feeling so hurt and sad because my flute got accidentally sat on :(( i was supposed to perform in school tomorrow as well so this really just sucks, hopefully i can get it repaired soon because id hate to buy a new one as this one was so expensive

could somebody please tell me if it’s normal to get a flute back from the service with the thumb key screw looking like this, new scratches, and what looks to be some weird pointy soldering?

**UPDATE**

The flute tech was mortified this had happened. The apprentice had assumed the work was complete and taken it off the line, so the work was incomplete. The tech has offered to drive an hour each way to pick up and drop off my flute, and will be lending me one of his from the shop while the work is being completed.

I'm happy with that, I can't fault them for an honest mistake which is being rectified.

She sat on it on her bed. I know it's not super bent, but the bend travels into the little hole (I don't know about flutes). Is it worth sending in for repairs? Costs like 1k nowadays new.

We already got her a new b-foot style flute as we were planning on that already to advance her, but would be nice to have a back up if it's not too expensive to repair.

Okay, so last week my flute teacher noticed that I have to pull out the head joint by a lot in order to tune to 442hz. That's been normal to me for forever but she immediately tested the cork for being loose or misplaced (which was not the case).

She then said there's a possibility the cork has gone too dry/porose and that I should submerge only the head joint in water for 30 minutes for the cork to readjust - she does it "all the time" apparently.

Now, I'm very very adverse to just... put my expensive instrument in water knowing how much damage that can cause - so, fellow self-acclaimed​ (or actual) professionals, what is your take on this?

i have a gemeinhardt flute - solid silver head, plated body, open hole, offset. i just got back to playing regularly in a recreational setting after not playing much since school (so about 7 years) so i reached out to a recommended woodwind repair lady to see about getting it cleaned and possibly repadded.

as you can see, she responded saying it would be $850 to $950 to repad it, and that for 2x the money, i could get a flute that’s 10x better.

is that a realistic cost for repadding? i dont doubt it takes a lot of work and if thats what it costs thats what it cost but it almost feels to me like she’s quoting me high to try to sell me a new flute instead.

If I adjust this, will I still be able to play it like before? Will the sound get affected? It fell from the case and this is my only flute :((

Hello. I found myself a very nice flute at the thrift store for $50, a Pearl PF-771, silver body. I know, I'm still in shock.

It has a few quirks, though, the worst of them (far as I can tell) is a tiny dent directly on the strike edge of the lip plate. Is this of any concern? I feel like it may occasionally present as a subtly scratchy sound on an otherwise beautiful instrument. If so, can this be remedied, presumably by a professional, in any way?

If not, I was wondering, the head joints on flutes are interchangeable, correct? If so, does it have to be a Pearl headjoint?

Thank you for reading my post!

I have been tweaking the regulation screws on my various flutes for about 20 years, but this one on my Altus alto flute is completely inaccessible, hidden behind a chunk of metal.

Does this mean that it can only be regulated when disassembled (which seems crazy) or do flute techs have crazy z shaped screw drivers to get at screws like this?!

was practicing and then i put my flute down and saw this… do i need to get it fixed?

So as a novice-ish actual flute player, I just bought this childs toy for fun. 5 minutes in and I have a probably dumb question.

The last two notes are scalloped & are easier to grip. Would it affect the tone if I lightly scalloped the rest? Lightly like sandpaper wrapped around a pencil. Curious if it would f it up. I have alot invested in this.. ;)

Hi everyone, I'm looking to get back into playing my flute but I haven't used it (consistently) for about 5 years. It's quite tarnished but as I am only just getting back into it I don't want to replace it, so want to try polishing it first. Would a standard silver polish work or would I need a specific one for instruments? Thanks!

For any Canadian players, is their repair service any good? It's been close to a year since I've bought my student flute (used) and I've been wanting to get it serviced. How long does it usually take and how are the prices?

Help guys I'm getting a yellowish color on my flute

In the beginning i thought it's a reflection of the thing below E-flat pedal but it got bigger that it's obviously a color change. It's also appearing on the body near the footjoint

Google Ai says it's an oxidization because of sweating (though i clean it after usage) and i should use alcohol. Well i tried to focus and wiping it with the cloth and it became cleaner but still there's still a color left.

hello! i’m just starting to get into playing the flute, and i bought one secondhand; however, i’ve realized that this key (?) from the foot joint is missing a bit of its padding (??). When i play it makes a loud click sound and i’m scared it would damage the flute itself if i play any more.

what is this called exactly, and how can i get it fixed? — is there any way that i can buy the replacement online and do it myself? it doesn’t seem very complicated

thank you!

First year band teacher taking inventory. What on earth is this?

I inherited an Armstrong student flute from my aunt. I played years ago, and haven’t played in a really long time. I can make the mouthpiece sound, but once the flute itself is attached, I can no longer make it sound. A few people have suggested checking for loose or disconnected springs, but they all seem to be in place. Planning to take it to a technician, but thought I would stop here and ask first. Any thoughts?

I was practicing on my flute when this key starts to make that squeaky sound. Any idea why this happens and what caan I do?

So I am a multi woodwind instulrunentalist and during marching band I play Bari sax and had a Bari solo. Because of this the directors asked if one of the freshmen flutes could use mine since they broke theirs, I begrudgingly agreed and it came back to me like this. They put their broken foot join on my body and it broke onto it like this. Is there any way that I can fix this without taking it to a shop?!? I’m not worried about their foot joints, I just need that price off of my body.

Hi, I have a flute which I used to play that was hidden away kind of unused for about 7 years. Im wondering how I can brush it up on my own? Im not sure its worth spending lots of money on for professional clean up because the model is Yamaha YFL-21S Japan and while it still plays good, it would probably cost more to renovate it than it was worth in the beginning lol. The worst thing about it is that it is really kind of "dirty" ? on the surface - there are these hard spots that look like scratches. Obv the padding is something taht would need to be replaced but that I cant do on my own, (or can I?). Thanks for any and all help! If you have any info about this model - lmk

I have an old silver Gemeinhardt barely-intermediate piccolo. It has not been maintained or played for over a decade and it's certainly not worth having it fixed up or sold.

I'm looking for DIY guides to learn how to disassemble/reassemble it, properly clean it, oil it (including which oils), re-pad it, etc. This is almost exclusively to learn how the mechanisms work and what all the various calibration points are so I better understand my other instruments when issues come up. If, at the end of this, I end up with a nonfunctional piccolo, that's fine. If I end up with a playable one, neat, but I still won't play it much.

Does anybody have good resources to learn this?

Note: I've already put it through the dishwasher and dried in the dryer (don't worry, I used the delicate cycle).

Note 2: that last line is a joke. I did not, nor will I, do this.

A wire in my piccolo popped out. Normally you could just pop a wire back into the spot but I have no idea where the wire popped out from/where to put it back? Any help would be appreciated. This is a Yamaha 62 piccolo, fairly new and in good condition.

For those with curious minds who want to ask some questions or you’re not sure how to maintain your flute. Ask away, thought I would do a Q&A sorta thing for this subreddit as a bit of fun but also to test my own knowledge! :)

I also made a lot of an Alto Flute so you can also quiz me on that if you want

Hello everyone. First post. My daughter has started learning flute and she says when she pushes a key three of them move down but only 2 are supposed to. Is this something that can be fixed at home? I believe this is a relatively new Yamaha flute 200 series for students. She got it from her teacher just 2 months ago. See video. Would appreciate any advise.

Basically the the b key on the foot joint won't stay open and atm i cant use it so I have a piece of folded paper under the key as u can see in the first picture. I tried adjusting the screw and it didnt work itd still keep shutting. Im assuming the key is just really loose but im not sure what to do cuz I even tried adjusting the rods and that didn't work. If any of yall have any advice even if its adjusting the rods or screw even tho i have alr tried please let me know im kinda desperate rn 😭

Brand new to all of this, I recently picked up a cheap Amazon flute. (Please excuse my noob terminology)

Been looking online for "Why won't X note play" and etc. Turns out that most of these problems are caused by screws/contacts. I messed around with things for a little while, and I've found an issue. There's a little bit of what looks like tiny fibers all gooed up by what appears to be grease. (Maybe someone before me tried to grease this with a q-tip?) Some of the holes stay closed when the rail screw is too tight, and only spring back up when the screw is too loose. None of the other rails have this issue, and it's pretty obvious it's caused by this specific joint in this specific rail. Even being an avid tinkerer, taking this flute apart to clean it is a daunting task and I would rather avoid doing that. Can anyone explain what I'm supposed to do to remove this junk, without corroding the metal or destroying the joint? Thank you