Overview
The Flute d'Amore has a larger bore than the standard concert flute and is pitched in either Bb or A. The d’Amore body is a seamed Britannia 958 Silver with soldered tone holes and is paired with a silver-plated mechanism. Standard options include a B or C foot, and a special order open hole version is available.
Material Composition
Sterling silver lip-plate and riser, Britannia silver seamed headjoint, body and footjoint, nickel silver mechanism - soldered tone holes
A traditionally created silver alloy composed of 95.8% silver, also dubbed the Britannia Silver for its historic existence in British coinage. Mr. Tanaka first created Altus flutes with this alloy for a Renaissance of 19th century flute sound. This alloy has an increased density and is considerably softer than Sterling Silver. This allows the instruments to make darker and richer tonal color without the use of greater wall thickness.
Seamed Tubing
Made from a flat piece of metal that is rolled, hand planished and then seamed, the Altus seamed tube is truly the only handmade flute tube available in modern production.
Soldered Tone Holes
The tone hole chimneys are formed separately and then soldered to the flute joint. This process allows for a consistent wall thickness around the holes and thus enables an even better resonance and timbre.