The other posters have given good information- here's my 2 cents. I got my first flute last year, a used Yamaha YFL-221 in very good condition. I paid about $525 for it. The flute has been very stable mechanically, and it plays well. I think it is a good beginner-level flute, but any one of the brands mentioned above will probably work well for you, with this caveat: for any flute that you get, make sure it is set up properly by a good flute technician. I bought mine from a respected flute tech in NC - Nancy Shinn. I can recommend her, based on my experience with the flute she prepared and sent me. Her website is called Flutestar. I'm sure there are other good flute specialists out there, but Nancy is the only one I'm familiar with so far. I noticed that you're in NSW, though. It might be prohibitively expensive to have one sent to you from the States; I don't know.

G'day, and good luck in your flute search.

--Doug

Last edited by protostar; 09/21/09 02:36 PM.
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