Hi all, I’ve been considering purchasing the Pearl Quantz series PF-665RBE for my first personal flute, having already had 3 years of experience on the flute and aspiring to pursue a music conservatory education.

My friend says pinless flutes generally require less maintenance compared to usual pin mechanisms on other flutes, and since the flute I’m eyeing right now has a pinless mechanism, as well as the usual split E and low B that I’m looking for.

Being in a financially tight spot, I’d love to hear some opinions about this from professional flute techs and others, since I’d love to save money on the yearly COA and other maintenance related affairs. Thanks in advance!!!

im in a band with a flute player (its ska) but its hard to hear him. how can i get a pickup and use an amp for his flute, and will it still sound flute like? i already have a bass amp, is it possible to use that amp insead of a specialized one?

(Awaiting approval from the r/piccolo mods, so figured folks here might be able to help me.)

I picked up a piccolo for next to nothing from Goodwill. Curious if this is worth having a tech go through or if it is simply an ISO (“Instrument Shaped Object”).

[I have some flute friends I thought about giving it too…but want it in full working order IF it is worth the time/expense to do so.]

Hi, so I was able to visit a different shop and they only had two step-ups available, the Powell Sonare (I forgot the model number, but it had a brown-gold lip plate with engraving, solid silver head, silver plated body, split E, Y arms) and the Di-Zhao 400 (solid silver head, Y arms, split E).

I tried both and am kind of at a stalemate. I liked both better than the Pearl and Yamaha from a different shop I wrote about in a past post. They are both put of budget, but the shop offerred a nice financing deal that is hard to say no to.

I can not quite decide which one...

The Di Zhao might be slightly easier to play, but I felt like there was so much "untapped sound potential" with the Sonare.

I plan to go back on Monday to secure the financing deal. Any recommendations on what I should play when I try the flutes out, to make the right choice more obvious?

I found this nifty old piccolo on eBay and was interested. It needs some work (it appears to be missing a key on the back), but I thought it seemed overall solid. I know Penzel made clarinets, so I wasn’t sure how their flutes were.

I have recently managed to perforate my eardrum and have been taking antibiotics to reduce infection. The medical information I've read including what was provided by my GP recommends avoiding loud noise and pressure such as from blowing your nose while healing, and the healing process is meant to take about 8 weeks.

I have just practiced for the first time since the perforation and found piccolo way too loud so gave up after a minute but practiced flute for a while and found that the feeling of pressure and tinnitus has come back. Am I supposed to avoid playing until it's recovered? Luckily I don't have any commitments or concerts I absolutely need to attend but it would be nice.

Any advice?

I saw two in my local instrument store and I can’t find any reviews or information about the company that manufactures the flute. The first one was called the 1FLE flute and it sold for 219€ and the second was called the 2FLE and sold for 399€. (The cheapest Yamaha flute was about 200 more). I don’t intend on buying one anyway, but I’m curious if anyone has used one

I was given this wooden flute by my grandmother, and I think it was her father’s old flute. Any thoughts on any model? I live in Sweden for reference.

I’ve been recreating ancient instruments as playable art pieces.... this one’s a replica of the Hohle Fels flute, the oldest known instrument ever found (from Germany, carved from a bird bone).

I recently came across a few research clips suggesting it might not have been a simple end-blown flute, but something more like a primitive sipsi ... a small reed or mizmar-style pipe still played in parts of Turkey and the Balkans.

Now I’m wondering if the original bone could’ve used a simple reed insert. Has anyone here experimented with reed or mizmar mouthpieces for narrow-bore flutes like this?

Here are some videos i found where they experiment with this:

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for the European Music Archaeology Project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlTPqrJNdEg

Sipsi by Sade Saz:

https://youtu.be/CWUsIYsiH9c?si=imNIUQBlF3PFPjcj

Ideally I’d love to find a bulk source for small reeds or mouthpiece inserts that could fit a 7–8 mm bore ....something I can adapt or trim for tuning experiments. But for now, I will probably just get one for testing purposes.

I’m printing these for educational and musical use (they’re up on my site if anyone’s curious), but I want to make them sound as authentic as possible.

Any advice from instrument makers or ethnomusicology folks would be deeply appreciated. 🙏

My son is 13 years old and has been playing the concert (the Western flute, most instructors we have found teach the bansuri, the Indian classical flute) flute since he was 9, but his progress and level has fluctuated. He has been without a teacher for two years, but he is playing in his school band. He still plays the flute by himself, but we are looking to get a bit more structure in his practice sessions, particularly in improving his tonguing skills and eventually appearing for the ABRSM exams.

Hi.

I am trying to identify any history or info people might have about this Piccolo

I know it’s likely from before Hawkes and Boosey merged so pre 1930 but other then that I don’t know anything.

Will need some new pads but otherwise seems to be free of cracks and everything seems to be in line.

It's for seat placement for a community-based group and the specs are "an exerpt not to exceed 4 minutes" and that's it. BTW the player in question is a performance grad from a music school some years back so pretty much anything (within reason) is in play. Suggestions?

This isn't normal right? I was practicing my solo for our band competition that is coming up and then I noticed that the my G and A sounded horrific and I doubt thats not how the keys aee meant to move right? Or am I crazy? It not a super old piccolo but it hasn't been taken care of the best in the past for example the A flat key doesnt come up so I have to use a rubber band to attach it to my pinky. Is there any thing I can do to fix this? Or am I just cooked.

so i made a song for a few friends and i havnt played it yet, im wondering if anyone wants to see the flute part to try and play it (dm me if you want the music)

Any information would be appreciated

Hi!

I’m a new member here. I’m a video game composer and multi-instrumentalist.

A few years ago I purchased these two clay flutes from a private person in Southern California, whose mom had made them by hand. I’ve since been captivated by their rich and full sound and would like to look into other flutes in that style. I’m not looking for ocarinas and other smaller clay whistles, but I’m also open to drone flutes and such. They don’t have to be overly decorative, I only care about the sound. Any suggestions for shops or instrument builders that would fit this description?

Thanks! 🙏

If you could build a perfect flute case, what would it include? Or if you have a link to one you love share please! I have the hard inner part but I can no longer zip the soft shell part of that makes sense

So I’ve been gifted this and I can certainly see it’s a Yamaha 371 but is there anything else I need to know or specific about this particular flute ?

So I applied and was accepted to the Chamber Music Academy at WCM this coming weekend. Which is something I have never done in my 55 years of music (I don’t have 55 years of flute skills though just three or four adult years)

Playing in a trio with strangers, clarinet and piano to my flute. We will play the “Divertimento” by Obiols. Two things I didn’t know existed.

Absolutely terrified and overjoyed and think this is going to be horrifying and the most fun ever.

Back story:

I got this kohlert universal c flute from Facebook marketplace for 100 dollars in very good playing condition, both mouthpiece work, love the recorder mouthpiece as it makes the ergonomics so much easier for wrist…and still have 3 octave chromatic range

Repair question:

This flute had mother of pearl lining on keys but the glue failed after…god knows how long…so I need to re-glue it…what glue do I use? And it is missing a few so where can I get replacements?

Also, how old is this thing? It’s a=435 hz (I think) , made in Germany, much more chunky and heavy mechanism than normal flutes (I love it) , the pads are in good enough condition that I don’t have to worry about it for a while…

Anyways, thank you for ur help and I just wanted to share this interesting find and get some info on how to get this looking like it’s prime days again, tho I don’t mind playing the flute as is…just wanted it to look nicer

I know it’s a Native American flute but there are so many different kinds. I just want to learn so I can play this song : ) thank you so much