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About flutes

You can find several flute types. They differ in building material, building method AND prices.

Prices can differ a lot. From some 300 $ up to several thousand dollars. You should be informed before choosing and buying a flute.

The best flutes are the standard ones, they are the real flutes. They maybe not as solid as some student flutes but produce a far better sound.

  • The tube of a standard flute is not thick. This enables it to sound easily.
  • A standard flute is made out of silver to give it its colour. They are quite expensive, maybe you should consider an alternative. A solid silver headjoint might be a big step forward for you and a lot cheaper.
  • Even more expensive are the golden flutes. Sorry, but if you need to read and follow our advice, you shouldn't buy a golden flute !
  • All keys should be open and in line.
[ other materials - some brands - necessities - options - gadgets - second hand flutes ]

Other materials :

( this is just a small list, it does not reflect our personal choices ! )

  • Wooden
  • Carbon fibre
  • Glass
  • Titanium
  • Porcelain
  • Crystal
  • and others ...
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Some brands :

( this is just a small list, it does not reflect our personal choices ! )

  • Altus
  • Armstrong
  • Artley
  • Aulos
  • Buffet Crampon
  • Brannen Cooper
  • Dean Yang
  • Emanuel
  • Emerson
  • Eva Kingma
  • Folkers and Powell
  • Gemeinhardt
  • Grassi
  • Hall Crystal
  • Hammig
  • Hardy
  • Haynes
  • Hernals
  • John Lunn
  • Jupiter
  • Kotato & Fukushima
  • Landell
  • Lederer
  • Lehner
  • Mateki
  • Mehnert
  • Miyazawa
  • Modus
  • Mönnig
  • Muramatsu
  • Pearl
  • Powell
  • Prelude
  • Rudall Carte
  • Sankyo
  • Sheridan
  • Sun Haruno
  • Takezawa
  • Takumi
  • Trevor J. James
  • Vebel
  • Yamaha
  • and many others .....
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    Necessities :

  • When your hand are small, when you are a child, consider buying an offset flute. The g keys are out of line to get closer to your hands.
  • Students and beginners should only play flutes with closed keys.
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    Options :

    • B foot
    • open G key system
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    Gadgets :

  • Split E-mechanism. It enables a smooth e 3. No adjustments can be made to it when it goes defective since no screw is available. We think there are more flutes with a split e mechanism that doesn't work than with a properly functioning split e mechanism. That is why we catalog e-mechanic as a gadget. We still think and will keep thinking that it is us who play our flute, not our flute that plays alone. But to be correct we have to add that driving a Porsche is more fun than ... not driving a Porsche. :-)
  • Bo-peps
  • open D key system
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    Buying second hand flutes

    ( some guidelines )

    • If you want to buy a second hand flute, test it or let your teacher test it. He'll be able to help you.
    • Check for black or green spots on the tube and around or in the keys. They might reveal the old age of the flute. Brown areas on the tube are normal when using the flute.
    • Check for keys that don't close properly, especially at the rear. It has been handled improperly !?
    • Check the pressure you need to close the keys. Only a small, very small amount of pressure should be put on the key to close ALL keys fully and at the same time.
    • Check for white residue between the mechanics of the flute. It is probably liquid silver polish residue.
    • Listen carefully to octaves, .... and extensively compare harmonics with their normal counterparts !
    • Do you like the colour of the flute ?
    • Compare the price of your flute against the normal (global) market price.
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