I have been playing flute for a few years in band and have decided to upgrade. I currently play a Geimendhardt Student flute (3SP). I am thinking about purchasing a Vento 885RB flute. Open holed, offset G, split E, and B foot with Gizmo. Also, if anyone knows if these are made in China or not??
Thanks!!
Sushibail

After a brief search......
These days with so many marketing ploys out there, I would not care to buy a flute from anyplace where I can't test the instrument first nor where I can't find the manufacturing company's web page or even an address.

Of all the flute brands listed on their webpage, the only one I would even consider is Yamaha.

Why don't you contact one of the flute speciality houses e.g. Carolyn Nussbaum, JL Smith, or Flute World. At least these people know something about flutes (and many have degrees in flute performance). All three will ship flutes out for trial.

Here's a review of the Vento flutes from All about Flutes:

http://www.allaboutflutes.com/mfd.asp



Seems like you want the works for a bargain price. At that price, it's pretty good going for a B foot, open hole etc.

How does it play? I don't know - I've never owned one. I have found a lot of the any name/nameless 'made in China' flutes
play very well, but perhaps wouldn't be a flute you'd hold onto for more than a month after the keys drift or the keypads fall off, or the cork parts work their way loose, or the plating starts to crumble, or the tenon starts to rust, or the headscrew cork expands and cracks, or someone on the internet comes along to slate them!

I play on a Trevor James student flute. A flutist I met, plays on a Virtuoso. I thought my tone was pretty good, but his was beautiful - and incredibly loud!

Besides, someone else said about flutes, that it doesn't matter what you buy, but really, you get what you pay for. I guess, the next logical extension to that view, is that if you try to get a flute with a B foot; open hole; split E mechanism for less than $1000, then you get what you deserve lol.

Thanks guys!! I am going to contact Flute World tomorrow...and I will see what happens

Something from the http://www.allaboutflutes.com/mfd.asp
web page bothers me:

"Guarantees and warranties offered on any flute are up to the music store selling these products."

This is not entirely accurate. Many reputable manufacturers do offer a warranty. Having one honored from some of the less findable companies or from some discount mail order houses isn't always an easy matter.

It is a general statement that you get what you pay for....or that you should expect to get your money's worth.

That being said, I actually have not seen one of these and so I can't speak for these instrument's quality.

I'd just buy a Pearl or similar. It's a nice "upgrade" from a student model that doesn't cost a fortune.

Thank you all. I have purchased an Amadeus and really enjoy it :D

Amadeus... nice choice. My friend has one of those... I'm sure it sounds beautiful. Congratulations on your new flute !

Good fortune with your Amadeus...Yes. !
I think you should like it very much.

Congrats on your new flute. It is always exciting to get a new instrument :-)

I went to the NFA convention in Charlotte this past August and played the Vento for a little while. I really liked it. It was in no way a Haynes or Powell, but for the price, it was a very good flute. There were other flutes that were much more expensive that didn't play half as well as this Vento. It is just my opnion, and I don't own one, and I haven't seen them take the test of time, but for the few minutes that I played it, it seemed to be a decent flute.

Vento flute are great, but you can't compare them with a muramatsu or a Haynes, but I have heard some possitive comments and rates about them. Try them before buying!
I like the vento ebony flute, the quality is not good at all, but the price is ok and it's better compared with a yamaha 300 or a pearl 525.
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Nicolas