Miyazawa vs. Maramatsu

[Steve_R]

My daughter is entering college next year and is
looking for a professional flute. The two she is considering
now are the Miyazawa 202 and the Muramatsu EX.

How do you think the two compare and are there other
brands in the same price range of similar quality?

Thanks
Steve

[Phineas]

The quality is about the same, but the headjoint on the Muramatsu requires more control. Which one is better is a matter of preference. The best thing to do is hever her try out both of them, and see which one is best for her. Often people have complained that their tone was not good on the Muramatsu, which falls in line with my experience.

I picked the Miyazawa because it was easier to adapt to, yet still had the flexibility I was looking for. However, now that I am playing more, I would have more time to practice on the Muramatsu.
Phineas

[pied_piper]

Some college flute professors are are quite adamant that their students only play on certain brands. Others don't care about the brand, just the results. So, just to be safe, you might want to consult with the flute professor at the college she will be attending and ask for his/her opinion.

In some cases, it might be better to defer the purchase until she starts college and let the flute professor help her pick a suitable instrument. Either way, ask the professor if your daughter should buy now or later.

[fluteguy18]

I agree with piedpiper on this one. Let the teacher help. Not doing so can hurt their feelings, and leave them feeling that their student might be trapped with an instrument that doesn't suit them.

As for comparing the flutes though... it really IS a matter of personal taste and playing styles.

But, I will give you my personal opinions from my experiance playing them. This is by no means fact, but rather what I went through when upgrading to a handmade flute.

I tried every brand out there. It came down to Muramatsu or Miyazawa because they were (in my opinion) the best in my budget. I found Muramatsu to have the most even response, and Miyazawa to be the most flexible in terms of response. Muramatsu to me also seemed the most free-blowing whereas I could push the Miyazawa a bit more. Miyazawa has different headjoint cuts available, whereas Muramatsu doesn't (I think), so it was nice to try different headjoints. A different style headjoint makes a REALLY big difference. The mechanism was a bit lighter on the Muramatsu and smoother, but the Miyazawa seemed to have a springy agile mechanism.

Ultimately, Miyazawa won out in my case, but there are a lot of Muramatsu players out there as well.

So: I recommend waiting to buy the flute. The teacher will probably have some recommendations. The teacher will hopefully be more concerned about the sound/way it plays than a specific brand.

[sidekicker]

I don't think I would wait until starting college to shop for a flute. That might waste a lot of good lesson time and could possibly consume an entire semester on something that could be done ahead of time. Finding the right flute can be an arduous task, and may require some "breaking in" time after the purchase. I got a new flute in December and I'm still getting used to it; it's a beautiful instrument, but still different from what I had been playing on. I would not want to start college that way. It may frustrate the professor's first year objectives, and place your daughter behind other students who began at the same level of playing.

The right flute for her may also go beyond the two brands listed here. Your daughter may sound much better on a Powell, Brannen, or Burkart, any of which could turn out to be a better instrument for her. The "Boston" style of flute (Powell, Brannen, Burkart, etc.), in my experience, is quite different from those of their Japanese counterparts at the professional level. Many flutists, I among them, sound and play much better on the former than the latter.

If possible, I would try and get with the intended professor now and go through these motions. I'm not sure where you are geographically, but if working with the professor early is not an option, you might consider having one of the major flute sellers (like C. Nussbaum, J.L. Smith, etc.) arrange for your daughter to come and try several different flutes at one time.

Just my opinions.

SK

[Phineas]

One thing I have never understood is this whole thing about "you have to buy this brand". I guess if you want to be a part of a certain study program, that is the price you pay. What is the purpose of making students buy all of the same brand of flute? Is this an attempt to make a section have a uniformed sound or what?

I may play jazz, but I love to play and listen to classical music. I gave up playing cello because I got tired of all of these science fiction standards that are designed to weed out the undesirables. "You are not a good player unless you play X brand cello with Xbrand bows", even though most of the players that met those requirements still sucked! I would NAIL my auditions. However, because I could not afford the required instrument, I could not get into the orchestra/concert group. (Although I did play in string sections on pro jazz/pop/fusion recordings...go figure )

This practice is something that I will always disagree with even though it does exist. If a particular instrument helps the musician to play better, then that is the one the player should use. But hey, the situation is what it is.

Good advice about the college thing, just struck a nerve. It should be about the music and the players, NOT the stamp on your instrument.

Fluteguy18
It is funny how you used the term "Freeblowing". That is a good description for it.

Phineas

[cflutist]

What exactly is "freeblowing"?

I think I get a really nice tone from my thin-wall Haynes (1972) and my 14K Williams headjoints (both from Boston). Been told that they both project rather well above the orchestra.

However, I think I sound really crappy on my Gemeinhardt "J" headjoint that came with my camping flute (described as "freeblowing" and with the least resistance of the Gemeinhardt headjoints). It seems that the more I push, the worse it sounds.

[fluteguy18]

The right flute for her may also go beyond the two brands listed here. Your daughter may sound much better on a Powell, Brannen, or Burkart, any of which could turn out to be a better instrument for her. The "Boston" style of flute (Powell, Brannen, Burkart, etc.), in my experience, is quite different from those of their Japanese counterparts at the professional level. Many flutists, I among them, sound and play much better on the former than the latter.

Absolutely. If it is within your budget to do so, try other makes. I merely was considering those in the same price range. If I had been in a position to buy a flute with a higher price tag, I would have purchased a Brannen.

And to me, the term 'freeblowing' just meant an ease of response. In my case, the Muramatsu responded so quickly that I couldn't push it, and I frequently cracked notes. When I was at NFA though, and tried the gold/platinum ones, I didn't have that problem.

[Steve_R]

Well, I took my daughter to J.L. Smith to try out some flutes.
She was able to play about 12 flutes of differering brands and
models with a variety of head joints. She played the flutes in
groups of three without knowing which brand she was playing.
From a group of three she would eliminate one and add another
until she finally ended up with the flute she thought best suited
her. We ended up purchasing a Miyazawa with a MZ-9 head joint.

[fluteguy18]

GREAT!!!!

I am glad that she got a flute that she likes. And keep in mind that she has the 1 year headjoint trade in policy. I originally had an MZ8 headjoint, but then a year later [almost to the day!] I decided I wanted to change my headjoint. So, I called my dealer, and we went through the headjoint trial process again. I ended up with the MZ7 the 2nd time, but the MZ9 wasn't out yet. If it had been, I would have been very tempted by the MZ9. I've tried them before, and I really enjoy playing that headjoint.

I hope she enjoys her flute for many years to come!

[flutego12]

Hi! I am quite tempted by the MZ9 headjoint itself.

Does the generous resistance mean you need a lot of puff to play it?
What sort of embouchure does this suit?
How is it's response in the 1st 2nd 3rd registers? Esp the 3rd?

Thanks.