Purchasing student instrument vs renting

[momofrrr]

I would contact the local HS band director as well. He/she might have a student that graduated last spring that might want to sell one as well. That has been a reliable resource around here. Also, I have bought from Woodwind and Brasswind before and have always been pleased. All three of our kids choose clarinet and two still play. The first student clarinet we bought from them is still being used as a marching insturment by the last one.

Good Luck and I wish you many years of happy music. Band kids are good kids. They know and realize that there is an extra committment to be successful and during marching season they really have to learn to budget their time. It is a great learning tool. They make great friendships and memories.

 

[sharbear]

My D plays the flute. The Yamaha for $229 sounds good. Make sure it's a closed hole flute. It's better if it has off set G, C foot not really a fan of straight line but for a beginner flute, it would probably be ok.

My D has always played a Pearl flute. They make a good flute so that could be another brand to buy if you can find one.

Do not buy a really cheap flute. It will just be so hard to play and will discourage your player.

 

[goosedwn]

I did not know about about flute either so last year, I rented the flute for one month. It was a rent to own. However, the person told me that the rent to own would apply to the retail price of the flute so it is not worth it. He recommended me to rent for a couple months and then when purchase the flute when they have a sale. I ended up buying dd a cheap flute on Amazon for 100. The flute broke after 5 months. I contact the seller to fix it and he sent me a new one. Since I don't know about flute, I can not tell if the flute was broken. Her teacher tried to fix it but said the key was broke. If you buy or rent locally, you have the option of taking it to the store to have it repair instead of paying the shipping. The reason I went for a cheaper flute because I am not sure if dd would like it or commit to it or not. Now that she is, I am looking for a better one for her this year. If you know nothing about flute, I would not buy from ebay or craig list because there is no way you can tell if the flute is broken until you play it and the sound is either off or did not come out. Well, that is what dd's teacher told me. Her broken flute looks perfect to me. )

 

[tink1978]

my son is in percussion in band. To rent the equipment for a year was $650, but to purchase it was $350. We went ahead and purchased it. It saved us money and we didn't have to rent year after year.

 

[punkin]

School starts in a couple of weeks. We've been renting for 2 years and I wanted to buy this summer, but did not. So...debating renting again. $400 per year or at minimum $3K to buy. It's a tough decision.

 

[Jedi]

School starts in a couple of weeks. We've been renting for 2 years and I wanted to buy this summer, but did not. So...debating renting again. $400 per year or at minimum $3K to buy. It's a tough decision.

what instrument are you after?

 

[punkin]

what instrument are you after?

Upright Bass

 

[spacemountainmom]

You might also want to check out "Music-Go-Round". I don't know if they are just here in MN or they are all over. They sell used (and some new) musical equipment. They do focus more on guitars, basses and drums, but do have a section for band instruments.

Their stuff is gone over before the sale. They let you test it out and it does come with a guarantee. I don't remember the details, but they do stand behind their merchandise. It can be exchanged or returned for a time if you have an issue with it. DD started out playing my old clarinet and it kept having issues and had to be repaired frequently. We ended up buying her a higher end instrument and did get it for a good price. Her band director was pretty impressed with the quality and the price we paid.

I would also suggest as pp's have to check with your child's band director. They want your child to join the band and can often help you to find an instrument to start out with.

Good luck to you OP. I hope you can find something that works for your daughter.

 

[angierae]

Ask around - family, coworkers, church, etc. We paid full price (rent to own) for my daughter's Clarinet (This will be her 7th year playing) but when she wanted to try out flute, my 22 year old coworker had one sitting around that she'd used in high school and sold to us for $50. We spent another $30 or so having it serviced at our music store, and she was good to go. (My coworker even agreed to let us have the music store check it out for quality before we paid her for it - if it wasn't going to be good, she'd take it back.)

 

[Crystal0608]

My dd is starting 6th grade and is playing the trumpet this year. I posted on facebook asking questions about them and I scored. An old friend's son played his Yamaha trumpet for 6 months before changing to the tuba, so she met me Saturday and sold it for $200 with everything! Same model is $850 new.

My co-worker bought his son an Etude flute for $99, which someone he knew who played in school recommended. The following flute brands are recommended on our bands website – Yamaha, Armstrong, Gemeinhardt, Jupiter.

 

[fofinia]

OP here! I really appreciate all the advice. I called the Craigslist ad. It was posted a few days ago. I may have missed it. I mostly appreciate the brand recommendations. I need to make some calls to local music places. Wasn't able to today. Hopefully tomorrow. And I think I will put some feelers out there to people I know. Thanks again!!

 

[fofinia]

Thanks for the suggestion to get the word out to friends. I posted on Facebook last night that I was looking for a flute. And someone has one. She was all ready trying to sell it. But she just got it repaired and all checked out. So I feel comfortable buying it from her. She said she was trying to get $200 but would go down to $150. So hopefully she will give me the deal! Regardless it is $30 less than the one on Craigslist. And she is going to bring it by tomorrow!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[tlbwriter]

Good luck with your flute purchase.

Our school gave us a list of acceptable brands we could purchase. Some of the ones you buy cheaply have really bad sound, which isn't good when learning to play.

This is important. Our band director gave us a list of acceptable brands and specifically said to avoid anything purchased at Sams, Walmart, JC Penney, etc. (which surprised me, since I didn't know any of these places sold band instruments!) I don't know what would have happened if she'd shown up with an unacceptable instrument.

 

[Colleen27]

We bought a cheapie drum/bells starter set for our son used through the music store the school recommends. It cost as much as 5 months' rental so in just one school year it was already the cheaper option. There were a few other options we looked into but that didn't have what we needed (beginning percussionists have very specific equipment requirements in our district, not just a starter snare like when I was in band as a kid) - there's a big college used instrument sale every year that is a great source for student and mid-range quality instruments that have been checked over by knowledgeable folks, there are a couple of music and pawn shops in the area with "satisfaction guarantee" return policies on used instruments, and the school itself offers an opportunity for parents to sell starter instruments that pass the director's inspection at the annual open house.

I personally wouldn't put a lot of money into a starter instrument simply because you don't know if that's what your child will be using in a few years. It isn't just a question of sticking with band - kids frequently change instruments along the way too, according to interest or the band's needs. I started on clarinet in 5th grade, switched to oboe for concert season in the 7th, then switched to alto sax as my marching instrument in 8th. And in high school I added soprano and tenor sax to the list for jazz and symphonic bands. I haven't touched that clarinet since I started playing sax and I'm sure my mom is glad she picked up the $200 student model rather than going for a more expensive style thinking it would get many years' use.

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Didn't read all the posts - so not sure if this was mentioned... but our school offered to use one of the schools instruments (all you had to buy was the book & mouth piece) to see if they liked it. Thats what we used & good thing we did - she hated it & is no longer in band.

 

[SDSorority]

So My DD has decided she wants to learn to play the flute this year. She is in going into 4th grade. This is the first year it is offered in school. The paperwork came home from the school for renting an instrument. It is almost $50 a month 6 months! So that is way out of my budget. Especially for something that I won't own. I started looking up instruments. But I don't have any experience with flutes (or any other instruments). So what is a decent brand? I do NOT want to buy top of the line. But I don't want to buy a piece of junk either. I found lots of websites with flutes for $100. But I don't want to buy something that isn't going to work in a few months or won't work well/properly. So if anyone has any advice. Recommendation of brands so I can price compare. A reputable site to purchase. Practicality of only paying $100-150??

Help!!!

HI! I am a flute teacher of 11 years!! Here, at your service. The most frustrating thing for a young fluter is when they get an instrument that doesn't work very well, and THEY have to work very hard to make it sound good (or at all). The two brands that I would recommend are Gemeinhardt and Yamaha (if it was made within the last 10 years). If you wanted to look on ebay, those two brands would probably be ok. I purchased my flute on ebay (I know, bad flute teacher, bad!!) and I knew it was a gamble, but the guy I purchased it from was a professional musician with a 'like it or send it back' guarantee. Now, that said, a local shop like a Music Go Round, Sam Ash, or Music and Arts Studio might have used Gemeinhardts or Yamahas for pretty good prices (under $200). As far as WHICH instrument, the Gemeinhardt 2SP (SP stands for silver plated) is a GREAT choice. It'll hold up for YEARS. Very sturdy, and I recommend it to everyone. If you wanted to buy it online, ebay might be ok, but I generally look at fluteworld.com and wwbw.com when I'm shopping around, too.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me!!

 

[fofinia]

Didn't read all the posts - so not sure if this was mentioned... but our school offered to use one of the schools instruments (all you had to buy was the book & mouth piece) to see if they liked it. Thats what we used & good thing we did - she hated it & is no longer in band.

ARGH! This is what my husband keeps saying is going to happen! I hope not! But what kind of mom would I be if I don't let her try right? Crossing my fingers!

HI! I am a flute teacher of 11 years!! Here, at your service. The most frustrating thing for a young fluter is when they get an instrument that doesn't work very well, and THEY have to work very hard to make it sound good (or at all). The two brands that I would recommend are Gemeinhardt and Yamaha (if it was made within the last 10 years).

I hope I haven't made a mistake with the flute from my friend. She is bringing it by tomorrow. She said it is an Armstrong. It is a bit old. Maybe 10 years old. She had it recently repaired and has the slip from the repair showing what has been done to it. I canceled the meeting with the Craigslist seller for the Yamaha 221. I could possibly still get a hold of him to snatch it up. (if he wasn't too annoyed that I canceled meeting up with him. I did call him this am about it.)

What to do!!!!!!!!

 

[3boymthr]

ARGH! This is what my husband keeps saying is going to happen! I hope not! But what kind of mom would I be if I don't let her try right? Crossing my fingers!



I hope I haven't made a mistake with the flute from my friend. She is bringing it by tomorrow. She said it is an Armstrong. It is a bit old. Maybe 10 years old. She had it recently repaired and has the slip from the repair showing what has been done to it. I canceled the meeting with the Craigslist seller for the Yamaha 221. I could possibly still get a hold of him to snatch it up. (if he wasn't too annoyed that I canceled meeting up with him. I did call him this am about it.)

What to do!!!!!!!!

I have an Armstrong. Now mine is quite old (1970s) but it has great sound, nice keys and good pads. It was bought for me by my grandfather who was a professional musician. He said (at that time) that Armstrong was the best flute for a beginner. HTH.

 

[mom2grace]

ARGH! This is what my husband keeps saying is going to happen! I hope not! But what kind of mom would I be if I don't let her try right? Crossing my fingers!



I hope I haven't made a mistake with the flute from my friend. She is bringing it by tomorrow. She said it is an Armstrong. It is a bit old. Maybe 10 years old. She had it recently repaired and has the slip from the repair showing what has been done to it. I canceled the meeting with the Craigslist seller for the Yamaha 221. I could possibly still get a hold of him to snatch it up. (if he wasn't too annoyed that I canceled meeting up with him. I did call him this am about it.)

What to do!!!!!!!!

My DD is going into 5th, she's been playing flute for a year. After a few months of renting, we bought a flute. It's an Armstrong, the same brand that she was renting. It is very nice & she has really come along well. We bought it on ebay from an instrument store after her flute teacher emailed the seller and it was a money back guarantee.

Her flute teacher is a college student who is a flute performance major & very successful...major orchestra bound and she recommends Armstrong.

 

[fofinia]

I have an Armstrong. Now mine is quite old (1970s) but it has great sound, nice keys and good pads. It was bought for me by my grandfather who was a professional musician. He said (at that time) that Armstrong was the best flute for a beginner. HTH.

My DD is going into 5th, she's been playing flute for a year. After a few months of renting, we bought a flute. It's an Armstrong, the same brand that she was renting. It is very nice & she has really come along well. We bought it on ebay from an instrument store after her flute teacher emailed the seller and it was a money back guarantee.

Her flute teacher is a college student who is a flute performance major & very successful...major orchestra bound and she recommends Armstrong.

Thank you both!!! Hopefully it will be the right decision!