I have heard a lot of bad things about Gemeinhardt, but for some reason I play the best on them! I've tried the yamahas, the trevor james, (havent tried any of the really nice ones ie: sankyo, muramatsu, powell) and I've found Gemeinhardt to be superior to the ones I've played on. Maybe I have the one flute that is made by Gemeinhardt that is actually good?

If you have an earlier made Gemeinhardt then that may be why you like it so much. I never cared much for Gemeinhardt flutes in general, but I have got to say that the older models were more to my liking.

I don't know much about Gemeinhardt flutes as I don't sell them and have not seen too many of the. Suzie,just out of curiosity, could you tell us a little more about the older models. What I mean, is what are some of the differences between the older models to the now newer ones being made today?

Mine's a Model 3SH serial #434820. Old? New? I have no idea...

Umm...wow! Suzie: I hope your fingers feel better, cause that was A LOT of writing! Anyway...

Yes, the headjoint has a J on it, it is solid silver I'm pretty sure. I love it! btw I tried a brand new Yamaha and Trevor James, both of which were correctly setup, professional, barely touched flutes(models I don't know, but I'm POSITIVE they were pro models!). I've always wanted to try one of the higher up flutes(muramatsu and such) but I never have. I love my Gemeinhardt though, and for $300 bucks used, it treats me well.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all that
I have tried the S series and Reynolds. A friend of mine was a Gemeinhardt fan and collected these things. I wonder why flute manufacturers make flutes under different brand names. I know that Yamaha also was associated with Vito. It seem hat Gemeinhardt has so many of them. It kind of reminds me about all the China made flute and piccolos selling on ebay under different names. You can tell they are pretty much identical too. I think Powell should make a flute that is not stamped with a Powell logo and charge half off. lol!! Now wouldn't that be nice!

I did try a few TJ flute sand they were terrible. There is some place in China with slave labor going on that the US are making a profit off of. Sad...
I loved the review about the Orpeheo flute. Very funny but honest. Now I would really like to try one of these newer student flutes. It has peaked my curiosity. Hmm.. there is one on ebay. I don't know if it would be possible for me to bid though.

Good luck!
I put a bid on it, but I could only put as much money as I had in my paypal account on it, so I doubt I will win it. I am sure it is worth much more. I am curious to see what it will go for.

Awh... for some reason it will not play on my computer

BTW, Pepper (my new little girl) sends kisses to Kasha.

OMG!!!! Are you keeping them all? I can't wait to see pictures!!! Good luck with that.

Congrats! A puppy. How fun! Okay, I will stop writting now. I didn't mean to flood the forum Sorry guys.

Hi! I'm a serious high school flute/piccolo player. I have a Gemeinhardt 3SB KG Special and I am absolutly in love with it. For the past few years I've been borrowing my aunt's Emerson piccolo, which I am far from in love with. I was looking into the Gemeinhardt piccolos and heard that the original Roy Seamans were something special? Are they really any better than the now produced Roy Seaman Ltd or the Kurt Gemeinhardts? I'm open to other brands, but I want to get as much as I can for my money. Because of the mellower tone, a wooden piccolo is a must, especially for concert band. The Emerson I have now is silver, and entirely too shrill for indoor playing. Thanks for any help!
Maddy

Several years ago, I understand that the Roy Seaman piccolos and the Zentner piccolos were essentially the same piccolo, manufactured at the same place, under two different names.

These piccs have a great reputation. I have a Zentner piccolo. It is really, really nice. (At least in its ~$1500 used price range)

Gemeinhardt bought the specs for these piccolos. Zentner did NOT sell his name toward the manufacture of the newer ones.

I have played a new Gemeinhardt-made Seaman piccolo. It was nowhere near the piccolo that my Zentner is- tone, scale, feel... I really did not like the Seaman and actually preferred the Sonare plastic piccolo, or the Yamaha 62 wood piccolo, to the Gem/Seaman.

As for the Gem flutes, I did have a 3SHB made in the late 1980's. Its headjoint was unmarked. It was miles more responsive than the Armstrong 104-N that I played before, but 1)its scale sucked and 2) to get that pretty response, I learned the VERY bad habit of blowing across the embouchure hole, not at all down into it as I should have been. Once I was taught how to properly aim and focus my airstream by a competent teacher- on a Yamaha CY silver headjoint, BTW, I could NOT STAND the Gemeinhardt HJ.

So, my suspicion is that those who get along just dandy with most of the Gemeinhardt headjoints is that they are probably not blowing properly.

When I first began looking into different flutes, for a possible upgrade, one of the things that got my attention regarding the 'pro' Gemeinhardts was that there really is no such thing. How many people get a Brannen, Miyazawa, or Powell flute and replace the stock headjoint with a Gemeinhardt HJ??

Thanks for the help reguarding both the Gemmy flutes and piccolos. I've heard both good and bad about the Seamans, but the Zentner models seem to be very popular. I want this piccolo to last through all of my HS and probably college career so a good brand, but a good price is still important...any more brand suggestions? I'm really happy with my flute at the moment even though it may not be a true professional flute. Call me crazy, but the gold plating on the inside of the head joint really helped my tone significantly over the regualar 3SB. I'm still finding it really ironic that a used piccolo is going to cost about 3 or 4 times the cost I bought my flute at(although I did get a FANTASTIC deal on it). I'm also having a hard time finding a place to actually try these diffeent piccs. out for myself, so if anyone knows of some good dealers near central PA I would really apprciate it. Thanks!
Maddy

Has anybody done a comparison between the Gemeinhardt 4wssk or 4w and the Seaman or Zentner?
Maddy

The principal flutist in our symphony has an older Gemeinhardt 4W- like, 25 or 30 years old- and it is a really nice, solid instrument with good tone. She lent it to me for a week when my picc was in the shop.

Granted, she doesn't DO most of the piccolo playing in the symphony- the usual piccolo player has a fantastic Burkart handmade that I just LOVE. But the Gem 4W is a good one.

The Gem 4w piccs are not expensive, especially if you buy them rebuilt/overhauled. (I have no recent experience with the new ones.) Try www.flutestar.com , I know Nancy Shinn buys, rebuilds and sells these and Yamaha 62 piccs. Both of these models will get you through to college. In fact, my friend went through Oberlin Conservatory with a Yamaha 62. You should be able to find one of these rebuilt for $1000, maybe less. Just make sure the overhaul technician is really good.