Product Reviews: Aulos AF1 Baroque Flute

I played a baroque flute in my youth (40 years ago) and essentially abandoned it because of insurmountable struggles with intonation. Seeing the AF1 on-line, I decided to revisit this intriguing instrument. I ordered the AF1 with some trepidation, not having had positive experiences with Aulos recorders, and have been very pleasantly surprised. Compared to my original baroque flute, a modern replica in ebony, the AF1 has superior intonation, more responsiveness and greater projection. The AF1 would have considerably eased the struggles of my youth. The pitch (440Hz) will allow me to explore baroque flute sonatas with my cello-playing son. For what my opinion is worth, the AF1 is a readily playable introduction to the baroque flute giving rapid rewards.

I'm delighted with this instrument. It has a beautiful tone, with different colours available ranging from strong and reedy to hushed and mysterious. It comes with a comprehensive fingering chart: intonation is "authentic", i.e not quite equal temperament, and F naturals need to be lipped down. If you have only played a modern Boehm flute it may take some getting used to but is well worth the effort, and is easier to look after than a genuine wooden one.

The soft pouch provides reasonable protection and includes a cleaning rod, cork grease and a soft cloth for polishing off fingerprints, but you will need to find your own scrap of rag for mopping out.