34 year old taking up the flute again!! Which one to buy??

joolz · Post by **joolz** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:44 am

Hello everyone,
I have been lurking for a couple of days and finally got my account activated. I last played flute when I was 17 (finished 7th grade AMEB - australian) and have only dabbled in teaching beginners since then and playing basic band music with our school band. Just recently (very recently) I decided to give it a go again and I plan to do my 8th grade next year. I am amazed at how quickly it is all coming back to me with a bit of practice. Who knew!

Anyway, I am playing on a very basic Yamaha flute that I am hiring from the primary school. It says F100AS11 which means nothing to me. I do get a lovely sound on it but obviously I will need to buy a flute of my own now.

Can anyone recommend me in any particular direction? I went to a Flute festival and tried out a few different price points. I even tried $34,000 flutes (aussie dollars) which I have to confess, didn't feel to me like they were THAT much better than some of the $5000 - $7000 flutes. Of course, I am a beginner again now so it is possible that I'm missing delicate differences.

The stand out to me (for flutes less than $8000) was the Sonare 7500 which just played the 3rd octave beautifully and with barely any effort on my part.

My budget is up to $5000 AUD. Unfortunately the Sonare 7500 is $5200 AUD here in Australia and only $2300 USD in the US. This is an extraordinary mark up and it makes me wonder why.

Any advice would be great. I don't know how the grades compare to others around the world but here in Australia the AMEB grades go to 8th grade and then become teaching grades after that as far as I am aware - correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks in advance,
Joolz

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:49 am

I would look at Yamaha and Pearl as well.

On the subject of prices of Australian currency, and American currency, and the price discrepencies, you must take several things into account. The USD and the AUD do not convert equally. So, the AUD dollar amount will be 'higher' than the USD amount.

Also, there might be issues of price because of location. I have sometimes seen flutes sold much cheaper in the country they are made in. So, because parts of the Sonare flute are made in USA, they might have to sell for more in other countries. These price discrepencies might also take into account customs that your country charges on an item when it is imported.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:49 pm

Here are some additional suggestions for companies to try flutes from:

Trevor James
Jupiter
Dimedici
Amadeus
Brio
Gemeinhardt
Azumi
Sankyo
Altus

joolz · Post by **joolz** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:44 am

Thank you both for your advice. I am a little overwhelmed by the choice out there. 19 years ago when I bought my Jupiter (which was lost/stolen) there didn't seem to be as much choice as there is now.

I think I am going to go back to the dealer here and try the blindfolded thing so that I can really narrow down what "feels" good.

Just read the FAQ thread which was very helpful.

Juliette

woof · Post by **woof** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:36 pm

joolz wrote:.

I think I am going to go back to the dealer here and try the blindfolded thing so that I can really narrow down what "feels" good.

Just read the FAQ thread which was very helpful.

Juliette

See if your dealer will let you bring several- or one at a time- home for a trial. I am a big believer in the value of being able to spend more time with a flute than you can get at a shop. Also it allows you to play the flute in different rooms, in different acoustics and without someone watching you. If you can bring several home you can spend hours doing side by side comparisons. Good Luck.