Howdy all -
I know Bb flutes have been discussed before, but I’m going to bring it up again anyways.
The short of it is, I want one.
The first way you can help me is by simply letting me know if you have one, who made it, what wood it is made of, how much it cost, how long you waited for it, and how I can get in touch with you.
Really, I want an Olwell. Does anyone know whether he makes his Bb with a tuning slide, or does he only make all wood versions? Does anyone have one?
Best,
Chris
Chris, I finally got to see Crawford’s Red Lancewood Bb (from a distance) on Saturday night - beautiful.
Yeah, I want a Bb too…
Loren
Dude! How was Lunasa? Where did you see them? Get the new album?
Best,
Chris
Saw them here in Boston (Somerville theater) they rocked 
Unfortunately I missed the first couple of tune sets because I couldn’t find parking in Davis Sq (you know how it is on a Saturday night). I also missed the opportunity to hang with Kevin for an hour or so, but I was dead tired and would have been drooling on myself due to the effects of sleep deprivation so I passed (sort of kicking myself now, but I wouldn’t have been interesting company, so it’s just as well I suppose)
Didn’t get the new CD I’m afraid, still trying to get set up with permanent housing here in Boston, so I need all the cash I can get my hands on.
Dude, stop by the workshop for a visit next time you’re in the Boston area.
Loren
The workshop? Are you working at the Von Heune shop? That would be wicked.
Sommerville is my old stomping ground. Make sure you start going to the Sunday night session at O’Leary’s at 1010 Beacon (St. Mary’s St on the Green Line) in Brookline. It’s the best there is. Good food. Smoke free. Sublime music. Quiet enough to listen… just fantastic.
Best,
Chris
Oh, I know you know I have one, but since you asked. . .
I’ve got the brother (sister?) of Crawford’s. Red lancewood, rings and slide, no keys. I can’t for the life of me remember how much it cost, but I recall the wait time was about a year (since I had first contacted him when he was about to go to Ireland to measure the original).
Very nice instrument! Bb are kind of heavy, though; evidently Crawford has commented that he wishes his were keyless for the weight issue.
Eh, if anyone knows him, I’ll trade him if it’s too heavy. 
Stuart
Yeah man, Von Huene.
Can’t check out any sessions till I get a permanent place in town: Right now I’m working 10+ hours a day, plus commuting an hour each way, from out past Framingham - My poor dog has to try and hold it for a long time! 
I will check out the Brookline session once I get settled though, should be easy enough since the shop is in Brookline as well.
Loren
Take her/him with you? Plenty of sticks to keep a dog entertained in a recorder shop! 
Loren, did you get the job vacated by Aaron? He’s here now, although we’ve only seen him and his whistle, not the pipes yet. Said he loved working there, so hope it goes as well for you.
Chris, I’ve played Crawford’s Bb Grinter…great, easy flute to play. Amazingly, the stretch is nothing that I thought. Very comfy.
I play a keyless Bb Grinter in blackwood. Modeled on a Rudall (in private ownership in England) it’s a neat player. I think I prefer his version that Crawford plays. Easier on the hands.
dave migoya
Thanks. Yes, I was hired to replace Aaron. Unfortunately I started after he had already left for Denver, in fact we probably passed eachother somewhere on a stretch of highway in the midwest! I can see why he loved working here - everyone is really nice, there are plenty of interesting instruments around to make or work-on (There’s a Boxwood/Ivory 4 key R&R sitting on my desk at the moment) and the wealth of knowledge and skill around here is astounding - with any luck I’ll convince Friedrich to teach me how to use the Rose engine one of these days Needless to say, I’m loving it here as well.
Loren
Hey Chris:
I received my Olwell Bb in Sep 2001, after an 18 month wait. At the time Pat said he had made maybe 10 or so. At least then, he did not make Bbs with tuning slides or lined headjoints…and his design is based on 2 models of R&R Bb that he measured.
Do I need to mention…it’s freaking awesome flute with phenomenal tone (just like Nugent’s sound on it, not my playing though) and my favorite flute to play with much lower air requirement than one would expect? Probably not.
It cost me something like $1000 at the time. He did not know what to charge me for it, so I told him I’d pay $1000 and he agreed. Mine has silver rings and in blackwood.
I’ll offer it up for sale for $3.5k though, if you;re eager to get your hands on one. Not many around. Besides Nufent and Egan, there’s 8+ roaming around somewhere in the world.
G
Oh and a question…
I’ve never played another Bb flute, though I know that’s hard to believe given the ITM mecca in which I live…
but I wonder if the Grinter Bbs have the same awesome harmonics especially on the second register D, E, Fsharp notes? With the Olwell I have, and without much effort, you can dance on the line between octaves and share the harmonics of both registers. Sends chills up my spine. So cool. Also, the honk is just so Olwellesque perhaps, but it is so pronounced on the low Bb note–just killer for the hard D choices. These are my two favorite aspects of the flute.
How about the Grinter Bb?
Do it lower,
G
Deeper.
When I play my Wilkes Bb (four keys, boxwood, no tuning slide, unlined head), wooly mammoths and mastodons rise from the depths of the earth and crowd around my windows, listening and singing along. The whole house trembles. It’s a little-known fact that Bb flutes were first developed for whalers in the Southern Ocean who played them to lure blue whales within striking distance of their harpoons.
Well, the whales were suicidal, not really lured,
being so blue. Best
Jim:
what did you mean by “deeper”? Are you saying the Grinter Bb seems to sounds deeper than the Olwell?
Brad, that’s a hilarious comment about mastadons and wholly mammoths, but so much truth to the primordial draw to the sound of the lower flutes.
G
I want a Bb now! The only one I’ll be able to afford any time soon is the Casey Burns Bb. Has anyone tried those? I’m sure their no where near the Olwells, Grinters and Wilkes, but hopefully it shows the same upper middle range quality as his other, more pro model flutes.
I just got a Casey Burns Bb flute (yesterday) with an additional A joint (upper body; it requires pulling out the foot and lipping differently for an in-tune A scale, but it’s fun). Yes, Henke, what you’d imagine to be true about it, is. It is similar to Casey’s other flutes in playability. I very much enjoy the lowness!! I am having fun with it.
I am on the list for a Bb from Tom Aebi.
That sound great Jessie. I’m intrigued by that A joint thing. Haven’t heard about anything like that before.
Which wood(s) is it made of, and is it all wood or with slide and rings?
Edited to say that I’m also interested in the playability of Mopane and therefor had to ask which wood your’s is made of. Casey seems to contradict himself abit on the site, cause on the section dedicated to Mopane wood, he say’s that it seriously rivals A. Blackwood in tonal quality, and mostly resembles Cocus wood, but his recomended setup for a Bb flute is Blackwood head for best tone and Mopane body for economy. Strange…
Mine is in his recommended configuration (blackwood head and mopane body). I have to mention here that the quality of the wood he uses is extremely high…it might be the cleanest wood I have ever seen, in fact. He must have quite a stash. The mopane is cool…it’s similar to cocobolo. I might like to have a flute made entirely of mopane at some point.