Flute Advice Please Options

[lucy_love_]

hi

i was wondering if you could help me with some flute advice. i have read a few of the flute threads and the advice seems good and you all seem to know what your on about. lol.

im looking for a student flute for my daughter whos 11. she saved up hard and has £245 and i know they are more than that so i said i would put the rest.

we have been to a flute shop (if thats what they are called) and the flutes that they have within our price range are trevor james x10 and jupiter 511. they also have the yamaha 211 but its a bit more money and she would have to wait alot longer for that one.

has anyone had any experiences with either the tj or jupiter student models? which one have you found to be the best or have heard is superior? what grade can these take you up to? i really want some good honest advise so please tell me if the ones i have mentioned are rubbish.

also the flute man said it was about £100 for a service. this seems like alot of money and i was wondering if this was normal. he said it had to be done at 6 month then a year then yearly.

i live in the northeast (near middlesbrough) so if anyone knows of any good places to get flutes or get services and things that would be great.

thanks in advance and ill let you know what we do and how were getting on in our search.

lucy

ps sorry about the spelling and grammer im soooo sloppy and lazy

[weejen]

Either the trevor james or jupiter or good starter flutes. The Yamaha 211 is also a good flute and because it is such a popular student flute there are a lot of very good second hand ones around. which might be more in your price range. Choosing a flute is a very personal thing and it really is up to the player what they are the most comfortable with. I'd think any of these models would certainly last your daughter until grade 6-7. I did my grade 8 on a student Yamaha and many others here have done this also.

[dcmbarton]

I would suggest that the Yamaha is a better long term investment eventhough it is a bit more money. Mine lasted me to Grade 8. As for the service, I have mine done every other year and it usually costs between £15 and £30.

David

[sarah-flute]

Yamaha also hold their value which is a bonus - if/when you come to sell it you will be able to get more, because they're so popular. Definitely worth getting a second hand one if you can find one and check it's in good condition.

If it's impossible though, I should think a beginner flute from a decent company would be fine (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

£100 seems a lot for a service, but then my local chap is very good and exceptionally reasonable, I don't know what's "normal" up there - I should think it's worth an ask round. I had a complete service of mine after several years without, and a dent taken out of it, for £35 last time.

[Andy-piano-flute]

Have you tried somewhere like John Packer (based in Taunton). Look on their website - a Yamaha 211 is £375. I tried several flutes from them - they sent them by courier. I had them for a week or so & then decided which one I wanted - though there was no obligation to buy any of them. You may be able to get eg a Yamaha for much less than in your local shop, or look in their secondhand list.
As far as servicing goes a full service for my flute was £60 I think. I would have thought after the 1st 6 months it should only need minor adjustments surely?

[lucy_love_]

hi thanks for the replies.

as i dont know much about flutes im only going on what i have been told by my local flute man about servicing but i will certianly look round. ill also have a good look round at flute prices and such before we decide on anything.

thanks again

lucy

[Andy-piano-flute]

Why don't you contact Liz of elida trading who posts here. She has an excellent reputation- look in the strings section for all her very satisfied violin/viola buyers. She also sells flutes - someone I know is thinking of buying an armstrong flute from her. You get a lot of flute for your moneywith an armstrong. I played an armstrong flute for several months & really loved it. She also gives a moneyback guarantee -if you try one & don't like it, you are able to return it.

[lucy_love_]

thanks ill have a look at them. i have actually seen her web site before after i mistakenly bought a violin off ebay. doh. it was a stentor 2 but it wasnt set up correctly and needed bits doing to it so in the end cos me near enough the same price as a new one once it had been to a luthier. im not as wet behind the ears now so i wont make that mistake again.

lucy

[Morgan's Munchkin]

I haven't tried any of those flutes, but i know that my music teacher used a yamaha 211 up until grade 8 and never had any problems with it (and then only upgraded to a 311 for her degree). As for the servicing i wouldn't know as my last flute wasn't worth getting serviced and i've only had this one 3 months

[lucy_love_]

thanks everyone

were going on tuesday to look at the flutes again this time with my daughter. will let you all know what happened.

lucy

[poppys]

We got my yamaha 211 for £250 from ebay second hand only used for a term at school and it is as good as new.

[musicbox]

My first flute I hired for years which was a Trevor James. I must admit I thought it was rubbish because I've never had to blow so hard just to get into the second octave. I think it was just a bad flute though because it was dented and not that good. However I have heard TJ's are good for beginners.

[deviless]

i hav a Trever Jaes 10x, i loved it, i got upto grade 5 and then upgraded, but i could ahve done upto grade 8 on it, i just didn't like the tone of my one. Yamaha's do keep their value, and are very popular, but it is upto your daughter. I must say that if she hasn't had any lessons yet it might be cheaper to rent one first, but if she doesn't find it to be her thing, then you'll be stuck with a flute. I would recommend 2nd hand, they are a lot cheaper, and ultimately it is upto your daughter in which one she likes best.

[lucy_love_]

hi

heres an update

we went to get my daughter (beth aged 11) a flute today.

we went to george gladstones in darlington. when we first went in i asked about all the student flutes although i had already decided that a yamaha 211 was the way to go so i was going to get beth to look at them all then i was going to suggest getting the yamaha. when i spoke to the man he said buying a flute was about personal prefrence so i let beth have a good look and go at each one. the four she looked at were yamaha 211, jupiter 511, pearl, and tj x10 mk2. the man was really nice and very patient letting her try one then another then back to the first one again. she played each one a little and couldnt decide so i joking told her to go for the shiniest. it took a little while playing them for her to eliminate the yamaha as she said it didnt feel right. oh no i thought as thats the one i heard the best reports about. she then eliminated the pearl and the jupiter and decided on the tjx10. so we went away with that. shes really happy with it and im glad i let her choose it herself. i dont mind the fact that eventually she will need an upgrade and she paid for it herself out of money she had saved. with the flute you get two free services, one at 6 months and one at a year. the flute man also played it and did a few checks on it to make sure it was ok. it was quite a nice experience.

thanks for all the advice and for all your comments.

lucy

[Aileen]

I myself have the Jupiter 511 and find it to be a very good student flute. I have just passed my Grade 4 with it. It is a very good flute for the lower grades but i am thinking about possibly getting an upgrade after i pass my Grade 5.

I didn't want the Jupiter at first because i would have rather had the Yamaha 211 but i have actually come to prefer the Jupiter as i prefer the keys on the Jupiter. The Jupiter's keys are quite flat and smooth compared to the Yamaha which i think the keys are quite difficult to play as the keys seem to me to have sort of ridges on them.

Hope this helps you a little bit!