Startone SAF-100 Alto Flute

I am an experienced flute player who wanted to try out an alto flute without spending too much. This flute turned out to be great value for money. It has a lovely tone. The pads seal well; the A-key is a bit noisy but other than that the mechanism is fine.

The design of the low D sharp lever has a design fault: it is too close to the D key and its post, which basically makes it impossible to turn the foot to adjust its angle; there's only one angle that works. The D sharp trill lever is a bit too close to my ring finger, which sometimes makes me hit it by mistake. Both the trill levers are quite thin and pointy.

The case is nice and sturdy with straps, so you can carry it like a rucksack. However, the cut-outs for the instrument are too wide, which makes the flute rattle around a bit.

The flute doesn't contain a curved head. For people with long arms this is fine, but if you've got short arms I would recommend getting a flute that has both a straight and a curved head.