Product Reviews: Altus 1407 Flute

I wasn't sure if Altus still made this flute and discovering that they do, I thought I'd leave a review. I can't remember exactly when I bought it, but I did buy it from Just Flutes, sometime around 1987, 33 years ago. I played professionally for the next 15 years, freelancing with London orchestras, a stint in the Canaries, and a lot of pit work, and have played occasionally as an ex-professional. What can I say about it. I chose it because I liked the scale, and the headjoint, which gave a good 'whole register' sound, not particularly favouring any register. I chose soldered tone holes because they are supposed to seat better, and they do. It is still on it's first set of pads and they are fine. I did all my own maintenance work, cleaned the mechanism a few times, but I haven't needed to replace any pads. The mechanism is fairly solid, and I've also played it in a variety of venues and temperatures (Italy, Spain, Gran Canaria, hot pits and cold churches), and it has been 100% reliable, also surviving several years on the back of a motorbike, and a motorbike crash, unscathed. What's not to like?