Plekto
(423 points)
|
Again, it's very hard to actually get warranty work done with anything made offshore. Most of these come from China and the surrounding area. Legal recourse is zero. they can and do lie and there's nothing that can be done about it, as entire segments of our population is finding out.(that stapler made in China? No effective warranty. That TV made in China.. yep. that flute... same again.
As for the flute itself:
These are cheap student flutes made for the local population and as such are about as useful as a typical plastic recorder. They work to learn scales and so on, but that's about it. With a population of a billion people, and a mandate that every student take music class, it wasn't long before they figured they could ship some to the U.S. for a lot more profit.
What metal they are made out of is also potentially a problem as it may contain heavy metals or compounds that wouldn't pass controls in Japan or the U.S. I've heard of them using car exhaust to dry tea leaves and other insanity, plus all of the food and lead paint problems. And that's only the tip of the iceberg in China, evidently.
A used Yamaha or Gemienhardt or Selmer by comparison is a good, solid flute to learn on and won't set you back more than $200 or so if you buy it locally(or $300 tops from most shops, as they are literally awash in ex-rentals). They play reasonably well, stay pretty well in tune, and can be used to learn the basics and then some. Many pros still use name-brand student flutes play on for informal stuff or just to mess around/play around the house.
It's just not worth it to go that cheap, as tempting as it might be. Plus, it also sends more dollars overseas.
|
