Cheap flute wanted

Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

Ok, I'm not a flute player, but can get around as a hack on the flute. High octave, not memorized except for the few notes I play up there on the gig.

On the gig I play sax, wind synth (WX5 and a couple of different synth modules), guitar, vocals, and sometimes keys. I'm in a duo and I make my own backing tracks as I also play drums and bass.

I might pick up the flute once or twice a month. It'll be for simple parts like the flute on "The Hustle" or "Colour My World" which we rarely play. Tone is not important, nickel is fine. What is important is easy to play for someone who doesn't play it daily and therefore has a less than perfect embouchure due to lack of playing. I figure a student flute is forgiving in that respect.

Sorry there just isn't enough time. Most practice time goes to the guitar (my newest instrument) these days and we gig constantly. The Baby Boomers have hit the retirement communities in force (our biggest market), so guitar is more important than flute for a paycheck, and I make my living doing music and nothing but music.

I see el-cheapo flutes on Amazon but I'm sure 'you get what you pay for' in that respect. I see used flutes on e-bay and Reverb but what shape are they in? How good are the pads? I guess it can cost a small fortune to get a flute overhauled.

I have an old Selmer flute that has so many leaks it's practically unplayable. I got it in a trade for some of my software at http://www.nortonmusic.com and never really liked it. I have no idea how much it would cost to get it playable again.

So question #1, what does a flute overhaul go for these days? (Is it worth it?)

Question #2, what would be the cheapest, playable student flute I could buy be?

I know this is blasphemy and I never would buy a guitar, sax, wind synth, bass, drum, or keyboard this way. But if the flute gets played 20 times a year it will be a lot. So many gigs I take the flute out, tune it up, and the next time I touch it is to put it away.

Thanks,
Notes
 
You can Google overhaul prices. Most give a break for student flutes but are probably $600+.

I think based on the time you plan to allocate, you should just use your wind synth for flute parts. Unless you looking for the visual impact of picking up a flute during a live gig.
 
I +1 Mojo on the WX5+flute sound. Hey, I've read your article on setting up the WX5 properly, Notes.

I'd suggest maybe getting a used Yamaha student flute, but I've seen a bunch of fake ones from China on a few "spot the fake" websites and I'm not good enough at recognizing the differences between a "real" Yamaha flute and a fake one.

I think the "small fortune" overhauls might be for the outlandishly expensive Muramatsu/Powell/Haynes flutes, rather than for something like a student model. Provided that the flute wasn't run over by a car or something.
 
I have an Armstrong Model 104 student flute that I bought in 1973 for $125. I don't play it much, but I had it serviced about five years ago by a local guy for $100. It wasn't a "full" overhaul, but the guy replaced all the pads, adjusted and lubed it, and it plays just fine, given my weak capabilities. I have seen these for sale recently at various places for $100 to $150, probably in not great condition.

My problem with flute is if you don't play it regularly, you really lose your chops - much more so than clarinet or sax. Forty years ago, I would say I was adequately proficient, because I played it at least once a week. Nowadays, not so much. I had to play it for a show last year, and I practiced it daily for two weeks before the first rehearsal. Guess what? I still sucked. I ended up playing most of the difficult parts on clarinet. My rock band plays Color My World. After one or two performances on flute, I transposed it for my trumpet player to play it on fluegelhorn. He's happy because he gets a solo, and I'm happy because I get a break.
 
I picked up two BRAND NEW Gemeinhardt 3SHB (silver head, B foot) flutes for $200 each for my wife and me a couple of years ago. I got them on eBay and I have no idea why the price from a known music store was so cheap. They were lovely instruments that were professional grade, way more than I deserved. You can put a search on eBay that will ping you with what you are looking for when they get listed. The listings I bought were "Buy it Now" listings.

I also immediately bought the flute plugs. My wife, who picks up instruments really fast, asked me why I would spring for, IIRC, $15 plugs. Since we had matching instruments I said, play yours and then play mine with the plugs. She bought the plugs.

Then Kessler dropped some McKenna custom heads for ~$150 each and I bought one. My wife said why did you do that so I had her play her flute and then mine. Yep, she bought the last remaining custom McKenna head. The custom head made it easier for us to voice the clarion range of the flute. I got very close to being proficient on the flute but there never was any demand for it. Clarinet and bass clarinet, all the time. Flute rarely and then I really wasn't good enough on it. So I sold mine to a fellow (ex-military musician) who said his Armstrong flute was "just fine". I sold it for zero profit. BTW he still has it and not his old instrument. Here's a picture of the lovely Chris McKenna flute lip plate.
ChrisMcKennaHead.JPG
 
Thanks y'all

I might search for a better flute patch on either my VL70m or XV5050, as that would solve the problem. The Patch I'm using has great tone, but slow response. Waiting more than a few milliseconds is not something I could get used to unless I played it often to get the feel on how early to attack the notes.

Searching eBay might not be a bad idea either. They would have to be brand new though, because if the pads are half worn out, I'll soon be in the same spot. I can overcome leaks on the sax to a large extent, but I'm not that good on the flute.

I might also get an estimate on overhauling the Selmer. If I can get it done under $200 it should be a deal.

I know about lacking flute embouchure. Before the wind synth I played flute a few songs per night and was pretty good at it. After the wind synth it's no longer a nightly thing, so the embouchure is tough getting a small lip opening.

Picking up the flute is good showmanship (how many instruments DO you play?) but since I hardly pick it up anymore, that's no longer a great factor.

Notes
 
Mojo said:
You can Google overhaul prices. Most give a break for student flutes but are probably $600+.

I think based on the time you plan to allocate, you should just use your wind synth for flute parts. Unless you looking for the visual impact of picking up a flute during a live gig.
Click to expand...
I guess my memory is not so good. Student flute full overhauls can be $300.
 
I don't like the flute patch I'm using on the VL70m. I chose it because it had the nicest tone, but after trying to substitute it for some of the flute parts I played, I find it to have annoyingly slow response.

There are a couple more I can try, and there might be something acceptable on the XV5050. I just need some time.

We had an afternoon pool party today, fortunately it didn't rain. I'm also working on trying to release 2 new style disks and 3 new fake disks for Band-in-a-Box. My loyal customers are asking (thankfully).

Notes
 
Thanks. I'll give Silver Flute a try. I'm currently using Patchman's Classic Flute and I'm finding slow response especially in the lower octave.

I've got a Roland XV5050 and there might be something useful there.

Notes
 
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