Hi everyone, I've been learning flute on a borrowed student instrument, and I thought it would be a nice idea to purchase my own. I went on ebay looking for a b-foot open-hole flute for under a hundred, and I ended up bidding and winning on a "Palm Winds" B-foot open-hole silver plated model, refurbished, for 75 dollars with shipping. Any thoughts on this? Did I overpay for a cheap chinese model? Will it play well at all? Does anyone have any experience with these flutes?

My other options would have been to buy a heavily used Gemeinhardt M3 for around $50 and refurbish it myself (new pads, maybe new springs, etc.), or go with a basic student model C-foot closed-hole. Did I make a decent decision?

Thanks for any help you can give!

I think you -- like many students -- have somehow gotten the idea that a C-foot closed-hole flute is somehow not as good for you as a B-foot open-hole flute. Please do a search in this forum to find out why this is not true!

And, at the prices you are looking at (under $100), you are not likely to find anything of durable quality, no matter what kind of holes or footjoint is has.

I think that a rule of thumb that would most likely improve one's chances of getting a better quality flute would be for people to do a search for the company web page online.
In this case, does one find the "Palm Winds instrument manufacturer" web page or just ebay and a few retail music stores selling these flutes? This suggestion of course is NOT a guarantee of quality as these sorts of low quality companies can change their M/O at their own whims and post some sort of web page of their own.

So like this:
http://www.pearlflute.com/_english/index.html
http://www.jupitermusic.com/jupiterflutes/
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/Catalog/Catalog_GXMFCX.html?CTID=237000&CNTYP=PRODUCT
etc....


I really hate to sound negative but the buyer of this Palm Winds instrument could have saved a bit of money and time by coming to a good flute forum like this one and simply asked a few questions before they placed and "won" this bid.

Yeah, I agree, it was a bit of an impulse buy. As I don't really have the money for anything decent (e.g. $75 was nearing the top end of my budget), I thought I might take a gamble and try one out. I have read quite a lot of opinion on flutes (even some from this forum!), and it doesn't seem like anyone ever touches upon anything at this extreme "low end" of the spectrum, maybe rightfully so. It was most likely either this or a 60's student model with cookie-cutter keys, and maybe I might get lucky and it'll play at least as well as one of those.

Fortunately I bought it from a (seemingly) reputable music store (Music Go Round) in Minnesota with a lenient return policy.

Does anyone know of a better option in the sub $100 price range? Should I just go with an older student Gemainhardt or maybe Armstrong?

Welcome to the forum, Fungus!

The good thing is that you seem to really want to play the flute. One good option is to look for flutes to rent in music stores. (Or rent to buy.)

I'm not sure how old you are, but if you're still in school, asking for money for birthdays and Christmas, might help you increase the budget. In any way, saving for an instrument is a long time project. Start putting money away, and you'll be able to upgrade later.

How do you pay your teacher? Maybe you could have lessons every other week, instead of every week, for some time and save the money for a new flute?

Good luck with the playing! Just be patient, and work to save up some money.

Thanks for the welcome!

Haha, I'm actually in college, but I do feel like I'm back in sixth grade trying to pinch my pennies for a new toy :D I should've specified that I don't, and probably won't, play the flute as my primary instrument. I'm basically picking this up as a side, in addition to piano, and a couple of others. As I'm saving for college, that explains my unreasonably tight budget for expensive shiny things at the moment, so I'm just looking for the most bang for my buck here.

As for lessons, a friend of mine is giving me some instruction in the basics. Unfortunately my lesson-money is pretty much spent on vocal music

Regardless though, that's good advice that I think I'll follow. If I like playing flute enough, I might just be able to put enough away for something decent :D

I'm guessing no one around here has played one of these "Palm Winds" then?

Thanks!

"Should I just go with an older student Gemainhardt or maybe Armstrong?"

I would say probably yes. They won't be as new and shiney as your Palm Winds flute, but in the long run, they are probably better made, will last you longer and will be serviceable by a good flute technician.

Flute not beeing your primary instrument explains a lot , and you'll just have to do the best of the situation. I agree however with that you likely will have major problems with the Palm Wind. Here is a great resource about buying (and playing) flutes:
http://www.jennifercluff.com/used.htm#intermed

Don't forget your local craigslist (if you're in a large urban area). Here's one from my area:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/1884583163.html

Armstrong student flute - $85
This is a WT Armstrong student flute (#33978) made in Elkhart, Indiana.

It comes in a hard case.
It was purchased in the early 1970's.
Looks and plays great and could probably use a cleaning.

<two photos>

Well, I received the flute a couple of days ago, and against all odds, this thing plays beautifully. It has a really good tone, and the scale seems reasonable to my ear (I'm a vocalist as well as a pianist, so I have a reasonably good ear).

I cannot fathom how you could get anything better for under 80 dollars. It was just refurbished, so everything is in great shape, too! Honestly, I'd have to say that I prefer this over the $700 Gemeinhardt 3SB I played at the local music store (also reconditioned), and maybe even the the $1600 yamaha (I don't remember the model number).

I'm not sure if I just got extremely lucky with the cut of the headjoint and build quality, or these are actually decent student flutes, but it plays very easily with a great tone. My only complaint would be that it uses synthetic material (rubber and sometimes felt), for the key corks rather than natural cork. Anyway, suffice it to say, I love the flute, and it's really encouraged me to keep playing :D

Has anyone else played on of these? Did I just get really lucky?

P.S. Pictures coming later :D

It's always better to get a new flute, as you will always know how it has been treated and if it will have a warranty.