so far it is really great.

I also took my flute into repair and talked to the flute specialist there. He informed me that he sees the problem a lot on my flute model. Almost every key had a leak. I was really surprised when I saw that, but I think that I had just gotten used to it for the past three years and made the tone work for me. He told me that it tends to go leaky a lot more than some others, so I am currently trying to decide if I should get it fixed or go with another flute.

If you got used to the leaks on your Gem. flute, you will need to be careful with whatever flute you play- whether your own, all fixed, or a new flute. You have trained yourself, probably, to squeeze the keys harder with your fingers so the leaky note will sound. Squeezing the leaky keys like this is not good for your flute, not good for your hands, and not good for your technique. Since you are so used to your old flute, you will likely continue the too-hard key pressure even without any leaks. So- you need to consciously re-train yourself to use only light pressure on your flute keys.

How much will it cost to repair your old flute? How often will it need to be 'touched up' so that it doesn't continue to create new leaks? If a good local flute technician will guarantee his work for, say, a year, then it wouldn't be so much of a cost concern. This is almost an unanswerable question, since nobody can really see the future, but I have heard from others on this forum that their Gemeinhardt flute was in endless need of leak/adjustment fixes, the older ones being slightly more reliable.

It is possible that the Yamaha flute that you tried, even being brand new, has a leak or two of its own. (Poor technician did the finishing work, maybe.) I have heard very good things about the Yamaha flutes keeping their adjustment well, and holding repairs for a long time. Since you like the EC headjoint so well, (I do, too), it may be worth your time to a)have that flute checked CAREFULLY for leaks, or b)try a DIFFERENT Yamaha 684 flute.

<Added>

By the way, I had a Gemeinhardt 3SHB flute and I ADORED the headjoint. Nothing else sounded nearly as rich or responsive. When I bought a new flute, I had a hard time with the new headjoint, but after several flute lessons in which I was re-trained to aim my air at the embouchure hole more properly (I had been blowing across the embouchure, and almost no air was going into the flute), the new headjoint really began to sing. I planned to keep my Gemeinhardt as a backup flute, for playing outside or taking on airplanes, etc. But once I played my new flute well, the Gemeinhardt drove me nuts because it had little tone flexibility and the scale was so different from my Yamaha that I had real trouble playing in tune.

I haven't truly given up on it but after playing some other flutes I realized how much more responsive others are and I have really fallen for Azumi flute. I am currently trying out the 3000 as well.I have tried other Yamahas and I just don't think that they are the flute for me. Thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate it. I will probably get it repaired because it has been a pretty nice instrument.

<Added>

*The Azumi with the EC headjoint*

Mystyeyed,, I suggested about the pad leak because I also have a GMH (though a very old M3 model). It played OK for some 3 years and then the low register degraded and later everything was too bad. In the meantime I also adapted by pressing harder with the fingers (and I also did some tweaking on the instrument that gave rise to many posts in this forum about a year ago).

Now I have a new Yamaha, but I decided to have my M3 repaired (i.e there were just 2 pads to change and the cork, plus a general adjustment). I now use it on holidays or traveling to "risky" places where I would rather not take my 2,500$ YFL 674 (it is expensive enough for me...)

I had figured that it was probably a pad problem but I did not realize that it was that bad. But now that I have listened to other flutes I can really hear it on mine. I am considering fixing it and keeping it for a back up, I haven't decided yet.