Looking for Value in the Ever Changing Flute Market

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This blog has moved. The new blog home for this article is at
http://www.kesslermusic.com/blog/?p=17

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One of the things that I love about this industry is change. I enjoy keeping up with the trends and helping guide customers through what to some seems an absolutely monumental task of choosing a new flute. Luckily for the flute consumer, the values available to them on the market today far surpass normal "market change". We have seen more "value" change in the flute market than in any other market.

When shopping for flutes, the trick is being "in the know" on what is really being offered. I cannot count how many times that I deal with customers whose teachers are 10-20 years behind the times on the flute industry. Granted, I don't believe that it is the teacher's job to do the work for the student or to even be a sales person in a store. I believe teachers should focus on teaching. However, when they make recommendations to students, it benefits all involved if the teacher is up to date on what is being offered. Sadly, even being in the industry, it can be difficult to stay up to date with all the changes going on.

So I wanted to give consumers somewhat of a guide of some of the better offerings. In the end, everything involved with buying and selecting a musical instrument really comes down to personal preference. You the player need to be able to play the flute and make sure that it is the right flute for your needs.

Old School Thinking
First, do yourself a favor and realize that when it comes to flutes (and any other instrument for that matter), what matters the most is design, not material. For so many decades, we have been taught to believe that the more Solid Silver in a flute, the better the performance. While I will admit that when comparing the identical design, I do tend to lean towards the sound of the flute with more silver, this is not a 100% universal truth.

We sell MANY flutes that have solid silver headjoints (and even one with NO solid silver parts whatsoever) that completely outplay other all solid silver flutes. The reason why is the design. A better designed and made flute will always outplay the lower level design even though it possesses the "better" materials.

In-Line G vs. Off-Set G
This one still cracks me up. I still to this day get parents who are looking for an in-line G flute because their teacher told them that it was better and that the professional flutes only come in an in-line G. The truth: neither in-line or off-set has any playing advantage over the other. It is simply a personal ergonomic preference. The off-set G more naturally matches the contour of the human hand. The off-set G also offers a more technically sound mechanism as you have less keys pivoting off of the same rod.

As for the argument that professional flutes are only available in an in-line G, this simply is not true. Professional flutes are available either way and there is no difference as to availability in most scenarios.

If you prefer an in-line G, then buy an in-line G. If you are not sure, go with the off-set G as it will be more comfortable for most players.

OK, so what do I buy?
Obviously, I am going to be a bit biased on these answers as in the end, I sell flutes and my recommendations will be for flutes that I can sell. However, keep this in mind with that bias: we only sell and stock flutes that we feel offer our customers great value and performance when compared against other brands in the same price point. We do not sell and stock every model that a manufacturer makes. We cherry pick through their offerings and select the flutes that we think offer our customers value.

Student to Intermediate Range
For our store, we have decided to narrow down our student and intermediate selection largely to 2 brands. Jupiter and the Galway Spirit. Both offer exceptional value and performance for their respective price ranges.

The Jupiter models are more affordable as they are made in Asia (China or Taiwan depending on the model). They are built very well and play as well as they are built. Their headjoint cuts are precise and offer good response and tone.

The Galway Spirit models are the most impressive performing flutes in the student to intermediate sector of the market. They are more expensive than the Jupiter models as the Galway's are made 100% in the USA. However, the headjoint on the Galway Spirit flutes is absolutely out of this world. They are powerful, colorful, rich, resonant and responsive.

"Advanced Intermediate" Range
This is my own unofficial classification of the market that many makers will call "pre-professional" as well as "professional". I personally have never cared for the term "professional" in any instrument. However, I feel that many in the industry use it in a way that is done to justify price for customers. Regardless of this argument, to me the "Advanced Intermediate" segment consists of flutes that have advanced designs (many times from the "professional" makers) but are built to fit an "intermediate" price point. This price range starts around $1,000 and can go upwards of $2,500 on average.

This sector of the market is where the absolute best values can be found. This is where the most change in the flute industry can be found. There are a lot of offerings now in this segment, but to us a few really stand out. The main brands that we have singled out in this category are Avanti, Azumi, diMedici and Sonare. There are also a few select models in the Pearl line that we feel offer this same value range.

To me, the 2 that really stand out are the Avanti and the diMedici. The diMedici is a brand that has been around for quite some time. The parent company is Jupiter and the diMedici are simply the next level up in the Jupiter line. For many, they seemed to get pushed out of most people's minds when the market exploded with all of these other brands. However, we find the quality of the diMedici flutes to be on par or better than most flutes at price ranges much higher. The diMedici models all feature pointed key arm construction and a Solid Silver hand cut headjoint.

They have even come out with a new "dolled up" version call the 1311 that has become one of my personal favorites. It is a solid silver headjoint and body, with a solid 14k gold riser, pointed key arms with engraving on all the key cups, crown and lip plate. It is an incredible playing flute and offers a GREAT value to the advancing flautist.

Professional
This is a tough one to write about because of the varying opinions that are involved as to what really defines a "professional" model as well as what style of performance that the player is seeking. We really enjoy the Burkart flutes and think that they offer the best values in the professional market. However, seeing as there are not a lot of customers for professional flutes in Las Vegas, we are not always stocking a ton of professional models. However, we will usually stock the 2 best "low cost" professional models.

The Burkart Resona 200 and the Powell Signature Series flutes. Both of these flutes are unbelievable values for the advanced player. Both offer great performance and a great price.

Above this price, most people will instead deal directly with the maker of their preference so that they can get their flute with their options the way that they want it.

Conclusion
The flute market is changing constantly. I believe that we have found a few companies that have really stepped out ahead of the rest of the market and those are the brands that we have decided to place in our stores for our customers to choose from. In the end, you have to play them and choose for yourself, but make sure not to get tunnel vision and choose to only look at one brand. When you don't compare, you end up paying too much.

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Disclaimer: I am not directly benefiting from this post in any financial way. However, I do sell flutes through my family's business, Kessler & Sons Music.

NAMM Show Report - 2010

Well, another year and another NAMM show. For those of you who are not familiar with NAMM, it stands for the National Association of Musical Merchants.

Every year, they have the big industry convention in Anaheim, CA. It is a time where dealers from all around the world can "shop" the various suppliers and manufacturers in the music industry. It is a closed attendance show for NAMM members only and not open to the public. However, some consumers will make their way into the show as a "Visitor" of a NAMM member. This year, we helped a few local pros gain access.

For me, this represents my 10^th visit to the NAMM show and much of it is the same today as it was 10 years ago. However, there are always some exceptions and some new products that catch our eye. This is what I write this annual report for. For the consumer who is unable to attend the show to hear what I found that might be coming to a store near them in the near future. While there are many positive things at the show, there are of course not so positive things that I find at the show. I will not discuss those items or companies that I didn't care for from the show.

In the past, I have seen a few consumers feel that I was doing a disservice by not reporting on the negative. That is definitely their prerogative to hold that position, but it is also my own prerogative to not succumb to the negative. Also of course, my whole point of going to the show is to evaluate product for the purpose of selling it in our stores. So yes, the items that I discuss will likely be something that we will sell. However, this is not the purpose behind this post.

Enough of the ground rules and explanations, on to the show!

Big Companies' Prototypes!
I was pretty impressed at the number of big companies that had prototype products that were there at the show. Typically from a big company, they will only bring "new ready to sell" product. However, there were 2 companies that had prototypes to show off to select stores… which of course we were one of. However, sadly, I cannot yet tell you about them! I know this is a terrible tease and I am sorry. Trust me, it goes against my nature not to shout them out to the world, but I promised that I wouldn't get into specifics. Just keep your ears open… I promise it will be worth the wait!

Galway Spirit Flutes
If you check out my blog often, then you are already aware of my blog post about the Galway Spirit model flutes. These flutes are the newest offering from Conn-Selmer. They are based around the more advanced Avanti body tube design which features a modern professional Cooper scale pitched at A=442. Basically for the flute jargon impaired… that basically means that the intonation of the flute is on par with a $10,000 handmade professional flute.

The Spirit flutes are absolutely the best student and step-up flutes we have ever seen. Another great bonus is the fact that they are 100% Made in the USA. Sadly, there are not many flutes that can make this claim anymore. The player response on the Spirit models at the show were great. They will be available in 3 models. For more information visit our special Galway Spirit flute page on our site. They should start shipping to customers in the next 1-2 weeks!

Drake Ceramic Mouthpieces for Sax & Clarinet
Yes, you read that correct. Ceramic mouthpieces. If you are a teacher or adult player, than the first image that likely has just popped into your mind has to do with a mouthpiece dropped and shattering into a million pieces. Honestly, I can't blame you as this is the first thing that I thought of as well when I saw one a few months prior to the NAMM show. However, I have to say that I was really impressed with the quality of craftsmanship and the technical information that Aaron Drake provided. In the end, these are high end caliber mouthpieces, not student mouthpieces. So if someone drops one and it does break, there is no one to blame but themselves.

The positive aspect of the mouthpieces is that they are basically temperature/humidity neutral. There is no worry about warping from heat, or shrinking/swelling from the environment (great idea when it comes to the clarinet barrels by the way). So the pros of the product will outweigh the cons for many players concerned about performance. While I cannot say that we are stocking them yet, there is a very good chance that Drake Ceramic mouthpieces and clarinet barrels will be finding their way into our product offerings in the near future.

Selmer Paris' 125^th Anniversary
This year marks Selmer Paris' 125^th Anniversary. While they have not really announced much at the show, they are planning some new releases for this anniversary. They are planning on doing these releases at the big European counterpart show, the Frankfurt Music Messe. I do have some information as to what some of them are but am sworn to secrecy. Sorry, you too will have to wait just like the rest of the world on this.

Kessler Custom Products
There are a few things that we are working on for 2010. I won't get too detailed as all plans are still somewhat subject to change. However, we met with our factory at the show and also the day after the show as they came to visit our shops in Las Vegas the Monday after. We have already announced a new Kessler Custom Alto based on our "Handmade" line. We are calling it the "Jazz Handmade" as it is designed to be more vibrant and quicker responding. Similar to a Yanagisawa A902 in this manner.

We are also looking at offering an even higher lineup of saxophones… Again, not posting anything concrete on this, but keep your eyes open for this one as it is sure to surprise many.

Theo Wanne Classic Mouthpieces
Theo makes the most beautifully crafted mouthpieces with the most unique performance in the world. At the show, he had 2 new models to introduce. First is his new Vintage Rubber GAIA Tenor Sax mouthpiece. This mouthpiece is the same design as his existing metal GAIA mouthpiece for tenor but made from his new Vintage Rubber. These had a great fat dark tone with excellent response. They will be available soon at the price of $595.

The other new product is his new line called BRHAMA. These are Vintage Rubber pieces that use similar designs to their tenor and alto counterparts except they will not have the same sidewall scooping of the other models. I only saw the prototype at the show, but it looks GREAT with paper thin rails just like the GAIA rubber. The thing that most will be excited about is price. Brand new, these are going to sell at $350.

The Asian Market
The Asian market always has something new and great. We found several things that we are excited about. One of which is a fantastic low A bari sax that was based on a Yanagisawa design. This is something that we are looking into stocking in the near future and will likely sell for UNDER $2,000. It is Chinese, but it was fantastic. Played like a million bucks, was comfortable and built well. More to come on that in the future.

 

Otherwise, it was another NAMM show. We had a great time. Went out to dinner at some great places including my favorite, The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach (AWESOME). If you are ever in Newport, go there and get the crab (duh). You won't regret it!

Here's looking forward to 2010!

James Galway Spirit Flutes by Conn-Selmer

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This blog has moved. The new blog home for this article is at
http://www.kesslermusic.com/blog/?p=42

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In March, I wrote a review of the Avanti flutes by Conn-Selmer (designed by Bickford Brannen). The Avanti flutes are an absolutely wonderful flute and a superior overall product to pretty much everything anywhere near their price.

However, the price is out of reach for many younger players as well as for many parents in this modern economy. Coming in 2010, Conn-Selmer has an answer for this issue. The new "James Galway Spirit" line of student and step-up flutes.

The Galway Spirit
In the new brochure for these flutes, Conn-Selmer makes the following statement:

The Galway Spirit, the most beautiful and best playing student and step-up flute in the world!

That's quite a claim! However, after being allowed to test these flutes prior to their release in the first quarter of 2010... I have to agree with Conn-Selmer. These flutes are absolutely amazing and yes, they are quite striking cosmetically.

Now I will be the first person to say that I could care less about the cosmetics of an instrument. I have always focused on the quality of the product from a playing, construction and an overall value statement. Many of my customers come to me solely for advice because of this.

So when I saw the first photographs of the Spirit flutes, I was not overly impressed. They are a beautiful instrument featuring "reverse bead decorative rings" and an emerald colored Cubic Zirconium in the headjoint crown, I instantly put a stigma on the flute of "too much time put into the looks usually means not enough time put into the design" on them. I have to admit that this could not be further from the truth.

Performance Design
The Galway Spirit models use a design that I was already familiar with. They are using the same machinery for the body and key-cup manufacturing as their higher-end counterparts in the Avanti line.

The Spirit models have their bodies and tone holes made on the same machinery and to the same design as the Avanti. They feature an authentic A=442 Cooper Scale. This gives these flutes superior intonation and overall scale.

They also use CNC machined key cups just like the Avanti meaning a more stable housing for the most sensitive piece of the flute, the pads. Perfectly flat inner cups to the keys give pads a stable backing that helps the pads maintain their adjustments over a longer period of time.

Headjoint
All Spirit models feature a professional style modern headjoint cut. This headjoint is definitely more open than the Avanti and provides for most intermediate level players a bigger, more open and expressive tone than the Avanti.

While I still personally prefer the tonal performance of the Avanti-Brannen headjoint (due to their more focused and darker tone), I do feel that the majority of student level players will find the Spirit headjoint easier to play yielding better performance at their level.

I feel that this headjoint is also ideal for the saxophone doubler as well as the intermediate adult who plays more for their own enjoyment and the occasional church or small ensemble playing.

Regardless of the level of flautist, all will find these flutes to be very responsive and a pleasure to play.

The headjoint is also equipped with the "Performance Flute Plug" instead of a traditional headjoint cork assembly. There are claims that this item will make a performance difference, and for some perhaps it does. We did not perform any sort of "blind test" using a traditional cork assembly vs. the Performance Plug. However, strictly from a mechanical repair stance, we like it. It is simply one less item to have maintained and replaced on the flute on a regular basis.

So regardless of whether or not it changes the performance of the flute, it is a good accessory that will help the player have one less adjustment/repair issue to deal with and that in itself is a great thing.

Ergonomics
One thing that was changed when compared to the Avanti design is the size of the key cups. The Spirit models do have larger diameter key cups by about 2mm. While this is a small overall change, it is noticeable in the hands and actually quite comfortable. I assume that this change was made to accommodate smaller hands that wouldn't have as easy of a time gripping the Avanti keys.

3 Models
The Galway Spirit flutes will be available in 3 models.

JG1
This model is completely silver plated and features closed holes with a low C footjoint. This is the typical "student" configuration. However, the term "student" when applied to this flute means something different in my opinion than the what the music industry will typically imply with the term.

This model is for the "student player". What is a student? Frankly, it is any player that is still in a learning phase or a non-professional level of playing. This definition covers a heavy majority of flautists out there. The headjoint cut on this model is the same one used throughout the line and will give advanced performance regardless of its "student" designation.

JG2
This is the same overall flute as the JG1 model except it is an open-hole, low B foot version.

JG3
This is the main "step-up" level from the line. This model features a Solid Silver headjoint, open hole with low B foot. This flute is beyond impressive! It offers a much bigger and sweeter sound than the JG1 or JG2 models.

This model, based on performance, will completely dominate the intermediate flute market when compared to the other offerings in its class. While pricing has not yet been released, they should fall in slightly above the $1,000 price point.

(click here to view pictures of the JG3 on my family's company site)

The "Bling Factor"
As I said earlier, I am not much of a fan of putting heavy focus on the cosmetics of the product because USUALLY this means that the company has skimped on the a feature that could have increased the performance of the product. In the case of the Galway Spirit, flautists do not have to compromise on this.

The Cubic Zirconium in Emerald Green that is placed into the headjoint crown may not be to my personal liking, but I have a feeling that students will absolutely flip over this. Conn-Selmer will also be selling replacement headjoint crowns featuring colored gemstones for all of the various "birth stone" colors. Again, not my cup of tea but definitely something that students will enjoy and appreciate.

I do however really like the delicate look of the "reverse bead decorative rings". These really add an elegant look to the flute that the majority of the music playing population will be impressed with.

The engraving on the flute is a little gaudy for my taste with James Galway's initials engraved into the headjoint along with a rose, but again, plenty of people will like.

Made in the USA
I have said this before and I will say it again, I love supporting American made product. Don't get me wrong, I am not the kind of person who will ONLY buy American. I feel we live in a global market and believe that there truly is quality product available from all around the world. BUT, when there is a quality American made product, I will always choose to support the American made product as long as it is at least up the performance/value level of the import.

In the case of the Spirit flutes, there is no need to compromise as they are 100% American made and will still be priced at the same level as many of the imports while completely outplaying those imports.

Availability
These flutes are going to be "officially launched" at the NAMM Convention in Anaheim, CA on January 14-17, 2010. Shipments to dealers should start in February of 2010 but this is of course subject to change.

All 3 models will be available to authorized Conn-Selmer dealers but only the JG3 model will be available online. The JG1 and JG2 will not be available online due to their "student" designation. While I personally feel that this will short term hurt the exposure of these flutes, the long term will yield (in theory) better dealer support and the performance of the flute will build a reputation on its own merit rather than any advertising policy could ever hope to accomplish.

Final Thoughts
These are plain and simple the best flute in their class. In my family's music store, we have been doing blowouts of several models of flutes specifically in anticipation of these new flutes. These will become our primary recommendation for the majority of flautists.

I want to thank Conn-Selmer for allowing us to review these flutes prior to their release. There are not many companies that I really anticipate new product from, but Conn-Selmer has been doing all of the right things in their past few product releases and so far, all have been resounding successes in my opinion!

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To read more about options and pricing (once it is released) on the Galway Spirit flutes, please visit my family's company site at http://www.kesslermusic.com/