Eastar Advanced 32 Note Glockenspiel Xylophone Kit

I have a kid that started playing percussion this year and was given a part to play bells. He was so excited that I wanted to get him a practice set so he could work on it at home. Aside from Amazon Logistics deciding to leave the package out in the pouring rain the set came in good condition. Everything pictured was in the box. The case was not moldy. Stand was easy to set up and holds the bells securely. It does not screw on like some of the people leaving negative ratings kept trying; it is meant to sit on the stand not attach to it. The screw is for the practice pad. The sound is a little thin but the notes were accurate. If you want better sound quality pay the $1k to get a concert set. If the sound is muffled you are probably striking incorrectly. Overall, he is very happy and I have been listening to them for hours a day.

All in all I think it is a good value for the money. Very similar to a Pearl kit that is selling for twice as much, which makes me wonder if they are being made at the same factory.

The included mallets are a little small and light, but probably just fine for an elementary school age child. The zippers on the case are not very sturdy and I doubt they would last from prolonged use. But we will see.

The stand is heavy and double braced, which is great. The glockenspiel feels very sturdy on it. I do note that a few of the tightening mechanisms rely on cheap looking plastic sleeves that will probably give out at some point.

Still though, this is a real instrument. Not a toy. You can really learn on this thing.

I did have to adjust the screws on a few of the tone bars as they were fastened too tightly and weren’t resonating properly. (This is easy to do, not uncommon on percussion instruments, and no expertise is necessary. You just need a Phillips head screwdriver.)

What keeps it from getting four stars from me is that a few of the bars are slightly out of tune. You especially notice it in the lower register. I checked both with my ear and with a tuner, and the lower register is noticeably flat. My tuner says some notes are a whole quarter step flat, but it is not that pronounced to my ear.

Depending on how sensitive you are to pitch, this could be a major issue or no issue at all. For me, as a serious amateur musician, I notice it is a little off but it doesn’t drive me crazy. Especially since this is for my kid! If it were for me I would think more about returning it… Not sure I would, because you probably need to spend double or triple the price to get an instrument that’s actually an improvement.

Nice percussion kit to have around. There are quite a few things included in the kit, so i will take them one at a time.
1. The glockenspiel itself is well made and very nice to look at. The notes ring out like you would expect and are all tuned well. I am surprised at how good it sounds.
2. The stand-being a drummer, I know how expensive hardware is. The price of this whole kit and kaboodle is what you would normally pay for juat this kind of stand. Very sturdy and easy to set up. Adjustable height makes it perfect for and sized player.
3. The practice pad-this practice pad is great, it feels like a real snare drum. Again, well-made and seems very durable with its bolted construction. Has a little sound, but obviously nothing like a snare drum would have.
4. The sticks- they are a good matched set of sticks with wood tips
5. The mallets-good to begin with and do a good job of helping the glockenspiel ring out. You would likely want to upgrade after some initial learning, but they would serve their purpose initially.
6. The bag-the bag is very nice with compartments to fit everything. Very sturdy and has both a hand strap and a shoulder strap.
All in all this is a great deal of value in this kit. The components are definitely worth the minimal price tag. If you are looking for a percussion kit for your student, this would be a great place to start.

I looked around different stores for something like this and either it was a not such a good product, or an expensive one or an used one. This product ticked all the boxes on my list and an year later still used by my kids for school. It values for momney at the end.