Need a cheap flute ASAP (the instrument not a car part)

[pfillery]

My daughter is 8 and has auditioned to play the flute next year at school. But we need to buy her a flute so she can practice. Obviously I'm keeping my eyes out on ebay, secondhand shops etc but I figured it doesn't hurt to look in as many places as possible and hope that maybe someone has an unwanted flute lying in a cupboard somewhere. I'm not after anything flash because she is only a beginner.

If anyone has an old flute lying about that your kids no longer play and it is just gathering dust, even if it is broken or needs repair I'm happy to tackle a fixer-upper (hey, I did buy a Land Rover!) just need to pick one up as cheap as possible or better yet an unwanted one going for free (to a good home), happy to pay for postage if not close by.

If you can help a struggling fellow Land Rover owner out, please PM me, I would be most appreciative and my daughter will be as well.

[UncleHo]

A flute or a recordor as most primary schools in Qld required their female students to learn the recordor very similar to the flute but not as expensive

[digger]

Asked a mate, who said he hasnt got a spare but his mate (getting complex) in the USA has and raves about this guy, he's apparently cheaper and better quality than most others... (about 1/3 price)

he has a "dimple bore" or something like that... dimpled inside that helps hold or correct the notes or something.....??

I don't know anything about flutes so cant help sorry... good luck.
(his website has youtube connections so you can hear them played and postage looks to be abt $17 US --- still close to our dollar...

dougsflutes (http://sites.google.com/site/dougsflutes/)

cheers
Digger

theres also others out there (dont know post cost of this one)
http://cheapviolinstore.com/index.php'main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=8

or maybe crime convertors.... sorry I mean cash convertors?

[pfillery]

A flute or a recordor as most primary schools in Qld required their female students to learn the recordor very similar to the flute but not as expensive

The type she needs is a proper flute, nickel or silver plated as most of them are with the sprung keys. I wouldn't be so worried if it was just a recorder (except that my wife hates the sound of a recorder with a passion) because $10 will get a brand new one - she actually needs a recorder for classroom music as well, but she has been accepted into the instrumental music program so needs a proper flute as well as a basic recorder.

[mattyg]

Hey mate, Aldi have musical instruments in there specials catalogue that starts tomorrow. From memory they had a bunch of different wind instruments in the picture. Good luck

[UncleHo]

G'day Pfillery :)

Yup! aldi cattledog starts Thursday 2nd Dec :D


Chose from a Nicel plated Flute or brass trumphet $149 incl carry case 1 year warranty


BUT

I would advise you to be outside your local store 15 minutes BEFORE opening time as they usually only have 2-4 of a sale item in stock


On Bribie you have to be there before 8.00am to beat the oldies in their electric buggies :(


cheers

P.S. Kids drum kits $99 and Electronic Keyboards $99 :twisted:

[pfillery]

While that is a pretty good deal, sadly the budget at the moment doesn't strtch that far. There are some cheapies on ebay for under $100 and even that is a stretch. You know what kids are like - they can be over it in 5 minutes and not interested any more, so the less we spend the better methinks. Plus if the quality of those cheap instruments in anything like the quality of a cheap new car, I'd rather stay away. Rather have an older better quality one (much like owning an old Landy) than a shiny new one that has quality issues. Oh well, heres hoping something turns up...

[isuzurover]

While that is a pretty good deal, sadly the budget at the moment doesn't strtch that far. There are some cheapies on ebay for under $100 and even that is a stretch. You know what kids are like - they can be over it in 5 minutes and not interested any more, so the less we spend the better methinks. Plus if the quality of those cheap instruments in anything like the quality of a cheap new car, I'd rather stay away. Rather have an older better quality one (much like owning an old Landy) than a shiny new one that has quality issues. Oh well, heres hoping something turns up...

If you buy a good brand you can always sell it again for a reasonable price if she loses interest. Good quality instruments hold their value IME.

Cheap and nasty will be horrible - bad sound, possibly permanently out of tune, and she will be less likely to keep it up.

If she seems keen, look at paying for some external lessons, as tuition at most schools is pretty average.

[Homestar]

Also note that the cheaper a flute is, generally the harder they are to play. I have been playing the flute for 20 years, and some of the cheap ones I have come across are difficult to get a note out of, and will quickly deter a begginer from continuing. The cheap ones on flea bay are the worst I have seen & played - my daughter has bought various friends instuments home, and some of them are diabolical. If you can afford to outlay a bit more, go for something half decent from a music store. Anything under $300 probably won't get you much. Unfortunatly musical instuments are like that. I am currently looking for a decent Sax for my son, but again, cheap ones are aweful to play, so I'll need to scrounge about $800 or so for that...

Cheers - Gav.

[Fluids]

Correct! Avoid the "cheapies"

I am a musician. The worst thing you can do for a budding new musician is to expect them to learn on a cheap substandard instrument. It doesn't play correctly, it takes MUCH more effort to get a good result, which in turn saps the beginners enthusiasm rather quickly and they give up.

A better quality instrument makes it MUCH easier to get a result on, which in turn, spurs the student on as they make progress and get a result for all their hard effort.

I suggest you look for a good 2nd hand flute ... that said, $149 won't get you what you're looking for :(

Other option is to rent her one ... ask the school. Normally they have rental programs available ... and the student gets a decent instrument to learn on ... & in a lot of cases, should you decide to buy the instrument, a major portion of your rental charges are deducted from the purchase price!

Do her a favour and get her an instrument that will inspire her to play, not and instrument that is a chore to play, as she'll get jack of it real quick!

Buy cheap ... Buy Twice !

[pfillery]

Fluids and bacicat2000, you are right on the money when it comes to "cheapies" on ebay etc hence the reason I'm not going to buy one of those chinese imported things. We were given one of those cheap trumpets to play with once and the quality was crap. One of our friends who is a flautist went to have a look at those $149 Aldi ones yesterday and said she played one and they were very "tinny" sounding. I'm thinking more along the lines of trying to get an old clunker that is a good quality, have a red hot go at repairing it if needed (can't be all that difficult can it?) and end up with something that has a nice sound. Sets of new pads are relatively cheap, shims are easy to make or aquire (just ask any Landy owner) and from what they say, patience and a keen eye is the main tool required.

The school will rent one but they sadly just use cheap student flutes like the $149 Aldi ones, the cost is somewhere in the vicinity of $75 a year to cover mainly the insurance and there is no purchase option through the school. Plus, after a year you have to buy and can no longer rent one. So my way of thinking is to fix an old one up for her, she can help fix it and that may give her the little bit more inspiration to excell at it. Plus it looks like fun!

[abaddonxi]

A flute fixer will sometimes know who is selling. Pawn shop if you can stomach it. Second hand musical instrument shop, although often only a step up from pawn shop.

The cheapies were also on sale at dealsdirect or one of other bargain sites this week.

And, like a flute, a good recorder is likely to cost you a little more to get one that's any good.

[Homestar]

I'm thinking more along the lines of trying to get an old clunker that is a good quality, have a red hot go at repairing it if needed (can't be all that difficult can it?) and end up with something that has a nice sound. Sets of new pads are relatively cheap, shims are easy to make or aquire (just ask any Landy owner) and from what they say, patience and a keen eye is the main tool required.



With a keen eye and steady hand, you can do some of these jobs yourself. My flute is over 40 years old, and although I have sent it away a couple of times to get overhauled proffesionally, you can perform most repairs & adjustments yourself. Don't rush, and a good light and magnifying glass are very helpful, as is a GOOD set of jewellers screwdrivers - not the cheap junk from the supermarkets. There must be plenty of half decent instruments out there, that may just need re-padding and adjusting to get them back into shape...

Cheers - Gav.

[MickInTheMud]

Have you tried this mob ?
Perform! Music Rentals (http://www.performmusicrentals.com/instruments.html?cds2Pid=8114#flutes)
Spend a few pesos on hiring and if no good only a few bucks lost.

[ramblingboy42]

....."not a car part"......do Land Rovers have flutes?.....I dunno what kind of car part a flute is.....

[Homestar]

....."not a car part"......do Land Rovers have flutes?.....I dunno what kind of car part a flute is.....

Maybe champagne flutes in the back of the Rangie...:D