Hallelu HFL-200 Flute W/case Nickel Plated Keys

My daughter is in her first year of learning the trumpet. She's pretty darn good, and listening to her practice made me regret giving up the flute in grade school. My old flute is long gone, so I decided I'd buy myself one and give it a go. After doing a bit of research, I decide I didn't want to spend the big bucks on a Yamaha or Pearl. Hey, I'm a busy mom with not much time to practice who'll be teaching herself, who knows if I'll want to continue. I knew I wanted a silver plated one, as they are a little less slippery. I'm not knowledgeable enough to try my luck with a used one on e-bay so I started searching Amazon for an inexpensive Chinese model with good ratings. I first came across the HFL-200 which had great reviews, but was nickle plated. Then I found the 300 with one lonely review. I figured it was the same flute, different plating, so I ordered it. The flute arrived before the promised date in great condition. It has a nice soft case that holds the flute securely, a microfiber cleaning cloth, a detachable shoulder strap, and a plastic cleaning rod, which I will replace with a metal rod soon.As for the flute itself, it looks beautiful and fairly well made. There are a few little crevices that could use a little more polishing, but they are very small, and not noticeable unless you really look. After putting it together, I gave an experimental toot and was pleased by the ease of sound production and the tone. My initial impression is that for the price, you really cant do any better. I would definitely recommend this flute to others. The only thing I worry about is the plating tarnishing as others have said it does on the 200. I'm hoping the silver will be a little more durable.I've promised my daughter I'll stick with it at least until I can play Hedwig's Theme. If the soreness of my embouchure is anything to go by, I'm in for a long haul.

Your school music instructor will invariably tell you to rent a "higher quality" instrument rather than buying a "cheap" instrument.But IMHO that is terrible advice for a number of reasons:1) First and foremost, this is a solidly built, quality instrument. It plays well and while it may not compare to a $700 Yamaha, it is much more than sufficient for the beginner to intermediate player. So don't believe the bias that "all reasonably priced instruments" are "cheap", because this one is NOT. (Again, not an expert, just my opinion).2) The average rental of a $300 Yamaha beginner flute is approx $30/month. The average interest a beginner shows in playing the flute is about 9 months (one school year). After 3 to 4 months, this flute is PAID for and will still be of sufficient quality for another several years until the student is of a more intermediate skill level (perhaps even longer...who knows?).3) If you rent a $300 flute and your kid sits on it, reenacts Starwars light saber fights, etc, then you just bought a $300 used rental (at full price)... and it probably is not reparable should those type of severe "accidents" occur. Kids are prone to use Flutes in all sorts of ways that are detrimental to the wallet of the person responsible for the rental. If your kid trashes this one, you're out about $120 and can still buy another NEW one and even then, you're STILL below the replacement cost of that rental.4) Lets face it. The instrument quality is not the issue for a beginner. Unless your child is a prodigy, this instrument will not be the weak link in the child's playing:The child's skill level will be.Which is all the more reason to buy a flute that is skill level appropriate (and IMHO the flute is far beyond a beginner's skill level for at least the first 2 or 3 years. After that, you suck it up and buy the child a new flute proportionate to their VERIFIED commitment.5) If you have multiple children, when/if one loses interest, you own the instrument for use by the next child... or foryour use should you ever get the urge. The convenience of having it at arms reach may be the difference between a child going back to it, a new child picking it up, or the parent fulfilling that age old desire to learn an instrument. A good rental will get returned when the interest fades (usually after 9 months at $30/month, with a total cost of $270) and then good luck ever playing it again when the mood strikes... you get the idea.6) Based on the reviews of this particular flute, the seller seems to make a great effort in resolving any issues promptly and professionally. That was the clincher for me and although I never had an issue (arrived promptly and in perfect working condition), it is is good to know there is someone who takes pride in their products that is just an email away.So that's my take on the whole rent vs. own thing. I hope this helps other in deciding what to do.PS(Just want to be clear that I have no association with the seller, beyond that of being a satisfied customer).

The flute itself works really well, over all.The finish did start to wear, in certain places.The case didn't last a whole school year. Within the first few weeks one of the loops that holds the straps ripped apart. A few weeks later, the other side ripped. By the end of the school year the entire inside of the case (cushion/lining) was falling apart.Customer service stinks, b/c I wrote them through facebook when the tuning crown fell off. I just wanted to BUY a replacement piece. I received no reply from the company.In the end, I'm going with 4/5 starts because the sound of the flute is good. It was a good deal for our daughter who was just starting with the flute. We didn't want to invest a ton of money, if she ended up not liking the flute. This was a great option, even though we had to buy a new case. She's on her 2nd year with the flute, and it still works great. It's just not as pretty as it once was. Should she continue with the flute, we do expect to replace this with something nicer by the time she enters high school band.

UPDATED REVIEW***I purchased this flute about 10 months ago and I am learning to play very well on this instrument. I am able to produce clear/full tone consistently as i'm learning to extend the range. The flute is still very shiny and I now polish it on a weekly basis to combat any of the wear I put on the keys. However, expect some wear to occur on the keys if you are playing the instrument regularly.I have noticed this flute is attractive to people who are doing partial and full self instruction and people on a budget. For self-instruction I recommend this book (Play Flute Today! : Level 1 by Hal Leonard Corporation Staff (2001, CD / Paperback) : Hal Leonard Corporation Staff (2001)ISBN-10 : 0634033271 ; ISBN-13 : 9780634033278) to accompany your new flute. It takes you step by step through the basics and comes with a teacher on CD.One other note is that this flute does not come with a marking to make sure that the head joint and body are lined up consistently every time you play. I recommend talking a fine sharpie and marking the head and body pieces so that they go on the same way each time you practice.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I purchased this flute about 3 months ago and I have been nothing but satisfied. This is the first instrument I have ever learned to play and its easy to play and produces quality sound. The instrument is easy to assemble and maintain. The only thing that I've noticed that looks different from the day I bought it is the tops of the keys have started to lose a bit of their shine. However everyone I've talked to said that this normal for nickel plated keys that are played on a daily basis. In no way does it affect the sound. :) I also find it very easy to tune but out of the box it was perfectly tuned. I keep mine very clean and in the case when I'm not using it has not been damaged in the slightest. The pads are also of a wonderful quality and produce a great seal.Being a college student on a budget this was a great value for an instrument I know I will get many years of use out of.

** Updated review:We own higher end quality Armstrong and Gemeinhardt flutes. However, since this was my daughter's first attempt at flute and band, we thought we would buy something cheap for her to start with. Well, it's cheap, and that comes with quality problems.Sound is ok, but head joint arrived with crack and chip in the plating. Contacted seller, who at first refused to replace a faulty product and instead claims that cracks in plating are "normal". I own 2 other flutes, an Armstrong and a Gemeinhardt flute, both with easily 10+ years of playing, and no cracks in either of them. Yes, I know you pay more for the Armstrong and the Gemeinhardt, but come on...crack in the Hallelu flute first day new out of the box?P.S. See product pictures where I've posted pictures of the cracks.Seller looked at the pictures and acknowledged that these are not normal. He offered to exchange or provide full refund, including shipping both ways. The seller even processed the refund before the flute was returned. Seller asked for the faulty product to be returned so they can look into the quality problem and try to fix.Considering that the flute did sound pretty good for the price, and the improvement in customer service, I've added 2 stars to this product so that it has a total of 3 stars. Considering the price, it is not a bad choice for a starter flute. We did choose to get the refund instead of exchange, and have since gotten a Yamaha 225 SII as my daughter's main flute, and will get the Gemeinhardt model 3 tuned up as her next flute when she gets to intermediate level.

My daughter loves it. We bought it last August for my daughter to start learning flute in her 6th grade band. It was easy to perform and the sound was great. My daughter got the first chair of flute in the band.Last weekend, my daughter remembered that one key of this flute was broken and one end part fell off. I was thinking to buy her a new one but just wanted to take a chance to contact Hallelu Music to see if it could be fixed. I got a quick response for a free repair. We shipped out Monday late afternoon and was not expecting to get it back before band class start for the new school year. However, when I followed up with the seller to see if they received it, I was told that is was shipped back. We received it right on the first day of the school start. My daughter checked on it and said it's like a new one, except the small dent she made by accident during last school year. The sound is still great. She is really happy.I am very happy that we saved a lot of money on the flute. Even with the $24 shipping cost for repairing, It's still much cheaper than renting one. The quality is good enough for a beginner and for school band performance.I highly recommend it.

We are a musical family. Dad played violin, mom saxophone family & keyboard, son the trombone, keys, vibes, oldest daughter currently on the tenor sax .... other daughters are dabbling on the keys. Oldest daughter asked for a flute. We were excited that her love of music is growing... but didn't want to make a huge investment as the flute may be a passing fancy. We searched Amazon and ran across this instrument and were impressed by the price and the warranty (which was reported to be a warranty the company stands behind). We purchased this and the Hal Leonard Essential Elements Flute book 1.Christmas morning, she squealed with joy when she opened this flute! (She also noted the named brand and smiled Yes! Hallelu!) I asked her what she thought of this gift and she said she LOVES it! She said, "I feel so beautiful when I play this flute. It sounds so pretty and elegant!" There was a little bit of concern on her part for the red mark on the inside of her knuckle from holding the flute... I reminded her that playing for several hours the first day you own a new instrument can cause something like that... she'll develop a flautist callous and all will be right in the world.Literally she can't put it down. Quality of instrument is perfect for a beginner. The case is sturdy and the shoulder strap appreciated. Happy with this purchase!

A great starter flute...and maybe more. I wanted to get back into playing after some 40 years off. My old student flute and a Gemeinhart I picked up along the way leaked badly and needed to be service. This Hallelu Flute was a far more economical way to get back into playing. I have a friend who is a world-class, Peabody-trained flutist recommended it. This was her second time recommending this flute. I can't say it play perfectly, but the problem is me; not the flute. It takes a while to re-learn the correct embouchure, and I over-blow some some notes. The lowest C can be a challenge on any flute, but it is easy to hit it on this flute.Are there quibbles? Of course--the plating is thin, and will wear off in spots, but that has no effect on the way it plays or sounds. The cleaning/tuning rod is pretty cheap, but that is about it.If you are trying to re-learn the flute, or have a budding student who wants a flute, you could do far worse and spend a lot more money and not get a better instrument.