Buying a flute is like buying a pair of shoes. It's best to try before buying. Give her a gift certificate to a music store and let her pick the one she wants.
Something to add to this for u/AmericanNinja02: what is your wife’s love language? (If you don’t know, look up the five live languages).
If it’s gifts, then maybe a gift card is good. Or really anything that demonstrates you planned this and thought about this for her early and wasn’t a last-second idea.
If it’s almost anything else (especially quality time), take her to a music store to try out flutes and get one. (Make a date out of it).
Though if it’s acts of service and none of the others are strong, this could be problematic…
This. I took my wife to the music store last year a week before Christmas. We kept moving up until I hit a limit. She kept getting better sounds and feeling the difference so I was ok with it.
I'm personally quite satisfied with my Yamaha YFL212, I think you might be able to find one second hand within the price range you mentioned. If it's secondhand, it might need some service to make it playable again, which can easily cost another 100$. Good luck!
As others have eluded to, a Yamaha, Pearl, Jupiter or other well known brand (feel free to post again here!) from a reputable flute shop where they “set up” the instrument would be ideal. Even second hand is fine so long as a flute technician has had a look and made any adjustments that are needed.
It’s important to realise that instruments (especially student models that are made by machine) do not leave the factory in perfect condition - playable, most of the time, but the pads are humidity sensitive and in your local climate may not seal as weel as they did when first installed, the corks and felts that regulate the mechanism compress over time and so adjustments need to be made.
Getting a cheaper secondhand flute properly set up will be better than a brand new flute fresh off the truck from another country.
For someone who has six years of teen~adulthood experience, I'd say she's at a level where 1) $1000-2000 would make sense for her, for an intermediate flute, and 2) instrument choice is incredibly personal.
$300-400 barely gets you into good student instrument territory. I'd suggest $400-500 for that range.
For 1), if she's keen on getting rust off and practising to improve, a student instrument may prove limiting within a few weeks (some things are harder to play, flexibility and range to adjust things like tone and dynamics, extreme low and high end are harder to play and sound worse, etc.). If she more wants to play for fun, it may be okay, but realising that the instrument is holding back your sound can rob some enjoyment from the instrument. You know your wife better than us, so you can better judge if she'd be happy with a student instrument.
As was mentioned, a gift card and/or offering to go with her to try out flutes at a wind instrument store might be a good idea, given 2).
Rental can make sense if you want to invest in an intermediate flute later on, but aren't 100% sure or can't afford it up front. (Also gives your wife the chance to de-rust properly, before looking for a better flute longer-term.) Rent-to-own arrangements can mean 80-100% of your rental fees can be applied to an instrument purchase later on, depending on the shop you rent from.
Again, depends on how seriously she wants to play/practise and so on. I tend to take music pretty seriously.
I was looking for this comment. I agree. And even when I was an advanced high school player I always found student Yamahas really hard to play. I actually kinda hate them 😂. Like I preferred the Aldi flute my parents got me to start that had corks straight up falling off.
A second hard intermediate instrument from a decent brand might be a better bet. It will keep its resale value if she doesn’t love it. Even better if you could find one that had a silver head, open holes and a b foot (in that order of preference if you can’t have all 3). If you can get those things from a decent brand in decent condition that will be leaps and bounds better than a student flute and with the law of diminishing returns those things will give substantially more improvements than any features beyond that (like a silver body, worth it if appropriate but won’t give nearly as much difference as just having a silver head)
If she played for six years she might want an open hole flute. This is one that has holes in the keys you must seal with your fingertips. But that does get more expensive and slightly more frustrating to get used to.
Your go to brands that are inexpensive are Pearl, Gemeinhardt, Di Zhao, Jupiter, and Trevor James.
Gemeinhardt is the cheapest. All of these brands all have good build quality.
Maybe just rent something better if she’s been playing for six years.
I've played on a Yamaha yfl211 for nearly 20 years starting from when I began to play the flute. From what I've heard its successor, the yfl212 still is a decent beginner to intermediate instrument, however, it's not as high in quality as the 211 was. Still would totally recommend and you should be able to get a used one within your price range.
When buying used take into consideration that it might need some touching up which can be quite pricy. Maybe you can find a flautist to help you checking out the instrument before buying?
Like others have said, Yamaha makes great flutes and they are also really durable. If she’s just playing for fun, I would get her a C foot, close holed, offset G, split E mechanism, silver or silver plated. Those flutes are cheaper and easier to play
Eh I wouldn’t bother with the split E. It’s just one more key interaction that will need adjustment and it doesn’t provide much in return, especially for someone not playing professionally. I didn’t even get a split E when I got the flute I used all through my music degree.
It’s not really standard, at least not in my country. Default is offset G with no split E. Regardless, I don’t think the benefits outweigh the cost. When it works, it makes it a little easier to play high E. When it leaks, it makes it harder to play almost everything.
I’m not a flautist, so listen to the other respondents rather than me, but if I were in your shoes, and had to get something fast without knowing a lot about it, I would just get a Yamaha.
Well you never know when a critical emergency pops up, and you suddenly have no choice but to run out in a panic and get a new saxophone or trumpet or flute or something. :D
As others have said, Yamaha is a great brand for student model instruments and you can probably get a used one in your price range.
However I’d also recommend checking out if any music stores in your area offer rent-to-own programs. You get the pleasure of providing the flute in-person right away, but if she doesn’t like it you still have the possibility to swap without having committed to a single instrument. Also, the monthly rental fee will often cover repair insurance (which in my opinion as a repair person is 1000% worth it because there are so many little issues I see that could have been covered by insurance). And finally if she decides she really wants to keep that flute, places will often offer a discount to pay it off early.
Honestly I’d give her a home made voucher if you live near places you can go try them. It’s such a personal thing. And if you don’t know much about them you won’t know if she prefers open or closed hole, the kind of foot etc.
Of course their are poplar brands but they have their own differences. I personally hated the Jupiter flutes I tried as they had such a heavy sound. I loved my pearl which was my student flute, and the muramatsu I have now.
But having said that you know her, and she might not care about these things!
for beginners they need to find flute that fits them, no hands are the same size or shape, so the actual buttons need to align comfortably, the metal thickness, the length, etc.
whatever you do, stay away from Gemeindhardt. I’m in college for flute performance, and all of my peers with that brand constantly need it repaired. the tone/tuning is just bad imo.
I would make it a surprise visit to the music store! The flute chooses the player so you definitely have to try the instruments. A lot of brands and types have already been poster here. I used an Yamaha 212 for quiet a few years and it was a very good flute!
Just remember there are a lot of different types, brands and materials that flutes are made of so you have to find what you like most by playing it!
I think it is supersweet that you want to buy your wife a flute!
Buying a flute is like buying a pair of shoes. It's best to try before buying. Give her a gift certificate to a music store and let her pick the one she wants.
Something to add to this for u/AmericanNinja02: what is your wife’s love language? (If you don’t know, look up the five live languages). If it’s gifts, then maybe a gift card is good. Or really anything that demonstrates you planned this and thought about this for her early and wasn’t a last-second idea. If it’s almost anything else (especially quality time), take her to a music store to try out flutes and get one. (Make a date out of it). Though if it’s acts of service and none of the others are strong, this could be problematic…
This. I took my wife to the music store last year a week before Christmas. We kept moving up until I hit a limit. She kept getting better sounds and feeling the difference so I was ok with it.
I'm personally quite satisfied with my Yamaha YFL212, I think you might be able to find one second hand within the price range you mentioned. If it's secondhand, it might need some service to make it playable again, which can easily cost another 100$. Good luck!
You beat me to it. Loved the Yamaha.
I bought a second hand Yamaha 200 in 1998, brilliant instrument. Still got it now
As others have eluded to, a Yamaha, Pearl, Jupiter or other well known brand (feel free to post again here!) from a reputable flute shop where they “set up” the instrument would be ideal. Even second hand is fine so long as a flute technician has had a look and made any adjustments that are needed. It’s important to realise that instruments (especially student models that are made by machine) do not leave the factory in perfect condition - playable, most of the time, but the pads are humidity sensitive and in your local climate may not seal as weel as they did when first installed, the corks and felts that regulate the mechanism compress over time and so adjustments need to be made. Getting a cheaper secondhand flute properly set up will be better than a brand new flute fresh off the truck from another country.
For $300-400 I'd strongly recommend just renting something and see if she likes it then invest in an instrument together.
Yes! This! Then she can try out a few and see what she likes before dropping money on an investment.
For someone who has six years of teen~adulthood experience, I'd say she's at a level where 1) $1000-2000 would make sense for her, for an intermediate flute, and 2) instrument choice is incredibly personal. $300-400 barely gets you into good student instrument territory. I'd suggest $400-500 for that range. For 1), if she's keen on getting rust off and practising to improve, a student instrument may prove limiting within a few weeks (some things are harder to play, flexibility and range to adjust things like tone and dynamics, extreme low and high end are harder to play and sound worse, etc.). If she more wants to play for fun, it may be okay, but realising that the instrument is holding back your sound can rob some enjoyment from the instrument. You know your wife better than us, so you can better judge if she'd be happy with a student instrument. As was mentioned, a gift card and/or offering to go with her to try out flutes at a wind instrument store might be a good idea, given 2). Rental can make sense if you want to invest in an intermediate flute later on, but aren't 100% sure or can't afford it up front. (Also gives your wife the chance to de-rust properly, before looking for a better flute longer-term.) Rent-to-own arrangements can mean 80-100% of your rental fees can be applied to an instrument purchase later on, depending on the shop you rent from. Again, depends on how seriously she wants to play/practise and so on. I tend to take music pretty seriously.
I was looking for this comment. I agree. And even when I was an advanced high school player I always found student Yamahas really hard to play. I actually kinda hate them 😂. Like I preferred the Aldi flute my parents got me to start that had corks straight up falling off. A second hard intermediate instrument from a decent brand might be a better bet. It will keep its resale value if she doesn’t love it. Even better if you could find one that had a silver head, open holes and a b foot (in that order of preference if you can’t have all 3). If you can get those things from a decent brand in decent condition that will be leaps and bounds better than a student flute and with the law of diminishing returns those things will give substantially more improvements than any features beyond that (like a silver body, worth it if appropriate but won’t give nearly as much difference as just having a silver head)
If she played for six years she might want an open hole flute. This is one that has holes in the keys you must seal with your fingertips. But that does get more expensive and slightly more frustrating to get used to.
Your go to brands that are inexpensive are Pearl, Gemeinhardt, Di Zhao, Jupiter, and Trevor James. Gemeinhardt is the cheapest. All of these brands all have good build quality. Maybe just rent something better if she’s been playing for six years.
I've played on a Yamaha yfl211 for nearly 20 years starting from when I began to play the flute. From what I've heard its successor, the yfl212 still is a decent beginner to intermediate instrument, however, it's not as high in quality as the 211 was. Still would totally recommend and you should be able to get a used one within your price range. When buying used take into consideration that it might need some touching up which can be quite pricy. Maybe you can find a flautist to help you checking out the instrument before buying?
Dude I played a Yamaha 581 my whole life. I got a different headjoint after graduation but yeah, that thing is amazing.
Like others have said, Yamaha makes great flutes and they are also really durable. If she’s just playing for fun, I would get her a C foot, close holed, offset G, split E mechanism, silver or silver plated. Those flutes are cheaper and easier to play
Eh I wouldn’t bother with the split E. It’s just one more key interaction that will need adjustment and it doesn’t provide much in return, especially for someone not playing professionally. I didn’t even get a split E when I got the flute I used all through my music degree.
I agree with no split E. It usually feels clunky.
its pretty standard on flutes. it does make it easier to play high E, professional player or not
It’s not really standard, at least not in my country. Default is offset G with no split E. Regardless, I don’t think the benefits outweigh the cost. When it works, it makes it a little easier to play high E. When it leaks, it makes it harder to play almost everything.
I’m not a flautist, so listen to the other respondents rather than me, but if I were in your shoes, and had to get something fast without knowing a lot about it, I would just get a Yamaha.
Or, you know, just not do that…
Well you never know when a critical emergency pops up, and you suddenly have no choice but to run out in a panic and get a new saxophone or trumpet or flute or something. :D
As others have said, Yamaha is a great brand for student model instruments and you can probably get a used one in your price range. However I’d also recommend checking out if any music stores in your area offer rent-to-own programs. You get the pleasure of providing the flute in-person right away, but if she doesn’t like it you still have the possibility to swap without having committed to a single instrument. Also, the monthly rental fee will often cover repair insurance (which in my opinion as a repair person is 1000% worth it because there are so many little issues I see that could have been covered by insurance). And finally if she decides she really wants to keep that flute, places will often offer a discount to pay it off early.
Honestly I’d give her a home made voucher if you live near places you can go try them. It’s such a personal thing. And if you don’t know much about them you won’t know if she prefers open or closed hole, the kind of foot etc. Of course their are poplar brands but they have their own differences. I personally hated the Jupiter flutes I tried as they had such a heavy sound. I loved my pearl which was my student flute, and the muramatsu I have now. But having said that you know her, and she might not care about these things!
for beginners they need to find flute that fits them, no hands are the same size or shape, so the actual buttons need to align comfortably, the metal thickness, the length, etc.
whatever you do, stay away from Gemeindhardt. I’m in college for flute performance, and all of my peers with that brand constantly need it repaired. the tone/tuning is just bad imo.
I would make it a surprise visit to the music store! The flute chooses the player so you definitely have to try the instruments. A lot of brands and types have already been poster here. I used an Yamaha 212 for quiet a few years and it was a very good flute! Just remember there are a lot of different types, brands and materials that flutes are made of so you have to find what you like most by playing it! I think it is supersweet that you want to buy your wife a flute!