The initial sound is great. Son's music teacher tested and approved. I believe that if treated properly flute will last for years.

Seems to be another great item at a great price from Overstock! We purchased this for my son's use in music class instead of renting one and have used it for about 3 months now. We have not seen any paint chipping, etc...

I really like the flute itself and the way it plays but the paint job is horrible. After you play it for a bit it starts comming off very easily. Probably if you get the silver one this won't happen. But the blue one I got has almost not color left and it looks bad.