DaveKessler
12-30-2004, 12:12 AM
The Haynes flute company was sold not to long ago to the Eastman Strings company. They brought in a former Powell & Emerson person to come in and basically redo the entire Haynes flute lineup.
Their newest product, the Amadeus by WmS Haynes, is a direct attempt to compete with the very popular Sonare flutes by Powell.
The idea between both of these lines is to combine a professional handcut headjoint with a good intermediate body and sell them as intermediate/basic professional flutes.
Both companies have 3 model series that all have the same differences:
Level 1 (around $1000 - $1100)
Handcut head, silver plated body, y arm construction.
Level 2 (around $1500 - $1600)
Handcut head, sterling silver body, y arm construction.
Level 3 (around $2000 - $2100)
Handcut head, sterling silver body, pointed arm construction.
Let me say that BOTH of these companies' offerings are absolutely sensational and we will be dealing in Both lines (have been with Sonare for about 2 years).
The biggest difference is where the flute bodies are made. While both lines' headjoints are handcut solid silver headjoints from their respective facility in Boston, the bodies are made elsewhere.
On the Sonare, 2 models are made in Beijing China and the top model is made in Tapei Taiwan (like the diMedici line is).
The Amadeus is considered "Made in the USA". Now this is a little misleading because by federal regulations, in order to brand "Made in USA" on a product, only 90% of it has to actually made in the USA.
From my current information, the Amadeus bodies are currently completely made in Elkhart, IN and are fully assembled there. Haynes will most likely start outsourcing up to 10% of the actual manufacture as well as the final construction to somewhere in Asia (most likely China since Eastman Strings - parent company - already has facilities in China). This way they can still brand "Made in the USA" legally.
Now we just the other day received a sample of the Amadeus model 700 (comparable to the Sonare 6000) which is the Level 2 instrument discribed earlier.
VERY good flute. Setup very well. Well made.
I really dont have any serious complaint about this flute. If I HAD to say something that I didnt like, it would be the feel of the Gizmo for my pinky. My pinky wants to slide under the gizmo when going to the low B roller. This is so minutely insignifigant though because that would be nothing to get over.
The biggest difference between the 2 flutes is the tone. As I expected, the Amadeus plays like current Haynes flutes whereas the Sonare plays more like a Powell. The Amadeus is darker. The Sonare is brighter.
Personally, I still prefer the playability of the Sonare but I have had some sax players who played it today prefer the Amadeus.
Either way, GREAT flutes.
If anyone has any questions about the flutes, feel free to contact me. We will start stocking them this January. We cant publish prices because they use a MAP policy (as Sonare & Powell have gone to using as well) but the Amadeus is priced right within $50-$100 of the Sonare.
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Their newest product, the Amadeus by WmS Haynes, is a direct attempt to compete with the very popular Sonare flutes by Powell.
The idea between both of these lines is to combine a professional handcut headjoint with a good intermediate body and sell them as intermediate/basic professional flutes.
Both companies have 3 model series that all have the same differences:
Level 1 (around $1000 - $1100)
Handcut head, silver plated body, y arm construction.
Level 2 (around $1500 - $1600)
Handcut head, sterling silver body, y arm construction.
Level 3 (around $2000 - $2100)
Handcut head, sterling silver body, pointed arm construction.
Let me say that BOTH of these companies' offerings are absolutely sensational and we will be dealing in Both lines (have been with Sonare for about 2 years).
The biggest difference is where the flute bodies are made. While both lines' headjoints are handcut solid silver headjoints from their respective facility in Boston, the bodies are made elsewhere.
On the Sonare, 2 models are made in Beijing China and the top model is made in Tapei Taiwan (like the diMedici line is).
The Amadeus is considered "Made in the USA". Now this is a little misleading because by federal regulations, in order to brand "Made in USA" on a product, only 90% of it has to actually made in the USA.
From my current information, the Amadeus bodies are currently completely made in Elkhart, IN and are fully assembled there. Haynes will most likely start outsourcing up to 10% of the actual manufacture as well as the final construction to somewhere in Asia (most likely China since Eastman Strings - parent company - already has facilities in China). This way they can still brand "Made in the USA" legally.
Now we just the other day received a sample of the Amadeus model 700 (comparable to the Sonare 6000) which is the Level 2 instrument discribed earlier.
VERY good flute. Setup very well. Well made.
I really dont have any serious complaint about this flute. If I HAD to say something that I didnt like, it would be the feel of the Gizmo for my pinky. My pinky wants to slide under the gizmo when going to the low B roller. This is so minutely insignifigant though because that would be nothing to get over.
The biggest difference between the 2 flutes is the tone. As I expected, the Amadeus plays like current Haynes flutes whereas the Sonare plays more like a Powell. The Amadeus is darker. The Sonare is brighter.
Personally, I still prefer the playability of the Sonare but I have had some sax players who played it today prefer the Amadeus.
Either way, GREAT flutes.
If anyone has any questions about the flutes, feel free to contact me. We will start stocking them this January. We cant publish prices because they use a MAP policy (as Sonare & Powell have gone to using as well) but the Amadeus is priced right within $50-$100 of the Sonare.
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