Which flute to purchase

Answer 1

This is a loaded question.

There are tons of different Flute brands out there and each has it's own charictaristics. This answer will change for every person that you talk to. For example, I play a Pearl, and I love it. Other people would rather run a Pearl over with a car, than play it. Some people swear by Gemeindhart, I would rather run one over with a car.

I can give you a list of some flute brands that I find to be fantasticly reliable and that have good tone and characteristics.

Mateki; Sankyo; Yamaha; Pearl; Sonare; Lyric; Mirumatsu; Miyazawa to name a few

One thing that is mostly universal with "good" flutes; Japanese. However, exceptions to this rule do include the James Taylor (internationally acclaimed) and the Powell, and you will find others. And DON'T assume that because it's Japanese, it's good. The exceptions go both ways. (IF YOU'RE A FLUTE PLAYER OUT THERE AND I DIDN'T NAME YOUR FAVORITE BRAND, FORGIVE ME. I'M JUST TRYING TO GIVE AS SHORT OF AN OVER VIEW AS I CAN, WHILE STILL PROVIDING GOOD INFORMATION)

The key to finding a "good" flute, is take the time to do your homework. Go somewhere that has a vast selection to choose from with flute experts to help you understand each difference (open hole vs closed, split 'E' vs not, offset 'G' vs inline, etc). Most of these characteristics are the player's preference and there is no "wrong" answer, so long as what you choose is reliable, with good tone, and responds to YOU and YOUR playing style. Plan on taking a couple hours out of your day to play-- indepth, don't just fiddle around-- each flute and find the one the feels and sounds best to you for your purposes.

Also, if you're looking for something nicer than a beginner flute, plan on spending AT LEAST $1300 (USD 2009). "Professional" flutes will start around $3000 (if you're lucky). Don't be scared to scrutinize even the most expensive flutes. Just because it costs $10,000 doesn't mean it's worth that much for YOUR purposes. Take into account your financial abilities as well as what you're using it for. If you're playing Carnegie and the flute is your source of income, the higher priced flute will make more sense to you than if you're say (like me) a broke college student that is a music major, but not going into performance. My $1500 Pearl will carry me as far as I'll need to go, but it may or may not for someone else.

Summary: A flute purchase is a very personal thing. Please be prepared.

I think Armstrong is very good. also vento. For begginers I didn't like geminhert so much

Answer 2

I recomend YAMAHA. The flutes that they make are really good. You can buy them online or go to a music store. Most music stores have YAMAHA flutes