Eastar 16-Key Open Hole C Flute Kids Beginner, Silver Full Kit, EFL-2

UPDATE: Nearly three months in... I finally broke down and bought myself a Gemeinhardt 3OB because after three months, I had a lot of trouble with certain notes (mid E, F, A, and high C). I had watched several videos that said often, beginners on cheap flutes quit, thinking that they are at fault for the lack of quality. I'm here to tell you... it's absolutely true. So - still 5 stars, still worth it for a beginner, still stand by my original review, but know that once you really start to understand how hard you're working to produce good tone, it may be time to move up into something better. Eastar's flute will have a place in my heart as the start of a great adventure, but after three months, five days a week, one hour a day... I finally had to move up and now? I've got a tone like butter... (or at least beginner butter. Ha ha ha!) Original Post: ... I'm still playing it and enjoying it. A few things I'll touch on, which don't make this flute less than five stars, but are considerations for anyone wanting to buy a flute. 1) If you are acidic, (like me and my wit - ahahahahahaha), expect this thing to begin to tarnish within two weeks (playing ~5 days a week). After nearly a month, the point where my left hand index finger holds the flute is black, the 4th finger key is black, and tarnish is showing up on my lip plate and other contact points and keys. Flutes do tarnish, and it doesn't affect the sound, but it's something to keep in mind as the price of this flute costs less than it will cost to get the tarnish removed. (And yep, I clean it after every use - inside and out.) 2) It is a very bright and brassy sound. This isn't a mellow flute, for that, you're going to have to up your price point significantly. I don't think less of it for that simply because... I got a flute for 75 bucks. 3) It's 75 bucks. Don't think you're going to get a $3000 sound out of it, or even a $300 one for that matter (though watching a professional play this flute on a YouTube video did make it sound maybe $200-ish). Make your peace now. It is fantastic for adults (like me) who are wanting to try out the flute to see if it's an instrument they'd like to continue. It seems like it'd be stellar for elementary school students (4th-5th grade) who are starting out as well. But - if it breaks, you're going to be buying a new one, as the price to repair it will be over the price to just buy another one to start out. So why five stars? Because I was ready for a $75 dollar instrument. That said, it impressed me with the workmanship. It is actually pretty solidly built, which is great. It comes with everything you're going to need to take care of it. It comes with a stand. It even comes with a pair of gloves so while you're cleaning it, you're not just getting fingerprints all over it again. It has a decent sound and, hey, did I mention it's $75 dollars? It is well worth that price. If you're on the fence, go for it. You won't be disappointed.

I bought this flute for my grandaughter were impressed with the quality and the silver nickel makes the flute look amazing ,my granddaughter hasn't tried it yet but she excited,she's been playing the flute for two years .She put it together and she says the keys are soft .We were also amazed with the the accessories that comes with the flute,the gloves,music notes the cloth to clean it also the rod and even a stand but it didn't come with the legs to stand ,but other then that it's worth the price.would recommend if you don't want to spend to much money .

Great flute and everything, although while I was playing it realized that some notes weren’t coming out, until I saw that one of the small keys (second to first top small keys) was missing a pad:(

I don't know much about flute I just start a week a ago with a Armstrong 104 I need a back up sent my flute need some work I'm on sate income I don't have a lot to go out and buy a high price flute while saving a little at a time I saw this one for under $200 I may not know how to play yet but Im slow I been on violin for 4 month so it not easy for me at all to go from Sting to key but the flute sound good to me I can do d note and my Armstrong got a leak in the key it play great for a slow disable learner and the sound is amazing to me if you just starting out this be the best bet for any beginner to get even my cousin want to start the blue is great but the case would w better color I dont care for brown I be taking to my teach Christina at Anaheim ca music and art is helping me on my way it all started with a green violin and the price is great and it fit in my hand great for some got a bad week muscle playability is great IT ALl Started With A GREEN VIOLIN

Before purchasing this flute I read the reviews and compared it to the other low cost options on amazon. I played the flute in high school, and now at age 60 I wanted to play again. but like a beginner I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on something I may not use after the newness wears off. My nice high-end flute was given to a relative decades ago. I am very impressed with this product. It is an unbelievable value for <$100. I don’t recommend a colored version cuz they chip and the nickel plated version was only a few dollars cheaper than the silver plated version. So I bought the silver open/closed hole version. Note: the open/closed hole version goes both ways. The holes are plugged with small plastic covers that can removed if desired. Personally I prefer closed holes as it is easier to play. The plastic covers are almost invisible and do not interfere with the touch. One could argue that the tone isn’t as good as a high end flute but I didn’t notice anything wrong with the sound. It plays and feels fine to me, although it does seem to weigh slightly less than I remember. But it has fine weight. The joints are very snug, as the are supposed to be. I didn’t have to adjust anything and it worked properly out of the box. It comes with many little accessories that are nice. The workmanship also appears fine but I’m not an expert on this. I have to assume concessions were made somewhere to offer this product at such a low cost. The pads look good and if ever replaced will cost twice the value of the flute. I never had to replace the pads on my original flute. If it’s ever necessary maybe I’ll upgrade if I’m still playing it. For now I don’t need to pay extra for for a premium name. For a child, the risk of loss or theft is high so this price is much more practical. At $100 you can give it away if they don’t take to playing it. I can’t say anything good or bad about the alternatives. My decision was mostly because I wanted the silver plate. It looks nicer, but will very likely wear off with use - probably before the pads wear out.

This review is specifically for the EFL-2 open/closed hole flute with silver plating, as I don't know if the nickel-plated EFL-1 has the same quality control issues. The first flute I received couldn't be properly assembled, as the fit between the body and the foot joint was too tight. The only way to grip it tightly enough to fully connect the two pieces would have been to wrap my hand around the entire foot joint, keys and all, which would likely damage the keys, rods, etc. Since I couldn't even get it halfway together otherwise, it was pretty much unplayable, especially since it left the foot joint precariously close to just falling off. However, Eastar as a seller was great to work with to get a replacement. This was a painless process, and they were eager to help. Unfortunately, while the replacement flute they sent would go together the way it should, a small piece of cork padding was coming loose from the mechanism that presses down the front G# key when the F key is pressed, leaving such a gap that the G# key wouldn't close the tone hole, which left the F key basically nonfunctional. While I might have been able to reattach the cork padding if I'd had the appropriate, durable adhesive, I didn't want to risk getting any on nearby key pads, since I'm definitely not a flute repair specialist, and even the tiniest goof would have also left the flute unplayable (concert flutes are very delicate and easy to mess up just by their nature). So, I returned this one as well for a refund. Two flutes in a row exhibiting such seemingly minor issues that actually rendered the instruments useless leads me to believe there are quality control issues that need to be sorted out before these particular flutes can be a worthwhile purchase. Until Eastar or the company from which it buys these flutes figures out how to ensure every flute that leaves the factory is properly manufactured, assembled and otherwise prepared for shipment/sale, I can't recommend them, not even at this price, because it doesn't matter how affordable an instrument is if it will serve as nothing more than a tchotchke to decorate a room. However, perhaps others will have better luck with this model than I did, and at least Eastar is willing to work to try to make things right when customers receive defective instruments. As a seller, I rate them highly. This particular product, though, not so much.

I haven't played the flute since band in high school it's been a hot minute since then but I really enjoyed being able to play again without spending my whole paycheck

The flute comes very well packed in the case. It has black plastic protectors over the joints and little foam wedges to prevent the keys from moving during shipping: that's great attention to details. Just don't forget to remove those foam wedges before playing! The case is Nylon with a hard shell interior. It closes with a zipper, some might have preferred a hard shell with clasps for faster opening, but the case has advantages of its own: it has a zippered pocket to keep smaller accessories like the cleaning cloth or screwdriver without them touching the flute while stored. The case comes with a detachable shoulder strap which is nice when you have your hands full. The included stand is a nice touch, although I have never used a flute stand before. The legs fold into the body for compactness and it will fit in the accessory pocket of the case showing only a little bulk. The flute comes with white cotton gloves. They will fit a child but not an older kid or adult. They are a nice touch but not necessary. The flute comes with a cleaning rod and a cloth similar to microfiber. I would have preferred two separate cleaning cloths, one microfiber for the outside, and a thinner "silk" cloth to dry the flute by drawing it through with the cleaning rod. Surely a matter of personal preference, but maybe Eastar could provide 2 cloths and no gloves? On to the flute itself: compared to my Yamaha 200 series it feels cheaper and lighter, but remember the Yamaha cost 10 times as much! The keys all fuction properly, spring tension is fine, and no adjustment was necessary, although the included screwdriver is a nice touch. The flute PLAYS GREAT AND SOUNDS GOOD which what matters. Obviously I can't comment on how well it will hold over time, but this is impressive for the price and I love all the attention to details. This is a great flute for kids starting the instrument (through the school band for example). Why invest in an instrument 10x the price when you don't know if the kid is going to stick with it? Unlike buying used, this comes looking great and in tiptop shape, and easy returns.

Flauta decente, acordé con el precio.

中学時代以来のフルートです。室内楽の同好会でバイオリンとビオラとクラを担当してるのですが、去年から古楽のレパートリーを増やすためにティンホイッスルやらバロックリコーダーをやり始め、ヘンデルやテレマンあたりのソナタも吹けるようになり管への情熱(？)みたいなものが再燃し中学時代に吹いていたフルートの音が懐かしくなり購入しました。 フルートの3点支持だの回転重心だの、当時もそうでしたが簡単なように見えて習得の難しい基本のキからのリスタートです。確か当時吹いてた管がミヤザワ楽器さんのms95で、Eメカもリングキーもなく菅もこれより重くて始めは楽器が押さえにくかった記憶があります。それに比べて菅がかなり軽いので初心者の方でも疲れにくく吹きやすいと思います。あの頃と比べて体も発達したので最初はつまづきなく進み楽しかったのですが、最低音のcとDがめちゃくちゃ出にくくて萎えました。これは一般的な楽器でもアンブシュアにコツが必要で出すのが難しい音ですが、何となく必然的に出にくい感じがします。五年ほど吹いてた自分でも低音が出にくいです。構造の問題なのかな？ でもスプリングソナタくらいは音のつまづきもなく吹けたので趣味で吹く楽器としては充分だと思います。ヘンデルのラルゴ、ビゼーのハバネラ、グルックの精霊の踊りメロディーなどフルートソロの楽しい曲を吹くのは出にくい音が絡むので至難の業です。部活やオケやアンサンブルで使うなら音圧負けしないヤマハやクランポンの銀菅くらいの方がいいと思います。中古ならメルカリなどで安いです。この楽器も響きは綺麗で大きいですが何となく薄い感じがして、合奏では音が負けます。アンサンブルで吹いてみたら弦の音にかき消されてイマイチでした。低音は響きが良くないです、高音はまろやかで、歌うような曲に向いており、ソロでは映えるような不思議な音色です。音高時代はクラスにフルートの子が何故か十人くらいいて(全体で五十人も居たらしいです。 自分の専科の弦の子なんて二人しかいないのに流石に多すぎだろう) で、彼女たちは放課後になると廊下やら空き教室やらであの分厚いアルテの練習曲を吹いたりよくわからないコーダを吹いたりガヤガヤやってて側からみると楽しそうだったのですが、彼女たちがいつまでも学校に居残って練習してた理由が今になってよくわかりました。これ、壁の薄い古い集合住宅だとあまりにもうるさいんです… バイオリンやクラみたいに消音器がないので音漏れがストレートです。バイオリンよりも響くみたいです。家で長いこと吹くのは気が重いのでちょくちょくカラオケ屋に行って練習してます。楽器ケース持ってカラオケ屋入るのが久しぶりすぎて結構熱い…

この楽器は支払った価格に見合った品質です。

In 1999, I bought a Lark Chinese-made Boehm flute at Steve's Annex in Montreal for $99, to see if I would enjoy playing a metal flute. It played well enough to convince me to upgrade to something a little better, and after nine months of playing it I donated it to the local church rummage sale (it was still holding up). It was chrome plated and hence slippery, had thin tone, no dynamics, and required constant adjustment. This flute is about three levels above that: far better made from better materials, with far better key work, better finished, and reasonable intonation with good dynamics. The tone is on the bright side, but can be varied. The first two octaves are easy to produce, and the third is quite manageable. It is more fun to play on than the Armstrong student model I had been using for practice. Given 25 years inflation, this is a far better bargain than the Lark was. I have started playing again after a long hiatus, and wanted something with open holes for slides and finger vibrato in Celtic music, so I took a chance on this. How well it will play in a year is an open question, and at the price, service may be hard to justify, and repair unlikely. I would like to take this as proof of the brand's quality, but I have just returned an Eastar metal piccolo that had horrific intonation problems and badly finished tone holes, so guess it is a matter of where the instruments are sourced from. At any rate, they seem to have got things right with this flute.

La flûte a une belle présentation quand on la sort de l'emballage. D'autant que la couleur est jolie. Mais lorsqu'on en joue, il y des anomalies : certaines notes ne jouent pas ou sont fausses. Je suis obligée de la retourner. C'est dommage !