Eastar Beginner Piccolo Flute, Key of C, Silver Plated, with Hard Case, Cleaning Rod, Cloth, Swab and Gloves, 2-Piece

I bought the ABS piccolo to replace my defective Eastrock ABS piccolo. So far, the Eastar one is better quality and has a better tone, although the intonation slightly wants to lay sharp or flat on specific notes. This is an excellent piccolo for the value. It is worth buying as a beginner or intermediate player or just for leisure playing without breaking the bank. Came with many accessories. The case is better than the Eastrock, and there’s a separate pocket to store accessories on the front of the piccolo case, which is a nice added touch. Definitely recommend this!Edit (November 2024): my review still stands months later. Piccolo has had 0 issues and sounds pretty decent albeit its cheap price tag compared to more intermediate and professional piccolos. Does a nice job. Intonation can be a bit tricky at times but a tuner does help. Overall I played this many times including a rehearsal where I played 2nd flute and piccolo in Tchaikovsky Symphony 1. I’m a bassoonist but I dabble in all the wind instruments. I also played this exact piccolo in Stars and Stripes and it sounded pretty good. Overall my 5 star review from months earlier does still stand! So happy about it!Edit 2 (February 2025): Still really happy with this piccolo! It worked great the other day when I rehearsed Tchaikovsky's 2nd Symphony (I played 1st Flute and Piccolo). Still really great quality. Sounds good. Definitely would recommend if you want to start somewhere on piccolo.

I recently bought a Easter flute and thought it was an incredible value, so I decided to get the piccolo for my son for Christmas.The good:* It comes in a nicely lined case, the closing latches are smooth and case will definitely protect the instrument. You can see from the picture that the keys come open with little red rubber wedges to prevent the keys from getting damaged during shipping. That's good attention to detail. Some of the other reviews show a different (bigger? softer?) case. I think I like mine better.* The keys and springs operate smoothly, the pads appear to be of good quality and there is no air leakage around the keys.* The instrument plays beautifully. The sound was sweet and breathy, not as shrill as I feared. We never owned a piccolo before, so I can't compare to other instruments. I can only say that I am very happy with how it sounds.* It comes included with two cleaning cloths. The yellow chamois style can be used to wipe the exterior safely, and the blue one comes with a weighted ribbon to clean the inside. The weighted ribbon is a nice touch, but it also comes with a cleaning for for those who preferably that method for cleaning the inside. Very nice that no additional purchase is required to take care of your instrument.The not-so-perfect:* The cap at the top of the mouthpiece is no welded perfectly centered, as you can see from the picture. It's just cosmetic and doesn't affect the sound, but some may consider it a defect and ask for an exchange. I opted not to.* There is a little cardboard card insert in the package explaining fingerings of the different notes. Unfortunately that card is for a full size flute, which is the same fingering as the piccolo, but it shows the instrument being comprised of 3 pieces, whereas the piccolo only has 2 pieces. It could be confusing to some people, thinking their piccolo is missing a piece (you could also think from looking at the case that there should be 3 pieces). Most people buying a piccolo will have seen one before and not be concerned though.* Just like with the flute, it comes with white gloves, which is a nice touch, but are not big enough for my hands or my son's.In summary:There are two kinds of piccolo players: the "chairs" in their orchestra that are meant to be an expert at the instrument, and may choose to go with a brand-name semi-professional instrument, and there is the casual player, or the marching band player that need an instrument that will get the job done without breaking the bank, without investing too much in their instrument. This Eastar piccolo is perfect for this second type of player.I think few kids start with the piccolo, most start with a regular flute, but this would also be a great choice for a beginner (maybe with small hands).In my opinion, every flute player should also own and play a piccolo, and at this price, there is no reason not to!

I am a flutist, and working with different groups I decided that I should try to learn Piccolo as well. Not wanting to spend a great deal of money on a whim, I started reading reviews of many available at this price point, and the Eastar seems to come up as one of the better options. The case is fine, and protects the instrument well while inside it. But be careful opening it or you could dump the piccolo onto your lap or the floor. Don't lose the plastic cap over the cork end of the body, you will want to use that to protect the cork while the piccolo is stored in the case. In general mine plays fairly well right out of the box, but there is a point where there is a sticky spot between one of the keys and it's associated finger pad, such that sometimes fingering a B flat would momentarily play an A until the sticky released and allowed that key to spring open again. I think this is not usual, just a specific individual issue with my particular instrument, easily fixed. I should note that the cleaning cloth that comes with it is fine for the external portions of the piccolo, but it is too big to go through the body as a cleaning swab, and I find I will need to purchase a properly piccolo-sized cleaning swab from my local music supplier. The tone quality is about what I would expect at this price point, not stellar, but with appropriate adjustments in embouchure while playing I can keep it fairly well in tune across the entire range. Would I buy it again? If I needed a piccolo and this was my price range, probably yes. Can I play it in a concert with an established group? Probably not. Great starter instrument, great for casual playing, fine for informal groups.