I want to start to play the flute and in my city there isn't many options, so sadly I'll have to buy a second hand flute over the internet (wish I could get someone experienced to try it before).

On the same price range I can get Yamaha 221 or Artley Symphony.
Both seems to be in good condition.
Is better to get the Artley that have silver head or the Yamaha student's model?

Thanks in advance

the yamaha is much better.

most people would recommend the yamaha, but try them both and see which you prefer see which feels best in your hands if you can't play them yet.

I'm really more partial to the Yamaha, people always says that their flutes are more reliable than Artley or Gemeinhardt.
I'm considering specifically the Artley Symphony because of the silver head, but even if I'm on a budget I suppose in the future I can always upgrade the Yamaha head to try to improve. People told me that Yamaha, Armstrong, Gemeinhardt, Jupiter and Artley make good student flutes, but Gemeinhardt on the newer models have gone downhill (and most Artley on the market are very old, maybe I would expend too much recycling it).
Wish I could try both to see which one fits me better but the local stores are flooded with Chinese flutes that I don't want to give them a try, so I'll try my luck buying on the internet.
Thanks for the replies, help is always welcome to start the path on a beautiful instrument.

Even though the Artley head is silver, it almost definitely has an inferior cut than the Yamaha. Cut is always more important than material when considering headjoints.

I readed some topics here and on other forums, is it true that Artley and Armstrong headjoint cuts are inferior?

cuts on all flutes (even individual yamaha flutes) are differant, thats why buying a flute is such an individual thing but when buying a used flute from the internet make sure you factor in $100 or so for a service, then see which is going to work out best, bearing in find that a yamaha mechanism is very reliable and can be used for years, where as the other flute may not work out to be so reliable, if going by reliablity (which alot of students do) i'd go for the yamaha- my flute teacher still uses a thirty year old one which sounds amazing, and so do alot of other people, but if going by specs, i'd go for the artley (although it may or may not be as reliable.

Unless you specifically plan on melting the flute down to sell the metal, Micron is absolutely right.

I would much rather have an all-silverplate Yamaha, (or even Jupiter or Pearl), than a solid-silver Gemeinhardt, Artley or Armstrong.
In fact, there are some fantastic all-plated flutes out there (Altus makes one).
The design of the headjoint cut will make a very big difference in how the flute responds and plays, as will the placing of the tone holes (keys) and the padding/adjustment of the flute. This is all engineering. So...yes, definitely Yamaha over Artley, especially if the Yamaha was made in the last 10 or 15 years. But do make sure it has attention from a very good technician, the setup can make a huge difference.

Stick to the Yamaha. It's more dependable and the engineering is much better.

Well said, I'd go for the Yamaha.

Everyone has already said it.

Yamaha gets my vote hands down.