u/RaphaelGuim

Learning ocarina since March

I bought this beautiful and very expensive ocarina from STL Ocarina. I paid a fortune to import it to Brazil—almost as much as the price of the instrument itself just in taxes and import fees.

In less than a month, the paint started coming off. What was once a beautiful ocarina has become dull and worn-looking, and now the paint is literally peeling away. At this rate, I’m sure that in less than three months I’ll end up with a completely black ocarina.

The paint quality is extremely poor.

I sent STL Ocarina an email to complain about the issue, but I never received a response. It’s disappointing to see such a well-known and respected ocarina company produce an instrument with such poor finishing quality.

The sound is excellent. Musically speaking, the ocarina is nearly perfect. But the paint job? I am extremely disappointed. I paid a lot of money for this instrument and expected much better quality.

Honestly, it would have been better to buy a simpler model without such elaborate artwork and decoration if the finish wasn’t going to last. At least it would have been less expensive.

If STL doesn’t respond to me, I don’t think I’ll ever buy from them again. I’d rather purchase from local artisans or even import from China. I also own a plastic ocarina, and I know this kind of problem won’t happen with it. In fact, some plastic ocarinas sound surprisingly good.

Anyway, I’m very disappointed.

Has anyone else experienced something like this with STL Ocarina?