Side by Side Comparison of: GLORY vs Mendini

I have played clarinet for many years in a variety of ensembles, mainly community & professional bands, orchestra, chamber music, a few small ensembles (nothing like nerding out with a clarinet octet) and pit orchestras. After subbing for a couple of shows in a pit orchestra for a local musical, I decided that I wanted to start doing more of this playing and so I invested in a few new instruments for doubling purposes. So far, I have been playing this flute for the last 6 weeks and loving it! The easy of range, the clarity of tone and the basic instrument machines are very good. Intonation seems to be getting better as I become more familiar with this instrument and it plays pretty consistent from the lower to the higher registrars. After a short period of time I removed the plastic tone-hole covers and found that this brought an even warmer sound – I’ll never go back to a closed hole flute again. This instrument is a big improvement over my previous flute and I find that I am truly enjoying myself as I explore my new sound.

Glory Silver Plated Intermediate Open/Closed Hole C Flute Bundle with Case, Tuning Rod, Polish Cloth, Joint Grease, Pair of Gloves and Screw DriverThis is the first flute I've owned and so far I'm loving it. I've played an 18th century military fife off and on for almost ten years. The fife is about the size of a piccolo, in the flute family, has no keys (hence some notes are not true), and plays in a high register than is unsuitable for indoors except for the very lowest octave. Having experience with the flute family, I decided it was time to upgrade to something that was more sophisticated and easier on the ears. On a tight budget, I was happy to find a flute for under $100 that wasn't just a student flute and had good reviews. So far I am very pleased. There was one flaw that it came with: one of the keys was missing a pad on the back finger that rested against the flute body, so the glue where the pad was supposed to attach too made the key stick. I simply cut out a thin sliver from an old cotton T-shirt and pressed it into the glue and now the key works just fine and the flute body isn't any worse for the wear. Other than the missing pad, it seems sturdy enough (handled with care as all flutes should), sounds great, and came with everything I needed to get started (except for a fingering chart, which you can look up on Google). I especially wanted to get an open holed flute, since I was used to playing the fife open holed (since there aren't any keys on it). Good thing the flute comes with plugs for the keys, because it's a lot more sensitive open holed than I imagined! Once I get used to the fingering position (much wider than on the fife) I'll take out the plugs. Meanwhile, I still have to get used to the changes in fingering and breath sensitivity compared to the fife. The flute is more finicky than the fife, but that is because I'm used to the fife. The flute should become less finicky in short order with practice. Very happy with the flute and wouldn't mind playing it for an audience, even though it wasn't several hundred dollars! Of course being cheap there are inevitably flaws in the build quality, and if I ever get a professional level flute I'll probably see the difference very quickly. However, it sounds as good as any other and with enough care it should last a good long while.

As is it was ready to play with good sound, but with a little tweaking it easily beat most of the flutes that I have played in the past.

Husband surprised me for Christmas....very nice flute! Haven't played in 42 years but can still get a nice tone...thanks to the hole covers that came with it!

So far it has been an excellent purchase for my son's first flute.

Ordered this instrument to determine if I still can play one (used to be intermediate player ability back in the 1970's). Tonal quality sounds good and the very bottom-end "C" is easy to "reach". Very good product, very well made. Am pleased and wonder if I'm up to the quality of the instrument. Excellent work, Glory Music! I shall treat this instrument with great care!

Great for parents on a budget!!!

My daughter is very happy,thank you.

daughter so excited says it sounds even better than the one before and loves it but thought it was inline and it's actually offset but that we can live with

All the way around great! Great product for the price, and speedy delivery,

A++++ quality and excellent customer service! Highly recommend!

This Flute is excellent quality and fantastic sounding. My daughter is really enjoying learning to play it. All the accessories are also of good quality and really an added bonus. The cost is well worth the product!

Great for beginners. Had all the accessories needed minus the music books for my daughter's band class. Thanks Amazon!!

xmas gift for daughter and she says the flute works very good. now she is practicing during winter break.

It's great. Its tone is beautiful

Basic and good entry level flute.Great for any school band!

I've just recently recieved this flute, and was super impressed by how fast it shipped.I do say, compared to higher priced flutes, this works very well. It's got my thousand dollar armstrong beat.I will warn you that it does scratch easily though. I'm not the most careful person in the word, and it already has recieved a pretty decent scratch on the headjoint.Other than the scratching easily, it seems like a pretty solid flute, and plays extremely nice, especially for the price.

Updating my review - This flute to my ear has a decent tone and acceptable intonation - but my ear is suspect. Response is frustrating at times but that may be more my skill level than the flute. I played sax in community college jazz band and concert band and played flute in community college orchestra years ago for the record. I'm having fun with this flute so far. I went to a beach the other day and played some and a passer by said "sounds good" which was nice (I don't think it was sarcasm). As far as durability time will tell. Whether or not this flute would be acceptable for elementary school band I don't know. By the way it does look nice. I'm not sure what the coating is. Bottom line for 55 bucks which is what I paid (prices on these flutes seem to fluctuate I've noticed) I'm happy with the purchase and I may buy another down the line.

Updated: changed rating from 1 star to 4, due to earlier problem, otherwise would be 5. After assembling and disassembling a few times, the issue went away, somehow the fit loosened up. I did not need to call about the warranty to have the flute replaced.The flute cannot be properly assembled, one part is too tight and does not fit well. A flute repair shop refused to repair it and said the repair would cause more damage. I could not return the flute because kid's lesson started 1 month after I bought the flute, we only discovered the problem once the lessons started. It didn't occur to me that there would be an assembly issue.

Reasonably priced.

Everything was great, except the strap on the bag on one side was not stitched properly. I had to get it stitched. But other than that it was a very nice product. I would deffinately recommend this supplier to my friend and family.

great

My grandaughter will be using it soon!

Seems built well and of quality. Time will tell how it holds up and this is why I only gave it three out of five stars.

Some of the keys need pads under them

great Flute. Cheap and great for marching band. Thank you. :)

Good flute for a beginner. Unfortunately one of the keys on mine doesn’t close properly over the hole. Make sure you check yours thoroughly!

Went the first time I played the b note it worked great but 6 day later it won't work. Also the case already have bad part.

Great instrument for the price.

So, I ordered this flute to see if I could get back into playing- it's been 12+ years since I've played and I've been considering picking it up again. While this seems to be ok for my purpose, I think it's a bad flute for most people. I can tell it's cheaply made, the mouthpiece is poorly designed, the foot and headpiece aren't fit well into the main body, and the sound isn't the best quality. The pads were already sticky when I opened it, which there's no reason for if it's not been played. The stand that came with it doesn't fit into the flute itself, so I just threw it away. Mine also came with a stick of 'pad grease'... which I've never heard of nor used on my flute before (and I played for 9 years), so that seems like it's to help put the Poorly designed body pieces together. Something with the case isn't right either, though I can't really put my finger on why I don't like it...Here's a quick list to hopefully help you decide.Do NOT buy this if any of the following are true:1.) You (or the intended user) will be playing this flute several times a week, such as multiple practices. This will break easily with prolonged use.2.) You intend to play a flute at a concert. If that's the case, please get a better quality flute for a much better sound.3.) You are getting a flute for a beginner. They will likely get frustrated with this flute and may be discouraged from keeping up with the flute. I'd look into a flute rental, or ask your band director/teacher if the school may have one to borrow.You may consider this flute if any of the following are true:1.) Like me, you used to play and want a cheap flute to start back up with, will full intent to get a better flute if you decided to stay with it.2.) You are a band director and perhaps want a cheap backup flute to keep on hand in case one of your players forgot their flute or has their flute in the shop.3.) You only intend to play a few times, such as wanting to participate in an alumni band event.

When I got the flute it was perfect, but after like 1-2 weeks the note "F" started getting really hard to play and really wouldn't come out.I might recommend this flute to a 5th grader, but it's not worth it in like middle school. But the colors are amazing!!!

I purchased this as a christmas gift for my daughter (purchased around Thanksgiving time). She received it on Christmas day and it was falling apart. Had to send for a new one and it's better. I understand that things may have issues, but I'm finding myself returning too many items on amazon.

I bought this flute for my middle school daughter. It sounded great, but will not work now, just 6 months later. I'm disappointed that I'm now stuck with a new flute that doesn't work.

I have a number of years of playing flute under my belt, but hadn't played in a few years and wanted to buy a cheap flute to get back into it.I knew that the price for this instrument made this a risky choice- bottom line, it costs a lot of money to make a quality instrument. The brand was also not one I recognized, which is another red flag. But given the decent reviews and the low price I figured I'd give it a shot.This flute is significantly lighter weight than a higher quality flute. It is hard to achieve a decent tonal quality, and if I had never picked up a flute before, it'd be hard to play at all. Upon further examination I discovered that the materials used to make this flute (like the key pads) are also cheap and flimsy, making them extremely likely to break. I can play it... But I'd be very hesitant to perform with it as it just doesn't have that pure sound quality a flute should.Frankly, I wish I'd saved my money and just waited to buy a better quality flute. Instruments are an investment; a cheap instrument like this one will surely cause headaches!I just want to note for the parents out there looking for an instrument for their kids, this one is not worth it. I understand not wanting to fork over a ton of cash for an instrument you're not sure your kid will play, but I can pretty much guarantee that a child with a poorly constructed instrument that won't play properly will get frustrated and is much more likely to give up. You would be better off renting, or buying a used instrument from a reputable seller.

Perhaps I got a bad one. I found it difficult to play, maybe leaky. It was impossible to play with the plugs in. Better without. Airy, and unable to play low C with any ease. Also, it tended to be sharp, and the tuning slide did not move. I'm sending this one back and trying something different. You might try it. Like I previously stated, maybe I just got a bad one.I've been playing since 1976, so I do know how to play. I bought this one to have an inexpensive horn to carry around and play wherever.

the flute is great, but the case has a horrible smell, like something died inside of it.

It didn't impress me. There were some metal that had already scrapped off.The foot joint took at least five minutes to get off from the body. I struggled so hard (but gently) to get it off the body. I only had it for 30 minutes and assembling and removing took awhile.I got it today after ordering it two days ago but now I'm returning it.

It's not really that bad but it's not the best.

Very nice, my grandson enjoying it. I order it for his 6 grade band class.

This item is defective. The notes would not yield the correct tune or no tune at all. Replace this order because of the defective G note and had to return the replacement because the A and B notes were the same. We like the accessories, but did not like the sound of the flute. This why we graded it two stars...

I am a returning student (played during middle school, which was 20 years ago). I still have my old flute, but it is in pretty bad shape (stuck in a closet for 20+ years). I thought I'd get this just to see if I was really interested in playing before investing in a better flute. My old, beat-up, and in need of repair Gemeinhardt flute plays better than this one and is more comfortable in my hands. Something about the alignment and weight of the Mendini is off. Plus, the Mendini arrived with the headjoint not properly fitted. What a pain. I'm returning this one and am off to my local music shop to rent a better flute until I'm sure I'm going to keep playing.Parents, if you're getting this for your students, you may find that they quit playing earlier than they should out of frustration. It is immensely more difficult to play this "instrument" than the real deal.

Keys started leaking within two weeks of buying this flute. I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone, especially a beginner.

Button stick after my daughter had it for a month its giving her issues.

Not a playable instrument, it was not set up properly. I returned it and sprang for a used Gemeinhardt.

Purchased in October, My daughter was very excited to open this gift at Christmas. Plays in school blues band & all school band. It is now Jan 17th. Having problems w/ clean sound, took in to be evaluated at reputable instrument repair shop. Result 3 keys have leaks, cork has shrunk & needs replacement. Minor repairs yet inconvenient & with only 30 days of use.It is without warranty & passed 30 days of purchase. Even though it didn't it was wrapped & not used till Dec 25th. Disappointed. Would not recommend!

My daughter started having problems with it after 2 days. There were problems with the keys so we returned it.

It arrived on time, looked beautiful, til 2 weeks later after she started playing it in her school band. The name director states it's our if tune (and it's not my daughter playing it wrong) and some of the glued pieces are coming off along with keys. It's a nice mantel display but not meant to actually be played. Very disappointing.

Would not produce sound!

We have barely touched this instrument, her teacher noticed one of the notes was off, sent it to repair, they said this brand is so cheap , you can't get parts, they fall apart, and cost more to fix than to buy them. Repair companies will not touch them. CRAP CRAP CRAP. now my daughter is broken hearted that her flute is junk.

product is cheap and does not work properly. The cost to retune this item is 2 x the cost. Do not be sucked into buy cheap made product

Broke after 1 month

Didn't work, returning for refund.

The lacquer scrapped off the second day of use. Screws also fell out of the flute making it unplayable. After I contacted the store who sent me replacement screws, repairing the flute was still impossible. My music teacher told me that it wasn't just the screws but pad leaks as well.I recommend saving money for a higher end flute instead of wasting money on this.