Well, one good thing about a new flute is the warranty. The company is going to arrange a FedEx pick-up and send me a replacement flute. Even so, I kept looking for advice on how to assess what's wrong and found a very helpful article on flutestar.com, which went through a list of technical assessments. It looks as if there are two keys that are leaking, the lower G key and the F# key. I am grateful to those of you who gave me the technical suggestions, instead of just telling me to get a better flute. Thank you very much.

We only advised you to get a better flute because the one you have now is going to end up most likely not even lating a year. Good thing you have a warranty on it so that you can replace it every year. If not, they make good flute lamps or wall decorations. I would never advice anyone to actually try playing one if they want to get anywhere on the flute though. At least you were warned...

Well, time will tell. I went into this with my eyes open. If I had had more money at my disposal, I would have bought a good used flute and had it overhauled by a professional repair service. The thing I needed to know about the flute that I did buy is whether or not I was dealing with a technical issue. I know now that is, and can take the appropriate steps. Thanks for the advice.

Hi Guys,
There seems to be an upsurge recently in these "no-name" flutes. It is truely unfortunate that people have to settle for what they think is a good buy. That after they fool around with them and deteremine that repairs are needed, they then find out that that are unrepairable.

I have already seen a student with a "Monique". It had an intresting odd painted metalic finish on the tube. After they were shown that it was junk, the father amazingly found a Yamaha 211 that looked like it had been used for about a year for $85.

Then a mom and her daughter came into the store looking fora $15 tuner and they wanted to know if they could have their flute repaired. It seems as if the blue paint on the tube was chipping off and the gold paint on the keys was wearing through. They have actually had this flute for two years now but the student couldn't tune it. So they ended up buying a $40 tuner/metronome for a $20 flute.

NOw I have a student who has a Reynolds flute. They made them in Cleveland, Oho between 1955 and about 1975. A decent flute quality but ancient and the key cups don't align with the holes anymore. Even after one of the local repairman too them for $45 for a go-over.
Last year, I tried to make a simple adjustment on one of these flutes. Return a loose spring and I discovered that the flute was falling apart in my hands. More things were going wrong as I tried to adjust it.
Why just last Sat. someone had a "Simba" Alto Sax. in the store. It was a mess. I wonder if they sell a Mufassa Tenor Sax and a Scar Soprano Sax as well.

UNfortunately, I can only expect to see more of these with the economic conditions that are going on as the parents try to save a buck. It's a shame that they don't get the fact that these instruments are untuneable, unfixable and these two factors only make the learning experience an unfortunate situation for the student. They don't realize that when all is said and done, it will only cost more in the long run in repairs and then eventually they either quit or they get a real student line insturment. It's just like going to the dollar store for their cheap chinese trash bags that only rip, you end up using two or three to carry the trash. You get what you pay for.

THen too I wonder how many times the co will replace a flute to one person "under warranty" until they stop doing that.

Another issue is that these people that buy these things don't seem to understand that comments like a few on this thread, you guys and I have made are for the best interests of the players, students.the parents who shell out money hand over fist for their kids and also for quality repair technicians like Micron or JoeB here. Then when things go sour for them (inevitable as that is) they want to be helped out of their predicament.

Wow. I'd have opted for my money back, actually. The replacement will likely be just as bad.

The cheapest used option is probably a Yamaha 200 or if you're really into a basic flute that gets the job done for no cost at all:

Ebay Item number: 140166032678

Of course, find something locally. A typical music shop should sell an old 2 series for next to nothing, yet it's a perfectly good choice to learn the basics on if money is super tight(under $100 - sometimes these go for $50!). I mention this because it's not a Yamaha 200, but it's worlds better than the stuff from China.

A typical music shop should sell an old 2 series for next to nothing, yet it's a perfectly good choice to learn the basics on if money is super tight(under $100 - sometimes these go for $50!).

It has always been the opposite in any of the music stores I have ever visited. More than anything, I have seen them jacked up in price and they are asking for almost what the flute would be worth new. A lot of the local music stores like to take advantage of people I think and again jack up all the prices. It really is a shame. Yamaha flutes tend to be the most popular on ebay right now and if they are an auction go for a pretty penny as of lately. I like trying to get a hold of the newer Armstrong student flutes that have only been used for about a year. They are very robust flutes and you can get them super cheap as they tend to be on of the least favorable brands on ebay right now. Still, people want new so they buy those Chinese made flutes

Is anything made in China good?

Note - I did say an older Gemeinhardt - a M2 series circa 1990-1995, when they were still all U.S. made. Or an old Armstrong - those work as well.

Most music shops if they have a 10+ year old flute will haggle down to half the asking price quite consistently unless they are anal and catering to the yuppie crowd.

Shoot, I'd take a used U.S. made flute from 10-15 years ago off of Ebay or Craigslist for $100 before I'd get one from China.

If some of these companies could learn how to make a better embouchure cut (like Gemeinhardt and Armstrong, just to name a couple) then it would dramatically improve sales and their instruments. I just don't understand why they don't get that concept. I have been playing for about 20 years now and if I find these flute hard to play then I can only imagine how tough it would be for a beginner! If I were manufacturing flutes, I would want as much feedback as possible from experienced flutists so that I could improve my product. Do these flute companies just not care, or do they just want the cash? It makes me wonder.

Orpheus music has a new flute line and Sax line. They contacted me to see if I might be interested in being a dealer for them. They will be sending me a couple of their flutes and they did tell me that they would appreciate any kind of input. They are being made in the USA NOT China! I would not carry a line made in China, so I made sure to ask. I will evaluate the flutes when they arrive. I am excited to try something new. I hope they are good because of the prices for these flutes are a lot more inexpensive then a lot on the market today.

Micron: Remember that the OP seems loathe to spend $300 or so on a quality used flute, so while a M2 isn't great, for $100 or so, it will certainly be better than the no-name junk from offshore.

Kara: Yes, it's a shame that Gemeinhardt makes a very decent flute similar to Yamaha as far as the body/keywork goes, but their headjoints are so "two decades ago". With a better headjoint, they would be in the game again as it were - at least for the entry level Pro stuff.(I don't think a world of change will make them into Pearl, for instance)

gemeinhardt has begun to jump on the bandwagon, i suppose, with the introduction of their brio! line. i havent been able to test one of these yet, but they seem to be just the breakthrough that gemeinhardt needed to be a quality student instrument now. maybe theyll compete with the yamahas??????

maybe theyll compete with the yamahas??????

We can only hope, maybe then Yamaha will lower their ridiculous prices!

*PERK*

Someone said something about a Pearl in this string! Pearl flutes are great, yes they are. Love them Pearl flutes! Yeppers!