Hi all! I'm considering buying a flute, I'm a very fresh beginner so don't know much about anything. Would Yamaha 211 be a good choice? In what scale should it be tuned? Also, I am thinking of doing a little bidding on ebay so do you know of any precautions to be taken before or what to look at in particular?(serial number should be visible? does it matter if the flute hasn't been played for a long time?...)
I will much appreciate your help

I really wouldn't advise Ebay unless you really know what you are doing, or want you just want a "pretty" toy instrument. The Yamaha 211 is a fine beginners flute, a little over priced in my opinion but it plays well and gives a good solid sound. Allows students to learn the basics, and overall a good beginners flute.

As for the question on the tuning, the vast majority of concert flutes are tuned in C. If you wanted any other tuning (ie. D or G mostly for traditional or modern) you would need to spend allot more money and would be looking else where than with Yamaha.

why don't you rent a flute? Many stores have a rent program where all the money you spend while you rent goes into an account. When you are ready for a truly nice instrument and are sure you want to stick with flute, you can then use the money in the account to buy an instrument from their store. =)

I agree with Micron.

Yamaha makes some of the best flutes for students. I also like their 800 series professional flutes.

Go with the Yamaha.

I used to also say Yamaha 211, but I recently found a better option in the same price range - the entry-level Pearl. I think it sounds a bit better and has a few more options on it than the Yamaha. And it usually costs about $100 less. win-win.

http://www.wwbw.com/Pearl-Flutes-Model-525RB-466905-i1433560.wwbw
Get offset G, IMO. It comes with a set of plugs for the holes. Start off with the plugs in. Many players leave them in, but the option to have open holes is there in the future if you want. Exactly as "easy" to play as the 505, just with a few features that, IMO, you'll appreciate in a year or two down the road.

$699 new. The most basic Yamaha is about $799 new. Just kind of overpriced, IMO.

Well obviously you test the Pearl in person or have their flute expert do it, since at the bottom end Pearl and Yamaha have moved to "offshore" makers. The 525 does seem a bit better made - and more consistent sounding, IMO. About equal to the entry level Yamaha.

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http://www.winds101.com/intermediate.htm
· Yamaha 325 - (from $599)

Solid sterling silver CY cut headjoint, closed hole, offset G, C foot

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Or you can always get a good used Yamaha 300 series. Same exact thing as the 200 but with a solid silver headjoint. Plays the same/just as easy for a beginner, just the headjoint has been gone over by a technician by hand/fine tweaked.

Ebay probably wouldn't be your ideal flute shopping center, or for any instrument for that matter. I agree that Yamahas make wonderful flutes but for a decent price, I think Jupiters will do just as nicely. My student Jupiter has served me well for 2 years. My first year playing as a sophomore in high school, I got into the school Wind Ensemble(a pretty big deal). My second year playing(this year), I stayed in the Wind Ensemble and got second chair out of 9 flutes. I'd say that Jupiters do just fine. You just have to find the flute that feels right in your hands and plays right for you. I'm a little biased because I do own a Jupiter but, I am still confident that they make good beginner flutes. It just takes some patience. Also, I would ask someone at your local music center to give you advice as well. Maybe they will let you test a few to find the right one for you. I hope you find what you are looking for! Welcome to the flute world!

Totally agree with the comment before about Jupiter flutes. I recommend it to everyone that asks my advice on brands. I play a Jupiter flute and had no doubt in my mind when it came to getting my piccolo that Jupiter would be the brand for me. And after trying a number out I was right!
I just love there warm tone and variety in models. It gives such versatility and all at affordable prices! What could be better??

one begginer flute that is often overlooked is some of the emerson models. Our family has gotten 2 begginer models off ebay brand new for $100 in the past. The thing about ebay is, there are actually a lot of good deals on there, and if anything is wrong with the flute, many sellers will allow you to send it back, or you can use the extra money you saved to fix it up. Beggining emersons have a very nice cut on the headjoint. It is smaller, so it is a little less forgiving for begginer students, but once you get the hang of it, the sound is superb. I used to play on a selmer until I upgraded to the Emerson ef6 (open holes, silver headjoint) and it outranks selmer a ton. Same with my dad's flute. He just started learning last year and bought 2 beggining emerson flutes (silver plated, closed hole) and even they sounded better than our selmer. True, yamaha's and jupiters are some of the best out there, but because Emersons are often overlooked, they are much cheaper. Why get a $700 begginer flute when you could get a begginer flute for $100, or an intermediate model for $800 (not off ebAY!)?

ok there is nothing wrong with ebay if you know what to look for, and for a beginners flute a used pearl, yamaha, jupiter, emerson, selmer ect. would be fine, just when bidding remeber to add about 100 dollars to the price to get it looked over buy a technition, and alot of flutes on ebay are ones that have been bought by a parent new for a music store then been used for about 3 weeks and left in a cupboard for a while, so as long as you allow money for a service it is fine to buy one of ebay, just make sure it is a known brand, (if in doubt search the forum and read the comments surrounding the flute in question) and ensure it comes in a hard case (especially when in post) and make sure there are no huge dents and no huge rust patches. the main thing with ebay is to really read the listing, inspect the photos for dents ect.(if possible find ones where you can collect it from them, then you can check it yourself before you hand over the cash) and allow money in the budget for a service before it is played.

also- I found my emerson ef6 was just as good as the Haynes Amadeus I tried, if that helps. Before buying your flute, you should try out all the different kinds, then once you find one that you like, make the sound quality of that flute your expectation when trying others. It's a lot like choosing out a good bocal, ecxept your lip is the instrument, instead of the rest of the bassoon.

Be careful. One of the flutes that I bought off of ebay in Like new condition had been bent in half and then repaired. You couldn't really tell from the photo. I think that it might have been a really good photo shop or an entirely different flute. Most likely it was not an acutal picture of the flute.

Make sure there is a return policy. Always pay with paypal and make sure that they ship through paypal and buy the insurence.

You should DEFINITELY ALWAYS get a student flute tuned to concert C!!!! Also, before I got my wonderful Pearl open-holed flute that I LOVE, MY beginner flute was a Prelude flute from a branch and division of Selmer, which makes VERY good instuments, such as clarinets and flutes; top of the line. Also, Yamaha is not always the best, because for example, when I went to try out for my open hole flute, the Yamaha was just HORRIBLE, and the Pearl was like magic. I would suggest hunting around for a Prelude flute though, because it always served me well and has a wonderful tone and resonance, but you may want to try Pearl as well. DON'T go with Armstrong or Yamaha though.

selmer is noted for making one of the lowest of quality flutes. i would never recommend one over a yamaha. yamaha is high end and the top choice of teachers and students alike today. the only thing that i could chalk up your last statement to is inexperience.

emerson is often looked passed because they the mechanism on them are not built as well as say a yamaha. they are not built as well in general. that is why they are not too popular.