Product Reviews: Guo Grenaditte G Treble Flute

After much research into lightweight flutes, bent head options and piccolos I purchased the treble flute GF301. I am an amateur, self-taught player of about grade 7-8. 18 months ago I was severely injured in a road accident (cyclist hit by high speed car and yes, I was wearing a helmet!). Since then I have struggled to play my normal flute because of arm, shoulder and neck pain and lack of lung function. I've been very happy with my new flute. It is half the weight of my normal one and with the reduced stretch required, I can maintain the posture needed to practice without too much trouble. The tone is pretty good and will be even better when I'm not so rusty. The high register is easy to get and not too screechy until top G (the fingering of top G, not sure what note that actually is). The mechanism is lovely, light and easy. The negative bits - the 3 lowest notes are hard to get. It is not exactly an object of beauty. The brown plastic keys look a bit, well, brown and plasticy and don't really reflect the sum of money it cost. It will no doubt be the subject of interest because of the size and key so why not go the whole way and produce it in a wacky colour? The case is a contemporary aluminium design which is fine but it is obviously adaptable to fit all flutes which is a shame since it would be nice to have a small case for my small flute. The outer soft case is nice. Functionally I'm really pleased with the treble flute. I'm glad I bought it and I look forward to exploring the alto flute repertoire as well as playing solo.

I bought 2 GUO ‘G’ flutes to try out. (I was an adult beginner 7 years ago and now playing Grade 6-8 music.)

Having played the C flute and the Alto flute in a local amateur group, I was beginning to struggle with the effect of arthritis in my hands.

This G flute is easy to play, there are no big stretches for my small hands and it feels nicer to hold than the less expensive grey version.

I am still getting used to this flute and think that with some more practice it has the potential to sound rather lovely (and of course it’s not as piercing a sound as the Piccolo!