Good advice from KC, and he/she has obvious experience.

Don`t take too much notice of recommendations in a forum. Take Jill, for example. 13 years old, she claims, and more of a parrot than having any real knowledge about the large array of brands.

more advice, (from a 16 year old for that matter so take it or leave it) gemeinhardts are crap, so are bundies and selmers (sp) yamahas are usually okay and they do make some really good ones as well. depending on the kind of sound you like (darker vs modern broad sound), then you might want to consider different flutes for different tone qualities. Haynes are good. just from experience. i like the miyazawas the best and the williams are pretty sweet!

I`m 13...almost 14 ^^ Yes, I realize that I shouldn`t take everything that`s said on forums to heart, but the person who`s selling the flute makes it sound so good >.< I suppose I`ll just have to test out a whole bunch.

a good idea would also to get your teacher to play it! people who sell stuff always makes it sound incredible

armstrong flutes are the best!!!!!

I usually like Miyazawa and Muramatsu flutes... I had a Gemeinhardt and it SUCKED!! Yamaha is WAY better than Gemienhardt. I didn`t really like Armstrong...

Kc I know your a repair person but I keep hearing Gemienhards`t are horrible MINE was not bad!! Really!! I took good care of it is that it? I have a piccolo of them too and recently repaired it (due long night marching band rainstorm got the picture) and the tech said it was in very good condition and no rust (had it for 9 years). The only real issue was I felt I could not project with it and I wanted offset G. The yamaha had a very nice tone which is why I got it. But this out of alignment stuff if it`s SO horrible I should notice something but I really don`t. I`ve been playing flute for 14 years, started out with cheap closed emerson, then got 3shb gemeinhardt then yamaha 674h. Ok guys I guess just take care of whatever flute you`ve got and try them all out before you get one.

And this yamaha that`s supposedly better mechanically, the bflat key on my 674 is loose, just SLIGHTLY and when I went to get it repaired the tech said she looked at all their yamahas and all of the had that same issue. So that freaks me out a little but it plays fine still.

eww Armstrong, are you crazy, itz so crappy

Just to let you know, I am not the only repair tech that thinks that about Gemeinhardt flutes. Thats nice that you didn`t have all the problems with yours that I have seen on almost all of them. I still stand by what I say about them being poorly made and I still don`t recommend them to anyone.
Then again, if I were to recommend a good reliable flute, I wouldn`t recommend any of the students one. If money wasn`t a problem for most people I would say go for Powell, Muramatsu or Miyazawa. Lol!

Ok, all those "no-name" people, like someone, or settle, etc., get a real name, use it the whole time, and don`t say stuff if you don`t want people to know it`s you. Or, you could just look at the posts, and not reply to them.

Just a personal preference, and this forum really needs people to sign up and get a username and password...

Riki, you are such a dumb ass!

Riki you sound like my mum.
My ass is the only classy one around here!

What do you guys think of Dean Yang flutes? I`ve been playing for 4 years... My Gemeinhardt is breaking on me... I would like a Miyazawa or Muramatsu... Maybe a Nagahara... But they`re so expensive...

personally i`ve never heard of the Dean Yang flutes but it`s very likely that you might like playing one. it all depends on how it feels...my miyazawa is awesome so i`d recommend you try one sometime and see if you like it

No reviews that anyone on this site gives, will ever equate with going to a Flute Event, and trying out instruments in person. I had the opportunity to try several instruments in the sub-$1500 range, and I found the one that suited me the best. I had in mind what flutes I wanted to try, and was able to narrow my choice to a Jupiter 711. Flute forums may give you an idea of the general qualities of any make of instrument, but it is still in the playing to pick the right flute for you.