Dean Yang Flutes

[Riff]

Recently (2 months ago) I went to a "Flute Fair" where several manufacturers were showing their wares. Most of the stuff I played was good but unremarkable. I had never heard of Dean Yang Flutes and so I passed the table by several times. Finally I thought, "what the heck" and picked one up to play. It was by far the best playing flute I have ever had in my hands. If I had had the money I would have bought it on the spot.

Is anyone else here familiar with Dean Yang Flutes?
http://www.dean-yang.com/

The rep told me the silver is sorced from China but the flutes are assembled by, and the headjoints cut by Muramatsu in Japan.

[Gordon (NZ)]

I've emailed Muramatsu with the hope of finding the truth.

[Gordon (NZ)]

I emailed Muramatsu in Tokyo.

The reply I received read:

muramatsu inc. wrote:

Dear Mr.Palmer,
It is not true.
Muramatsu never has relation with Dean Yang.
Thank you.
Int'l Sales Divis.
Ohata, manager

[Gordon (NZ)]

....The rep told me the silver is sorced from China but the flutes are assembled by, and the headjoints cut by Muramatsu in Japan.....

Riff, I regard that as a mighty serious deception, and probably most illegal..

Is there any way you can follow up on this, to kill it. That rep should be fired, &/or reported to Muramatsu to be sued.

[Gordon (NZ)]

Riff, I just wondered, are you a Dean Yang professional marketer, using this forum and dodgy claims to hype them up? I would certainly hope not!
Just wondered.

[Riff]

Riff, I just wondered, are you a Dean Yang professional marketer
No- I represent no instrument manufacturers at all.

These flutes are distributed in the US by a company called Little Piper.
http://www.little-piper.com/
They were the ones representing Dean Yang at the flute fair but they also had Muramatsu flutes at their display.

If you go to the Dean Yang home page and click on the INQUIRY link that appears in the graphic, it will bring you to another page that has a link to Muramatsu. However, that link results in a "page cannot be found" message.
The link to Muramatsu in the US is http://www.muramatsu-america.com/
I've emailed them with a similar inquiry. I will report back if I get a response.

[Riff]

I found two different email links at Muramatsu-America. Each link brought up a different email form. I sent my message to both links.

I have also emailed Little Piper to clarify if I understood them correctly.
Interestingly, their email form was the same as Muramatsu-America.

I will report back if I receive any answers.

[Riff]

Another interesting item:
I've been poking around the Muramatsu-America and the Little Piper sites.
They both offer used flutes for sale.
Clicking on the used instrument links at both sites brings up exactly the same list of instruments. (the list is in .pdf format)
So it would appear that Little Piper *does* have a connection to Muramatsu-America.

[Gordon (NZ)]

Something odd seems to be going on here.

I sent my inquiry to Muramatsu Tokyo, and I believe that is where the reply came from.

I also sent it to Muramatsu in America. No reply as yet.

[Riff]

I received the following reply from Little Piper. Apparently the sales rep was mistaken. (I'll consider this an honest error since I have no evidence otherwise.)

Thank you for your inquiry.
The headjoints for the Dean Yang flutes are cut at Little Piper in Detroit, Michigan, and the mechanism is made by Dean Yang.
Dean Yang and Muramatsu are two separate companies, but their distributorship is based out of the same office in Michigan. This perhaps led to some misunderstanding. Please be advised that the manufacturing facilities are totally un-related.
We are sorry for any confusion, and we are taking the necessary steps to insure that no misleading information is mistakenly given by any of our trade representatives.

Despite this bit of misinformation, I remain impressed by these flutes. It will remain on my short list for consideration.

Back to my original question: Does anyone else here have any experience with the Dean Yang Flutes?

http://www.dean-yang.com/

[Riff]

For those who may be interested I got the following reply from Little Piper when I asked for more details about these flutes:

The Dean Yang family has been making musical instruments in Taiwan for more than 25 years.
Around 1980, Dean formed a company called EF Dean Flutemakers and began making flutes for distribution in North America. The "E" stood for Ervin Monroe, Principal flute of the Detroit Symphony, who contributed as the design consultant, the "F" was for Fred Marrich, of Custom Music, which was the distributor, and Dean for Dean Yang.
In 1995, Ervin Monroe took over the distributorship from Custom Music and the flute is now distributed through Mr. Monroe's company, Little Piper. The flute was then re-named the Dean Yang flute.
Dean Yang is now deceased and his wife and family currently run the company that makes the flutes.
Dean Yang flutes are primarily made in Taiwan and the headjoints are finished in Michigan.
Warranties from Little Piper are for one year, and include standard key adjustment, as long as the flute is not damaged, neglected, or serviced by unauthorized repair techs.
A lifetime warrantyl is provided by Dean Yang for structural components.
Our Dean Yang alto flute is featured on the "Gothika" movie sound track.

[kingperkoff]

Riff-I have an EF Dean flute I bought at Best Instrument Repair in Oakland, CA. It has a solid sterling silver head, foot and body. I always wondered where it came from, thanks! :D Great flute, I'm not much of a flautist but my cousin Dave is, and he said it plays like a much more expensive flute than it is.

[Riff]

...it plays like a much more expensive flute than it is.

That was certainly my impression when I tried the Dean Yang.
I played the Topaz and Emerald models. (open hole, offset G)
They were both outstanding. I tried the Emerald in both thin wall and heavy wall. The heavy wall was my favorite and is the one I would most likely consider buying.

[Gordon (NZ)]

The local market here was once inundated with Hernals flutes. I think they were Japanese made.

At the time they played extraordinarily well. It was these that taught me that design was more important than metal.

Then the corrosion started. the surface became seriously pitted such that nobody even wanted to touch one. The spud nuts (that pad screws go into) corroded right away. Parts fell off....... I seldom see them now. They are nearly all dead.

The simple moral: there is more that needs checking on a flute than just how it plays. The Hernals example is just one of many variations on a theme. Time will tell with Dean Yang.

[kingperkoff]

Gordon, I've had my EF Dean for 10 years -so far no major problems!

[melvyng]

I believe EF Dean and Dean Yang are two completely different flutes:
http://www.dean-yang.com/
http://www.custommusiccorp.com/flute/dean.html


Mel

[flutemusic01]

I purchased one "new" on eBay in 2003 for $500. (I'm guessing an "Emerald" model, sterling body, serial number 1xxx) What a lucky find! I have been VERY impressed.

I am new to flute playing, with very little experience with different flutes. However since I purchased this, I have tried a number of other flutes, and all have been disappointments compared to my Dean Yang. I'm guessing that it's mostly due to the headjoint. My Dean Yang HJ responds very well on my Armstrong 80 and my Wilkins. The only thing comparable (I have not tried a lot of others) has been some Powell HJ's I tried at Eugene Gordon's shop in Chicago. That's $1400 apiece!!

I have also been puzzled as to the Dean Yang's origin and manufacture. The website raises more questions than it answers.

But, I LOVE this flute!

[Gordon (NZ)]

"I have tried a number of other flutes..."
This would have impact if you could say exactly which models you have used for comparison. Without such information it really says very little, as would the statement, "My Lark flute plays better than a number of flutes". (such as Parrot, Skylark, Wren, etc)

Also, it is unfair to compare flutes unless you KNOW that they are all in a good state of adjustment. I suspect that with your limited experience, that you would not know the state of adjustment. The best flute in the world needs only one minute adjustment to be out, and it sounds pretty poor.

However I'm glad you "love" this flute. Some time in the future you will more than likely find a flute you love more still. :-)

[bruce bailey]

I repaired a Hernals last year and I would rate it slightly lower than a Yamaha but a lot better than the stuff from China. Oddly, it was a Bb flute!
As I recall, the E F Dean flute was distributed in the US by Custom Music In MI who also had Muramatsu for many years. The E F Dean is not the Dean Yang.

[woodwindNYC]

I played on an Emerald Artist Special (silver tube, pointed keys, gold lip) for quite a while, and it was a very, VERY respectably playing instrument. I've owned many flutes over the past ten years or so, and the Dean Yang was one of my favorites. I have several students who have purchased them, and love them.

If you're on a tight budget, I would certainly add these to your short-list.