Rex flutes

[mr_syms]

Hi,

i found a REX flute in a music shop for $200, and i bought it, it plays ok
does anyone know anything about them?
it has no shiny stuff left on it, i tlooks vintage
i was wondering if it was some obscure old expensive thing that i could sell and be rich, and i'm also just curious, ne ideas?

thanks

josh

[Benny]

it is definately not vintage and not obscure. As a general rule I would stay away from anything that bears the name rex (as well as anything whose name is also that of a planet or animal) - jupiter is the exception to the rule.
get a yamaha flute. Maybe a bit more but you will save $$$ down the track.

[Gordon (NZ)]

Edit: Post no longer in context after previous post deleted. Therefore edited out.

[mr_syms]

thanks guys

i went into my music store (the music place south melbourne if you're interested) and was buying reeds etc, and i showed it to david the guy in there who actually makes a brand of flute, and i played it for him
and he told me it was a piece of *%#& and gave me a flute and and told me to endorse it.

so, if anyone's interested visit www.temby.com they make really nice flutes.

:D

buy one, tell david i sent you and he'll give you a discount

josh

[Benny]

Tip for young players: don't believe everything a guy who owns a music store tells you about their products. I shall say no more.

[mr_syms]

yeah, i agree. but these ones are actually quite good

much better than my rex!

[Gordon (NZ)]

From the few that I have seen, they would have to be a lot cheaper than Yamaha before I would consider suggesting one.

mr_syms, let me see if I am hearing you right. This guy GAVE you a flute, and told you to endorse it, so you came here and did so. If this is the case, then how are we to believe anything you say? Or did I get that wrong.

From my experience of Taiwanese flutes I would (so far) always recommend caution. At least do a search of 'Temby' in this forum, and in particular consider the thread re their saxophones......

http://saxontheweb.myforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=16858&highlight=temby

There are things said, and not said in the Temby web site that raise my doubts even about the integrity of any endorsements there.

Scepticism is very healthy when listening to the marketers of instruments.

[mr_syms]

yeah, i see your point . but they are good
megan kenny (principal flute in the melbourne symphony orchestra) plays a temby flute
so they must be fair decent

and also, whats with all this ageist crap?
although there are alot of young players out there with little or no experience in this filed, there are also alot of young players who have a great deal of experience, i for example have had nearly 700 hours of payed performance time in the last few years, and i think that that is a fair amount of experince by anyones standards, and for people to disregard anyones statements just by looking at their age is extremely unfair

[Bootman]

Actually the Temby Flutes I have played do play very nicely, tone is great and with lots of colour. I am not an endorsee of these products but credit where credit is due, te Temby Flute play very well indeed.

[Gordon (NZ)]

I suppose any endorsement should mention which model.
I have played only the student model.

When flute maker produces a student flute that is worse than Yamahas, then I have to wonder about either their integrity, or their prowess in acoustic design. I cannot see why these days, with CNC machinery, it would cost any more to make a flute with good acoustic design than poor. But I stress, I just wonder, and do not make absolute extrapolations.

BTW, mr_syms, is that 700 hours on FLUTE? I would say that a person needs to have significant experience on very large range of flutes, before they start making valid quality comparisons. But I agree, experience is not determined by age alone.

From my experience of the 'wiles' of the human condition, I have learnt to ignore any recommendations presented by neither close acquaintances or associates of makers, nor those sponsored by makers. I would recommend this approach to anybody. I also take little notice of what is said by any marketer. They are in business, and for almost all of them, profit is the motive. Even on student instruments of similar price, the profit in selling one of them may be twice that for the other.

[mr_syms]

700 hours on many things

[Benny]

Thankyou Gordon for bringing some sensibility to this thread!!!
1) Megan Kenny IS NOT the principal flautist is the MSO. Prue Davis is and she plays a Powell. Prue has been in that chair since she was 21 years old (around 1982). Wendy Clark, Andrew McLeod and John Jones fill out the section.
2) Being from Melbourne and having worked around the town lots in various playing roles (including the State Orchestra of Victoria) I had never heard of a flute player called Megan Kenny until I saw her 'endorsement' on Temby's page.
3) There are lots of 'endorsements' on Temby's web page. Some of them are for sax players who have supposedly played with Tower of Power but if you look at the personell history on TOP's web page there is no mention of these people.
Go Figure.[/quote]

[Benny]

The only thing he's done a good job with (?) is putting his own name on someone elses product.

[Benny]

Josh,
With regard to your email, anything I am prepared to say about this topic will be said in the forum. Anything I have to say that can't be said in full view of everyone will be kept to myself or my colleagues.
If I have been overly harsh towards you in my posts I apologise, but during my time as a teacher I saw too many students follow the path you have. It is great to be enthusiastic and passionate about your playing, but in this field wisdom does not come with age. I made many mistakes at your age and was too easily taken in by what was said by people who were older and supposedly more experienced. Remember this - everyone has an agenda. Whenever you buy equipment always shop around. Ask about other business', talk to older players at gigs (not players who work in shops) and look at the gear they're using. There is a reason that the really great players in Melbourne use the gear they do. There is also a reason that most of them get their repairs done and buy their reeds and goodies at Dr Sax (Conrad Exton) or Melbourne Brass and Woodwind (Brian Ebert).
All the best.