Is there a decent poly/plastic ‘student’ flute available for about $50?
I believe Hammy Hamilton makes a practice flute for about 50 Euro. I doubt you’d go wrong with anything Hammy makes.
Also, I have heard good things about Alan Mount’s PVC flutes but haven’t had a chance to play one yet.
The next step up from these is to the lower end polymer Irish flutes such as the Seery and the M&E, which are both over $300.
Best,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
I have one of Alan Mount’s pvc flutes that cost 50 bucks. I also have the dixon one pvc practise flute that costs 30-40 dollars. I haven’t had a chance do a full review yet, but in my opinion Alan’s flute far surpases the dixon in about every catagory so you deffinatly won’t go wrong with it. I haven’t tried a Hamilton practise flute but shipping over seas, I’ve found out, can be a long process. All of these three are playable and would be a good starter instrument.But that being said I highly recomend Alan’s flutes. Check out Alan’s site, he’s got pictures and sound clips up so take a look.
http://www.geocities.com/zozm/
Jack Murphy
I also have one of Alan’s flutes, purchased just for fun to see if I’d like playing the flute. I’m a total beginner on it and haven’t ever played any other flute, so I’m not qualified to compare it to anything else, but I really like this flute. It’s been fairly easy to play - although I still struggle with the second octave (me, not the flute). I’d certainly recommend it for a beginner.
Susan
I have one of Alan’s flutes as well, and I highly recommend it. Great warm tone, easy to play (as far as flutes go!), and perfectly tuned. He custom makes each flute yet the wait is short and the delivery on time. I’ve only been playing flute for about 6 months, and I can say that this would have been a very good flute to start out on. A much more experienced flute-playing friend of mine said after playing it that this flute was “amazingly nice.”
Carol