Hi,
i only recently borrowed a friend`s flute and once i got my tone steady, have truly started to enjoy the instrument. unfortunately, when i started to look for one to buy myself, i ran into a complete lack of information. i am looking to spend around $200 but am willing to go a bit higher. could someone please tell me what sorts of things i should look for, which brands are good and which aren`t, and anything else you would recommend when buying a flute?

Thanks in advance

I bought my flute, and a very good one at that, for about $1200. But, if your looking to buy one for the first time, try spending around $700 on one. DO NOT BUY First Act flutes! They will break and they are cheap, stupid insterments.

blessing was my first rental flute...it helped me get through 5,6, and 1/2 fo 7th gd
gemeinhardt was good and i still have it but i use it for marching band.
either geminhardt or yamaha....most of the flutists who still have the "student flute" own those brands...but a vast majority own geminhardt

my first was a gemeinhardt22SP and I got it for $250. Its not great but for a beginner its good and it is durable.

I did a lease-to-own on an Armstrong thats what most poeple start out on in my school but also Yamahas are good too. They both had modest prices. I got my Armstrong in 5th grade and I`m now in 9th and I still use it as my primary.

I am a beginner. I bought an Armstrong 104 on Ebay for $55.00 plus shipping. I like it and the flute players in my band who played it said it was nice. You can get a lot of good deals on Ebay. Just buy from a seller with a lot of postiive feedback and ask questions. Also, most people who have them seem to like Gemeinhardt.
Leonard

i`ve got a selmer that i`m using for the 6th year. it`s a good flute, and durable.. it went through a lot of rain and such in marching band last year, although it wasn`t used much for marching band this season(i played piccolo)and it`s still working great! without any problems

Ebay is a great resource tool...if you search under the right brand names.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47101&item=3762034845&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47101&item=3762213576&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47101&item=3761769741&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47100&item=3762106748&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47100&item=3762303604&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=85874&item=3762026848&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=85874&item=3762030854&rd=1

Fluteworld.com or something like that is suppose to be good too

My first student flute was an Armstrong silver-plated flute. I got it for $500. Their pretty good, but if your looking for something cheaper I suggest Ebay. But not FIRST ACT. they`re horrible!!!