Armstrong Flute key plating wearing off - normal?
alanmc...@geocities.com
edge of the "spatula" touch key are showing significant wear. While the
color of the worn areas is not offensive, I had hoped that the silver plate
would not wear so quickly. The cause is undoubtedly from my insistance on
removing all finger prints and polishing with the yellow silver cloth after
each playing.
Is this a normal event in the life of a $1200 flute?
Alan
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Sean
a year. At that point I probobly could have sent it back under warranty but
that would have left me without an instrument.
I made sure my next one was solid silver. Gold is prestigous, but it's a
lot more work to play. I think I prefer silver. Not a big fan of platinum.
It takes way too much air pressure to get it to resonate.
I still have the old Yamaha. I've been meaning to get it replated. There is
hardly any silver plate left. I played it into the ground.
alanmc...@geocities.com wrote in message
<76qrvh$4l1$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
alanmc...@geocities.com
> I made sure my next one was solid silver.
>
My Armstrong is sold as a "solid silver" flute body, foot and head. I knew
that the keycups were plated silver over non-silver material when I bought.
I found out, after I purchase the instrument, that the body, foot, and head
are actually "solid silver" that is silver plated.
Johannes
silver items sold are made of an alloy of some sort; for example, the term
"sterling silver" means a specific alloy- from Webster's: "sterling silver n
: a silver alloy with no more than 7.5% copper"- and does not actually mean
"pure silver" as most people think. Likewise, there are no instrument makers
who supply "pure gold" flutes; the metal is just too soft, and for practical
purposes must be alloyed with something else- copper for example ("Rose
Gold") to have enough strength.
But this gives manufacturers a chance to squeeze down the silver or gold
content to a fairly small fraction... and still call the instrument "solid
silver" or "solid gold"... Let The Buyer Beware! There are scads of
commercially available silver alloys out there- and some intended for cheap
"solid silver" jewelry are quite economical (and tarnish almost instantly),
and my guess is that they have ended up in a certain number of flutes. Your
best bet when buying a silver or gold flute is to ask the company- not the
dealer (and get it in writing if the flute is an expensive one)- what
specific alloy they are using. There should be no hesitation in the
response. Some reputable makers may be using a proprietary alloy which they
don't wish to reveal- in that case ask them to guarantee a specific percent
content of gold or silver.
This is particularly important when dealing with Japanese makers, or any
other maker where the company is a small division of a large corporation.
The alloy may be chosen for financial properties rather than musical.
But as Alan found out, that is not the only issue here! When a "solid
silver" instrument is silver-plated it means one of two things: the maker is
saving money by using a cheap silver alloy (that will tarnish badly and
quickly, or looks too much like brass) and covering it with a layer of
another silver alloy that looks and acts "right," OR he has determined that
the best-sounding alloy (for the price of the instrument) is not one that
can stand atmospheric exposure, and then plates it to make the instrument
useful and good-looking. So it is not necessarily a sign of being cheated;
but if the manufacturer does not mention this in his literature, it does
lead to suspicion.
So when buying a "solid silver" instrument, it is necessary to get it in
writing whether or not the instrument is plated, also! Weird but true.
Sean
This practice of silver plating a 'solid silver' flute is widespread in the
industry.
Johannes wrote in message <5qNk2.1072$Vu6.1...@newshog.newsread.com>...
--SNIP--
alanmc...@geocities.com
I still have to wonder if anyone elses two year old Armstrong 80B with "pure"
silver over .925 solid Sterling .014 thick headjoint and .016 thick body and
foot, with keys of "pure" silver plate over nickle silver and a .005 gold
plated lip plate, should show a fairly large goldish color rub mark on one
key cup edge and the edge of the spatula?
I looked at Larry Kranz's instrument survey and only 3 armstrong flutes
responded so my hopes are that one of those three will be reading alt.flute or
that maybe others with flutes in the $1000 range could respond with yea nor
never seen anything like that.
PLTAJ
silver plating has rubbed off at all. The only part of the flute that is
loosing its plating is the gold lip plate where it touches my chin but the
keys, headjoint and body are fine. I don't know what kind of service
Armstrong is providing these days but I would try to get in touch with
them -- maybe it is a recall that was never advertised. AT the very least I
would talk to the store where you bought it and take it (or mail it) to a
really good flute repair shop like Eugene S. Gordon Woodwinds in Chicago
look him up at www.flutenet.com under repair services). Mr. Gordon is an
Armstong dealer and is the best woodwind repair shop in Chicago. I purchased
my flute from him and he really knows flutes since he plays as well as
repairs them. $1000 is enough of an investment that it would be worth the
trouble. It is a wonderful instrument and I have thoroughly enjoyed mine as
I am sure you like your flute also. It should look as good as it sounds.
Sincerely, Linda
alanmc...@geocities.com wrote in message
<775get$ebv$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
johannes...@my-dejanews.com
alanmc...@geocities.com wrote:
> Thanks for your reply.
>
> I still have to wonder if anyone elses two year old Armstrong 80B with "pure"
> silver over .925 solid Sterling .014 thick headjoint and .016 thick body and
> foot, with keys of "pure" silver plate over nickle silver and a .005 gold
> plated lip plate, should show a fairly large goldish color rub mark on one
> key cup edge and the edge of the spatula?
>
>
This seems to me to be too much wear for that amount of time, even for the
amount of playing you do; although I'm not currently active I have run a
small flute repair business in the past and can't recall seeing instruments
as new as yours that had the plating worn through- plenty of older ones,
though. So it could pay to raise a stink with Armstrong over the issue. I do
think you would be better served by using a silk cloth and a small, soft
artist's brush for cleaning the flute, rather than anything that could abrade
the plating- and any sort of polishing cloth does exactly that.
That aside, there is still the issue of the plated keys. Fortunately they are
not too expensive as replacement items, and if you can't persuade Armstrong to
do anything about it, you can still get the instrument looking sharp pretty
cheaply. Just have the new keys installed and adjusted during your next
"annual" maintainance. Having the instrument chemically polished at that time
will also save some wear as well. This chemical dip "polish" isn't as good
looking as a thorough job by hand, though... Good luck!
johannes...@my-dejanews.com
alanmc...@geocities.com
> I have had my Armstrong 80B for 5 years (bought it new) and none of the
> silver plating has rubbed off at all. The only part of the flute that is
> loosing its plating is the gold lip plate where it touches my chin
Thanks for the "second opinion". I am going to go visit the excellent shop
where I bought my 80B to discuss my options. I love the flute too much to be
angry, just would like it to look as good as it can for as long as it can.
Alan
PLTAJ
the shop where you bought it is concerned about their reputation they should
be able to help you. Either give you new keys or replate the ones that it
has.
>Thanks for the "second opinion". I am going to go visit the excellent shop
>where I bought my 80B to discuss my options. I love the flute too much to
be
>angry, just would like it to look as good as it can for as long as it can.
>
>Alan