Thanks, you are such a lovely person Meme, you don`t even know me Meme, so how can you call me bossy? I actually don`t believe that you`re the repair person you say you are, because I have never yet heard adults talk in such a pathetic/chilidish way. I may be wrong but I actually DO NOT CARE.
Beth x

I have owned three gemienhardt flutes and one yamaha. All student models. The yamaha is superior.

My experience of Gemeinhardt is quite limited as we don`t seem to see too many of them in the UK any more.
We do however have a few old ones at work (I am a peripatetic woodwind teacher). They have certainly not stood the test of time as well as Yamahas of a similar age. I also prefer the tone quality, response and general feel of a Yamaha.

Beth...

"pls do not..."
Not bossy??? Well it is all a matter of opinion, but to me sure seems bossy in a forum situation - telling others what to do.

I have a Jupiter.. I LOVE it. I also have a great gemeinhardt piccolo

hi there, new to this forum...but i wanted to say that i`ve played my gemeinhardt for oh, about 20 years now...and even though i`ve beat the you know what out of it, i still get a pretty good tone from it. and i bought it used at that.

i`ve tried the yamahas, and for some reason i just don`t like them. (personal preference i guess, but i never could get used to playing them). i`d say try them both out if you can, and decide for yourself!

i`d say try both of them too.. my flute is not gemeinhardt or yamaha.. it`s selmer, and i like it. my piccolo is a yamaha and i love it also!

Pick a flute that will withstand the wear and tear. Flute technicians will tell you this is definitely the Yamaha. Pick a flute with a very good scale. Flute players will tell you that the Gemeinhardt does not measure up in this area, either. Some folks don`t like the Yamaha scale, either, and prefer almost any other brand. Jupiter has gotten a great reputation lately (actually, they`ve worked hard to overcome their bad reputation) for sturdy instruments, and their intonation is WONDERFUL. Their diMedici line is QUITE good. As a bonus, Jupiter is less expensive than either the Yamaha or Gemeinhardt. Try as many different brands of flute you can for the money you want to spend, and then buy what works best for YOU. If you`re not experienced, take along a player or teacher to help you test the flutes. But buy what YOU`LL be happy with, because YOU have to play it.

gem. are the most prefered flutes in the world and so far that i have seen (which is a lot) they are cheaper too.

also, gem.`s roots trace back to the first modern-looking flute, and it only sells flutes, so there`s a lot of devotion there.

here`s a little history:
1820
Theobald Boehm (1794-1881) is considered to have created the most important evolution of the flute in its entire history. Boehm was born in Munich and was trained as a jeweler and goldsmith. His aptitude for music was very apparent as a young child, and by 1818 he was dividing his careers among that of goldsmith, flutemaker and professional flutist in the orchestra of the royal court in Munich. By 1828, Boehm had put together a workshop to manufacture instruments. In 1831, while visiting London, Boehm attended a concert of Charles Nicholson whose flute had unusually large finger holes which produced an exceptionally large and fine tone.



1832
Realizing that this tone would have to be imitated for a concert flutist to be successful, and understanding that the tone holes would have to be spaced for good intonation rather than for the convenience of the fingers of the player, Boehm designed a new mechanism that functioned as an extension of the fingers. This conical flute of 1832 was gradually accepted by the most important players of the time, and by 1843 Boehm had licensed flutemakers in London and Paris to manufacture this new instrument. In 1846, Boehm continued to perfect the flute while studying acoustics with Carl von Schafhautl at the University of Munich.



1847
In 1847, Boehm produced a radically different instrument with a cylindrical body, a foot joint and a parabolic head joint. The tone holes on this instrument were even larger than the 1832 instrument and Boehm had to design padded cups for each hole. This new instrument has received only a few relatively unimportant modifications throughout the 20th century and it is a tribute to his genius that Boehm`s flute will remain unchanged into the 21st century.

1900
Arthur Gemeinhardt (Kurt`s father) trained under Emil Rittershausen in Berlin. Mr. Rittershausen was a Boehm flute specialist who trained under Boehm and his partner Carl Mendler Sr. in Munich. So, the tradition and origin of the Gemeinhardt flute can be traced directly to the 19th century and Theobald Boehm`s factory.

and oh yeah, my flute is a 2sp and its never had to be in for repairs and makes a lovely sound, great compared to all the others in my band.

i`m thinking of getting a 3SH (gemeinhardt)

I have a Yamaha YFL-221 and works great. Its tone is very nice for a student model. Some of my friends have Gemeinhardts and their tones are often very fuzzy and harsh. Today for Christmas I got an Altus Aprenti Flute and its tone is EXCEPTIONAL!!! For beginners I would definetly recomend a Yamaha. I hope this info. helps you make your decision.

Ah! My findings exactly.

Yamaha i love it- i have one!!

All of the people that I knoe have had fabulous luck with Yamaha. From what I gather Yamaha is the top brand for all beginning instruments. My trumpet is a student Yamaha it is almost 14yrs old now and still plays like new, granted I took maticulous care of it.
My flute is an Armstrong, but I did sample a few Gemindharts. I didn`t get one because they were out of my price range at the time and/or did not have the specifications I was looking for. The few people I know with Gemindharts are satisfied with them.
I would say that Gemindhart is a very good brand because not only do they specialize in flutes, but they have not merged with any other companies to stay afloat. They are a stand alone company so I think that says a lot about their product.
So it is best to sample a number of Yamahas and Gemindharts before deciding. Also bear in mind that an instrument is an investment so stick as best you can to a price range if you have one.
If you have a teacher ask your teacher what is best. Teachers love that.

I have only used a Yamaha and it`s great comparing to the other player`s flutes in our band such as jupiter and some "unknown" companies... One of my friend`s flute`s foot joint falls off unexpectedly which makes her hit the wrong notes between practices. (Yes, it`s sad) I also heard that the lower leveled piccolo`s from Yamaha are actually Armstrong piccolos and are just named as Yamahas.