I'm a professional player who has been fortunate to have a small but great group of students. Unfortunately, the economy has hit my profession like it has everyone else. I sold my wonderful professional flute a few years ago to pay for badly home repairs. At the time, I purchased a very surprisingly nice pre professional flute from Cincinnati Fluteworks to be able to teach and do occasional gigs with. I've done business with them for years buying flutes for my kids and always came away with some new bit of advise or flute knowledge I hadn't known before. Always a good experience. Last week, I went in to buy 2 Solexa Thumb Ports (they seem to always have low prices on good accessories). I mentioned in conversation what I had been researching in the hope that ""some day"" I could have another top of the line professional instrument. Pat North answered all my questions, brought up aspects of new flutes I really didn't know anything about - and explained them. She brought out a wonderful group of instruments that played the way that I had described my ultimate flute. Pat had me play them before telling me the models and prices. I really put them through my ""tests"" and fell in love with one that was soo much better than what I even had ""in my ear"". It didn't turn out to be the $17000. instrument I had been researching. It was many thousands less. I bought it. I took it home and have been a very happy camper ever since.
The other thing that occurred to me once I got home was Pat had given up 3 hours of her time to help me. I know my trying flutes was unexpected and I know how busy she is, but she never made me feel rushed, or that she had other things to do. I really appreciated that. Many thanks for a wonderful experience.
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