Gemeinhardt1SP Student Flute

I've only had this a few days, but it's really a beautiful instrument, and the sound and tone is great. I am just relearning the flute. Like many, I played as a child, and now have the desire to relearn. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to pick this up and start playing. I think it's great for the beginner to intermediate.

I have played the flute for years and have different kinds of flutes high end and low end. Taught daughter to play the flute two years ago and originally purchased her a moz flute (no name brand really) because it was a good price and came with a solid silver headpiece. We were taking a chance with that. the headpiece was great and we are going to keep using that-- really if you can afford a silver flute go for it, but the rest of the construction was crap and a key wire just snapped last week. I grew up (back in the 90s) learning on a Gemeinhardt student model so I thought I would give this a try. The glory of my old gemeinhardt was that it was super solid feeling, made in the usa , (which they are no longer) it was hardy and durable, and the standard flute at the time. Well, the gemeinhardt flutes are no longer made in the US, so I had kind of low expectations for this one. I have to say it seems ok but time will tell. There is definitely a feel to it that makes me feel it maybe might not be as durable as the older one I have. Will the gemeinhardt design trump the cheaper material construction? I am not sure-- time will tell. However, if it will last her a few years it will be worth the price. She is still a beginner and doesnt need a concert level sounding flute. The design is very similar to my old flute-- large keys which are great for small hands. I feel in this price range you will not find a better model for a student because there are many crappy flutes out there in this price range.

Very nice instrument. Looks great, sounds great and shipped fast.

I bought this for my daughter and had to bring it to be serviced after only 4 weeks of play, because her music teacher realized that there wasn't enough cork under one of the keys. I brought it to an expert to have it replaced and he told me that the missing cork was the least of the flute's problems. He showed me how the inner tube of the head joint was split and peeling in two different areas. He told me that this type of damage was not normal after 4 weeks of playing and careful handling of an instrument. He further demonstrated how with minimal effort he could compress the tube which demonstrates that the metal was very thin. He showed me another flute that was used that did not flex the way that this flute did. I was shocked because I thought that the name Gemeinhardt ensured that I was getting a quality flute. Come to find out, there are different levels to denote the quality of an instrument and that often times on-line sellers will buy up the lower quality instruments that were demos, seconds, or not the normal quality and sell them cheaply on-line. I was very disappointed with this instrument, but luckily amazon was willing to refund my money. My father always said that if a deal seemed too good to be true - it probably was. Just because it is a good price does not mean that it is a good buy. Go to a reputable music store and get help selecting an instrument.

I was looking for a decent flute for my beginner and didn't want to spend a fortune. Tonal quality is beautiful. Great find for this price.

I have to confess that I don't know enough about flutes per se to make a completely valid comment here, but I do play violin and I am very picky about my musical instruments. I bought this because I trust the brand name and because it was on sale, and I'm very happy. This instrument responds very sweetly to my beginner attempts to play it. Within the first hour I was easily playing Xmas carols and other children's songs with little effort. I was under the impression that I'd have to practice a lot more to get tone out of the instrument, but it seems to just play itself.

The flute was okay.

Looks good