selmer omega? YIKES! That is even worse than Gemeinhardt!

I`ve play flute for more then 5 years, and i`m also a musical instrument sale representer in malaysia..is very interesting to read all of this furom and opinion.. a lot of fulte brand i`ve never heart before like miyazawa, powell,Muramatsu,Brannen,Haynes, LaFin,Sankyo..very sad!!! in malaysia (as a asian country) i`ve no chance to get those brand maybe is becaue of Asian country, the most popular flute brand ppl will take for asian ppl will be Yamaha..i play Yamaha as well, they`re good but because i`ve never try those brand as mention above, so i think it must be some better one compare with Yamaha. But i know that they is a special factory making FLUTE only in Japan, specially making FLUTE!!! i think this is really incredible and this is why Yamaha flute is very popular in Asian and in the world as well. Christine i think u can take a try on Yamaha because 1 nore reason is the price is reasonable compare with some US made fule they`re really expensive.. thanks to KC and Grace.. i think i should trust u guys because u guys have more experience.

Yamaha has musical instrument facilities all across the world, yet all their instruments say "made in Japan".

Ever open electronics that said "made in the USA" on the outside and see what it really says on the inside...

All Gemeinhardt flutes come with 1 year factory warranty that covers all defects in workmanship, excluding normal wear. In addition most online music stores offer a 30 day return policy.

I have owned my Gemeinahardt 3SB flute for 9 years and it has kept up quite nicely. So nicely in fact that people think that it is new.

Mein Gemeinhardt @ 9 years:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=43931068&size=o

Always try before you buy.

First of all i would want you to know that Sankyo, miyazawa, and muramatsu are all made in Japan. You should be able to find these brands of flutes in your country due to the fact that malaysian is closer to Japan. For my personal, I think any japanese fluts can be trusted than other countries` flutes. However, I don`t know if yamaha is the best of all japanese flutes or not, but i think sankyo is good. For those who are professional I recomand Altus and Miyazawa. These two brands are just made for professional, but if you are beginner then sankyo and yamaha are the best that u should get!

"Yamaha has musical instrument facilities all across the world, yet all their instruments say "made in Japan".

Ever open electronics that said "made in the USA" on the outside and see what it really says on the inside......"

I believe that that is because of the laws in YOUR country, that specify proportions of input necessary for a "made in ..." label.

There is very little that is TOTALLY made in a single country, including the basic materials.

If a flute is largely made in Indonesia, then in my country it is not ALLOWED to say `Made in Japan", or anywhere else. So "Made in Indonesia" is clearly stamped on Yamaha, student, current-model clarinets here.

Of course "Japan" does not mean the same as "made in Japan". It may merely mean that head office is in Japan.

I would have to disagree with anyone whom says that Japanese flutes are the best or best made. Powell, Haynes and Brannen are made in the US which IMHO, I think are wonderful, if not better. They also don`t run sharp like a lot of the Japanese flutes are known for.

Some Gemeinhardts are ok, but you really need to know what you are looking for in a flute and need to know what to look for anyway. My first flute was a Yamaha and is was really awesome. But yea unless you know what you are doing don`t try for a gemeinhardt becuase it is really hard to find a good one. I would suggest any Japanese brand because they seem to have top ratings and all the top players have them.
Best of luck

a buzzing noise i never had a buzzing noise i have used to have a student model 3b gemeinhardt never had a problem

I really want an Altus 0.958 Silver Headjoint... But they`re ever so expensive... I have a Yamaha 381H and it costed 1200 US dollars... And the Altus 0.958 Headjoing costs 1200 Us dollars too.... ><" I like my Yamaha flute... Very nice...

I`m 14 and i`m also trading up, my teacher says that gemeindhardt is really good but I`ve always preferred Jupiter and Pearl. Should I upgrade to yamaha or stick w/ my pearl?
Oh, and I would definitely recommend Pearl over yamaha, even for a beginner it gives a beautiful tone, I should know, I`ve been playing one for 8 and 1/2 years.

That is great, but do you also do all the repairs that Pearls require?

Does anyone have an opinion about Rampone & Cazzani, which is an Italian maker of Saxaphones? I started on a borrowed heavy-as-a-tank Selmer open inline and I`ve recently been playing with a pretty-as-a-button offset closed Rampone.

I love it when I get search results like this instead of Ebay...

http://alpha1.fmarion.edu/goferjoe/rampone.htm
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/goferjoe/racamd.htm

However looking at their actual site I would be wary :
http://www.ramponecazzani.it/english/altri_index.htm
Click on 2051 for the flute.

They clearly now consider the flute as nothing worthwhile to showcase.

Thanks Piko. Yeah, I`ve seen those sites too. The Rampone site actually does show a flute, item 2051. But no one I know has actually seen a Ramone & Cazzani flute, so it`s difficult for me to judge mine.

I have to totally agree with the posts about Gemeinhardt flutes. They are terrible! I am professional flutist and I have several students. I would never recommend for any student to purchase a Gemeinhardt flute. They are poorly made and they sound stuffy. If you are looking for an intermediate flute:

I believe the following brands are best:

Sonare (great sound)
Pearl
Jupiter
Yamaha

Profession flutes:
Brannen
Powell
Murumatsu