I think it is in Very Poor Taste to have your local music store order in a headjoint specially for you to try, and then buy it from someone else.
You have already cost the store time and money. I know you are young, and have no idea about banking, business operating loans and such, but IT COSTS THE STORE MONEY (interest on a loan, opportunity cost, time/attention of employees, etc) to tie up their money in a special order/try it out situation.
If you want to order something returnable online so that you can try it out, that's fine- that is YOUR credit card being charged and then refunded. (Meanwhile, you cannot use the $1500 per flute ordered to buy groceries, Christmas presents, etc.)
A local music store, especially one with a good tech, is a valuable asset. If you are going to use it, please pay for it.
If you can't afford the 600-series flute and HJ at the music store, buy the 500-series flute and HJ there. My backup flute is a Pearl 501-E that has been used, with a handmade pro headjoint, by two of the regional symphony players when their flutes went into the shop for repairs. The 500-series flute, given the same adjustment and setup, will play just the same as the 600-series flute if you are using the same headjoint in both.
And, by the way, when a flute arrives by mail it will often need a little tweak by a good tech to bring it into perfect adjustment. Some of the cheap internet dealers don't have the excellent techs doing setup on their flutes that, say, Flute World would have. So you may have to go into the local music store and pay them to make your flute play properly, bringing the price to the same as what you would have paid if you just ordered it from the local store in the first place.
Also, a headjoint, EVEN MADE BY THE SAME COMPANY (ie, Yamaha EC cut HJ to go into a Yam 300-series student flute) will likely need to be sized to the new flute by your local flute tech.
Most local businesses will do their best to sell a flute to you, rather than having you buy off the internet. They cannot sell for the same low prices and stay in business, but they will often, if asked nicely, lower their price if they can to get your business. So do ask them, "I see this at whateverdotcom for $599, your price is $850. Can you get any closer to their price, I'd really rather buy local and have a good tech nearby." They might sell you the flute for $775 or so.
End of rant.
| The only problem, is I don't know which one to get. |
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No, you will not know which one to get unless you try them all, and make sure they are all setup properly so you aren't dealing with, say, leaks in the footjoint keys making the lowest notes hard to play.
A Pearl 600-series flute should work very well for your HS marching, concert band, etc endeavors.
As to the different headjoints, the one that YOU really respond well to is the one to buy. The descriptions are mostly marketing, you won't really be able to tell anything until you play them.
