Flute tune-up and repair?

[Goofygirl17]

DD has decided to try band this year and wants to play flute. I have a flute that I bought and played many years ago. I know it needs to have new pads and a tune-up. Anyone have any idea about how much that will cost?

Thanks!

 

[MinnieFlute]

Hi! I'm a band director, and as you can see from my SN, I am a flutist also

With repairing an older instrument, you have to sort of do a cost-benefit analysis. Sometimes getting an overhaul on a beginner model flute can cost $200 or more. With an instrument that has been sitting around for a while, it is sometimes worth less than the cost of repair. An overhaul on my handmade Powell was $1200 But that is just one of the things you know you have do do every 5-7 years with a pro model flute. Yours WON'T cost that much! I would take it to a music store and get an estimate on it and see how much work it really needs. Music and Arts is a good, reputable national chain. Also see how they think it will hold up in the long run - some instruments will need to be sent to the shop over and over again.

A brand-new Yamaha 281 costs about $800. That is the beginner model flute we recommend to our kiddos. They typically do rent-to-own the first year, and that comes with insurance incase of defect or "oopses" on the kids' part. If your flute doesn't work out, that is another option for you!

Hope that helps!

(I feel like I am writing a parent e-mail right now, lol).

 

[3boymthr]

When I had it done to my flute years ago it was expensive, $100+, but times have changed.

It's still a bargain though because a good flute will cost you way more than that. Even rental will cost you more than that. I know mine cost more than $250 25 years ago.

I'd recommend you check with your local music store.

 

[Goofygirl17]

Thanks for the replies. I found a music and arts store about 20 minutes away so I think I'll take it there today and get an estimate. We got a rental form from the school too. I haven't met the band director- DD just decided to try band (long story). She's in fifth grade. The rental is $37.10 for 3 months and then $45 for three months after that. I guess we'll see how much it costs to get the one we have ready to play. It's a Bundy that I bought used just to fiddle around with after high school (I played alto and tenor sax then) and then I took lessons in college with it. I don't know much about flutes so we'll see what they say.

Thanks again!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

We reconditioned my old clarinet for DD when she was in grade school. New pads, new corks and adjusting the keys cost over $100. But a rental would have cost us that much in just a few months with nothing to show for it in the end. And a brand new clarinet would have been over $300.

Getting an estimate from a couple of shops is a good idea. You may find that it needs more work than it's worth.

 

[MinnieFlute]

I have to be honest on this - I did mention this in another thread, but it is incredibly important that a child have a functional instrument in the beginning year. They can get discouraged very easily, and if the instrument is out in the shop often, they miss instructions. Bundy instruments (IMHO) are not high-quality. If you do the rental and she quits after a year, all you do is return it and stop making payments, and you are only out that much. There is also an incentive for early payoff incase you want to do that.

I hope that is not too blunt - it is the same thing I would tell one of my band parents if I was asked. I LOVE LOVE my job (most days, lol) and want every kid to have a positive experience.

 

[Goofygirl17]

Definitely not too blunt! I thought a bundy was cheap. I just bought it to fiddle around with after high school. I taught myself to play on it and then took lessons in college for a fun 1 credit class. I think I only paid like $35 for it! I don't mind renting one for DD but she said she'd like to play mine so I figured I'd check it out. I hope she enjoys band. I loved it in high school!

Thanks again!

 

[richmond282]

Gemeinhardt is another very popular brand with beginners. You may be better off looking for a new or used flute, than trying to deal with repairing a Bundy. Our local music store has a rent-to-own program. So after you've paid for like 12 months or something, you have paid for the instrument and it's yours to keep.

If you want to check some websites for flutes:

www.wwbw.com

www.washingtonmusic.com

I have found some great deals from both of these stores. Just be very careful about what brand name you buy.

 

[IDoDis]

I played the flute (and later the piccolo, too) from 5th grade through 11th grade. I still have my flute and hoped my DD would want to learn to play it, but alas, she is not interested. It's a Gemeinhardt with the solid silver head (not open holed). My mom paid around $250ish for it over 30 years ago. The first few years I had a different brand (can't remember). I often wondered how much it would cost to get it tuned up. Now I wonder what I'll do with it since DD isn't going to play it. I don't think I can even read music anymore, but my fingers know what to do when I play Baby Elephant Walk -- after 25 years that is weird!

 

[MrsPooh]

We rented my dd's first year. Flute rental at the local company was $22/month. The amount did go toward a purchase but the purchase price was $800 so it would have taken about 3 years to get to the purchase price.

A friend passed a used flute to us just before the second year. It had been just sitting in a closet. The receipt inside was dated 1968 and it obviously had not been used in years! We were able to have to cleaned and ready for use for about $68. We then only needed minor work and pad replacement done.

I would suggest getting a estimate and then make a decision.

 

[aprilgail2]

DD has decided to try band this year and wants to play flute. I have a flute that I bought and played many years ago. I know it needs to have new pads and a tune-up. Anyone have any idea about how much that will cost?

Thanks!

I just had my daughters done last week- new pads , a cleaning and tune up was 298.00

 

[nuke]

Not a flute but I found a local guy to clean and redo the valves on my son's trumpet. He charged $180 and it looks great and plays much better. He also took out a bunch of the little dings and dents in it.

 

[wilderness gal]

Our DS is a trumpet player (Jr. in college now) and we don't know much about a flute, but that sounds steep.

The very 1st trumpet we ever bought him was when he was in the 6th grade - rent to own for $600 but 3 years later (9th grade) we bought him a trumpet (Bach) w/hard case w/shipping included @ Interstate Music for $1449, but his Sr. year for graduation, we purchased him a B6 or
B1 silver Schilke $2600.00 plus $236 for the case. it gets more expensive as he gets older, and the next will be a picillo (sp?) trumpet....I haven't a clue how much that bad boy cost, somewhere over the $3000 mark....but...he wants to be a Music Teacher (Loves the high school bands)...

The mouth pieces are (Warburtons) that's the killer for him, they are $80 for the back bores & $40-60 for the cups.

These instruments are cheap, but a tune up or having the corks, pads shouldn't be $800. Try finding a local flute teacher and they either have a kit or could recommend someone nearby in your town to fix it, I would guess-to-mate maybe $100-$200 but not $800.

Good luck to your child & good luck to you......

We need more band parents out there !!!!!!!

God Bless,

jean

 

[Goofygirl17]

Thanks for all the replies! We dropped the flute off for an estimate at the Music and Arts store yesterday. The first guy we talked to said it looked like it was in good usable condition and would probably just need pads and a chemical cleaning. I asked if there was any reason that a new flute would be easier for her to play (has anything changed since I got that one) and he said no but another guy interrupted and started explaining their rent to own plan and that a new flute would be much better for her etc. I just got a funny feeling while he was talking- very much a salesman. Anyway, the new flute from there would be rent to own and $500-$800 dollars total. We could also rent to own through the school. The first guy seemed to think that our flute would be fine for her to start.

I wrote down all the info and we're going to wait and see what the estimate is. I'm also going to email the band director and let him know what we're doing. Hopefully she doesn't need the flute right away. He mentioned in his letter that they're going to start with reading music.

Thank you!!

 

[Conway733]

Thanks for all the replies! We dropped the flute off for an estimate at the Music and Arts store yesterday. The first guy we talked to said it looked like it was in good usable condition and would probably just need pads and a chemical cleaning. I asked if there was any reason that a new flute would be easier for her to play (has anything changed since I got that one) and he said no but another guy interrupted and started explaining their rent to own plan and that a new flute would be much better for her etc. I just got a funny feeling while he was talking- very much a salesman. Anyway, the new flute from there would be rent to own and $500-$800 dollars total. We could also rent to own through the school. The first guy seemed to think that our flute would be fine for her to start.

I wrote down all the info and we're going to wait and see what the estimate is. I'm also going to email the band director and let him know what we're doing. Hopefully she doesn't need the flute right away. He mentioned in his letter that they're going to start with reading music.

Thank you!!

Let me know how your quote turns out. I have a Yamaha flute that I believe needs what they said yours needs. Unfortunately, we do not have any chain musical instrument stores around here. Maybe all of us should get together and have a flute choir!

 

[momxx5]

Pads are quite expensive to replace and maintenance/small repairs are a neccessity. Be prepared. Our band is extremely fortunate to have a dedicated instrument repair man. He has worked with the school for over 20yrs and does small repairs for a flat $3.00 fee. He also sees reeds, cleaning kits, etc at cost. Anything that is over a $20 repair he will be in contact with the parent to let them know a head of time before he starts the repairs. He works with local music stores and does all their repairs at much higher fees (with the store taking a cut) but his dedication to our high school(and middle school) is so awesome. We are very thankful to have such a great guy within our band.

 

[SnowWhite2]

If you have a good band teacher, they should be able to recommend a good local independent repair person. I would stay away from a chain. They send it out and take a cut of the repair cost. If you have issues, it is harder to get little things fixed because everything has to be sent out.

On a positive note, if your child forgets their instrument at school on band concert night, Music and Arts will lend you the instrument free for the evening. Yeah, I know that from experience