Sky Blue Lacquer Gold Keys Open Hole C Flute with 1 Year Manufacturer Warranty, Guarantee Top Quality Sound with Lightweight Case, Cleaning Rod, Cloth, Joint Grease and Screw Driver

I'm a teacher and performer and I bought this to have for young students to try or borrow when a straight head joint is too long for them. This has both a straight and curved head. I found the spring tension on the keys was too heavy for a small child, but I have a repair background so that was an easy adjustment to make. The pads are very high quality. There was one small leak on the F pad, which I fixed. The flute plays well, nice tone, and the intonation is pretty good: better on the straight head, which is to be expected. Two problems: the ad is a bit misleading: it DOES come with the accessories listed, but it is NOT in a soft case with room for those accessories. (I bought a separate case cover for that). It's a hard shell case with no handle, and no room for even the cleaning rod. Inside the case, there is no foam blocking to hold the curved head joint in place, so it moved around quite a bit during transport and dented the curved head, which I also repaired. I've made some straps out of velcro (see photo) and now it doesn't move. For the price, this is a very nice instrument. I wouldn't expect it to last for years and years, but with proper handling/care, I think it's a good beginner flute. The ribs on the body, to which the posts are attached, are nice and wide, which is a sign of good construction. The ends of the body and both head joints were not precisely in round, but I adjusted them. All things considered, I would recommend this instrument, but I would also expect it might need some set-up adjustments, and a drop of oil from a technician before use. Still, an excellent bargain.

I bought this as a lark - I just like the color green, and thought it would "pop" onstage. Of course, for the price, I was wondering if all the keys would be in the right place.Well, I got it, and opened it, and was impressed immediately. It comes in a nice, lightweight carry-case, with a shoulder strap provided. The shoulder strap fastens over the case, instead of "around" it; I assume this is to prevent it from opening if you forget to zip the case. Nice thought.I opened it, and found the flute carefully wrapped, and then enclosed in plastic. I unwrapped it, and noticed that the color of the flute actually matched the advertised color! It's a beautiful green (did I mention that green is my favorite color?); the tenons are not colored, which is OK, because who sees the tenons?It was provided with a cloth (polishing), and a screwdriver (not sure what I'm supposed to do with that, especially as it arrived in fine working condition).So, I checked the position of the cork with the provided plastic cleaning rod, and it looked to be in the proper position. So, I put it together, ran through some warm-up/long tones, turned on the tuner, and, ta-da!! - intonation and tuning is very good. Tonewise, it sounds good to me; now, granted, the flutist is usually not in a good position to hear his/her own flute, so I recorded it, and it sounds fine!It is a C foot flute, so there is no funny key (the "gizmo" key) to help get the high C, but I was able to get up into the 3rd octave without a problem, and hit high C, again with no problem. Lower notes also speak fine, and getting low C is not an issue.I chose the open-hole model, as I normally play open-hole. Removing the plastic inserts was not an issue. The keys are a tad smaller than on some of my other flutes, but this is not a negative for me - I have smaller hands for a man, and I found it fit me quite well. It is not a "smaller" flute, I don't mean to imply that - it appears to be a standard size for a C foot flute.I have played it for a total of 1 day, so I can't speak to how long it will hold-up. If you care, check with me in a few weeks and I'll tell you what I think then. I have found that it takes several weeks to start to understand whatever flute it is you are playing.All in all, I was not sure what to expect, especially for the price. Label me "pleasantly surprised, and happy," and you'll be accurate.

I purchased this flute for my 7-year old grandson because it has a curved headjoint. I'm an intermediate student, and I found the curved headjoint a little loose while in the body. I had to make balancing adjustments when I played particular notes involving fingering utilizing only one, or a couple of fingers. To my joy, my grandson is able to produce tones from the headjoint, alone, and attached to the flute body. To my amazement, however, was the very rich and warm tones I'm able to produce on this flute. I give this student flute a thumbs up. I can use it to practice when my flute receives its annual servicing, and my grandson has sufficient room to grow as a young flauist.

First I purchased and thought I was paying a higher price than the same item from Walmart because I thought it came with the curved head. The flute with gold keys only comes with a straight head. So that is a big strike because my 7 year old daughter wants to learn and a straight head is simply too long. Strike number 2 is that there is an additional bar near the F keys that sticks out and is quite annoying when playing because you feel it twisting while playing and it almost feels like your right hand is stopping the note from playing properly.... that is a big no no for me. My Armstrong does not have that, nor does my older daughter’s Glory flute. The pros are that the finish is very nice and the gold has a stronger deeper color compared to the Glory flute.... so I actually prefer the Sky flute looks better. The case is basic, and I don’t like how it doesn’t have velvety material lining the inside, but it has a decent exterior outer pocket.The pictures show the Sky flute vs the Glory flute. You can see how the sky has better gold tones (maybe not so well in photos), but the interior of the case isn’t great. And I tried to do a couple of close up shots so you can see the bar I’m referring to near the F key that sticks out. Again, The sound was good and the keys were responsive otherwise. Hope this helps you in your search!