Yamaha hands down! I have worked on a lot of brands of flutes and have found Yamaha to the best built and sounding in the student line of flutes.

im also a beginner and my first flute was a gemeinhardt and i have had it for about a month and a half now... and its holding up very well... so i think i would have to say gemeinhardt!!!!!

pretty_chick_31005, please forgive me if this sounds rude at all, but how are you able to judge a flute brand after only having it a month and a half and not trying anything else? On top of that you just started flute.

any good, professional model flute should sound good no matter what brand it is. As for the student models I would go Yamaha. Yamaha keep their value better too if you plan to seel it at some stage.

Yamaha student flutes (plated body) do not keep their value. Good luck trying to sell it at close to it`s original cost. Those $800 211`s commonly sell under $200 used.

I believe there is a used Yamaha flute cottage industry where flute repairers buy these junk Yamahas repair them and resell them for $150.

Gemeinhardt flutes are very popular in the US and DO re-sell near the original value, especially if the lip is gold plated (gag).

The student Yamaha flute may play well, but not $800 well...

Just out of curiosity, are you the same Piko of the Chanukah music on FLUTE list?

"The student Yamaha flute may play well, but not $800 well..."

Yes, I agree to that! You are correct, unless it is a handmade Yamaha and even then sometimes, you will not see much of your money back when re selling one. Gemeinardt you will because their prices (at least in the US) are WAY cheaper and more realistic to begin with.

Yamaha is still my first choice for a student flute, but only a used one.

Yep, I get around.

I love Gemeinhardts!! I have one!!

Yamaha`s ok. See, I rented my flute (which is a Gemeinhardt) up until I was in eighth grade, and then it was fully bought. I had a rental yamaha one time and I hated it.

cool ;-)

I`m far more of a lurker there, but my last flute/klezmer teacher is a pretty prolific poster!

"I had a rental yamaha one time and I hated it."

Have you tried another Yamaha besides that one? That one could have easily had a leak or needed adjustments being that it was a rental. Before making a fair jugement between the two brands, it would be more fair to try out first difffernt models by Yamaha and Gemeinhardt.

Gemeinhardt is not a bad choice for flute. It does very well on the upper register,but it does not do well on the lower notes. I would always choose Yamaha for its easy play and great tone. Hope i helped

If you do notice this original threat was started in 2004. I really think that this person has gotten a flute by now.

"...Those $800 211`s commonly sell under $200 used....."

What a fantastic buy for a first flute. I wish they were that cheap here! Second hand Yamahas hold their price better than any other student flute where I am.

In this forum, when obviously inexperienced players say they tried XYZ flute and "hated" it, I can`t help wondering that the most likely reason for this is that they were trying a flute with something wrong with it. It only needs one very small adjustment to be `out` and they would also `hate` the world`s `best` flute!

So perhaps many of the helpful comments in this forum should be ignored by typical parent enquirer who is not aware of this issue. That`s the internet, where everybody can be an expert.

I am a two year flute player. I think that Yamaha flutes are better quality. They produce better sound for the air that you put out. *Just my opinion*