are there any new makers out there with short waiting lists that anyone would like to recommend?
Jessie K (check the “teaser” thread).
Not new, but the one i’d recommend to any beginner: O’Briain “improved Feadog”. You can get it from
http://www.whistleanddrum.com/
Thanks, Glauber, but that’s a whistle. This is the flute forum.
I thought i was in the whistle forum. My bad… 
Dave Copley isn’t ‘new’ but ‘newish’; he’s making
very good flutes at a reasonable price. Last I
checked the waiting list
was 4 months.
Casey Burns is certainly not new, however
he is moving pretty quickly in getting flutes
to people. There has been a renewed interest
in Casey’s flutes, which you can read about
if you search. I have two of his flutes that
I like very well.
Both of these fellows are swell to deal with.
You’re welcome to PM me if you have questions.
Others may have some good suggestions. Best
In the world of flutes, Eamon Cotter probably qualifies as new. He’s very good too, good prices, short wait.
With flutes, it takes many years before a maker starts turning out stuff you’d want to buy, so there aren’t many new makers out there.
This looks interesting:
http://www.whistleanddrum.com/Irish+Flute+by+Arie+Dekeyzer.html
Martin Doyle blows nearly everybody away. His flutes are beautifully finished. The bore is like glass. The intonation is perfect. The sound is bright and loud. The bottom D is clear and hard and a joy to play, with or without the optional rasp.
This is the flute Catherine McEvoy recommends to her students and the flute that she and Tom bought for their marvelous young prodigy, Fergus. Mick Hand plays one now, as does Ronan Brown.
I have bought three over the past few years. One I sold to a player in Dublin, one to a student, and the third I am keeping. A keyless will cost roughly $700 without a slide, and a bit more with a slide. The wait is minimal and he often has one or two ready to go.
Poke around on the net for a phone number. He’s the most under-rated maker today, and has been making flutes for over twenty years.
Marcus Hernon perhaps, 6 month waiting list and 480 euro.
David
I think Seth Gallagher (http://www.uilleann.com) still has a short waiting list. His prices are up there, about comparable with Patrick Olwell’s, but I hear from reliable sources that his flutes are too.
Steven
(Edited cuz I can’t spel uilleann. Good thing I’m not a piper!)
Well, I can’t keep quiet about JOHN Gallagher from Elkins, WV. My keyless Pratten (based on a Boosey & Sons, Pratten’s Perfected #4600, I believe) took a little over 3 months (although his wait has gone up slighty since then, I think).
$1100 for a keyless wood flute with rings and slide (regardless of timber). Not as inexpensive as other options above, but it gives up nothing to the Olwell, Wilkes and Noy that it’s been played with and inspected next to. I swear I can hear silverware rattle in the drawer when I play it loudly in the kitchen 
John’s a top notch craftsman (Pat Olwell’s words), and is extremely accomodating to your requests\desires.
Cheers,
- Ryan
I received a 6-keyed Copley in 4 months flat. It’s a great flute.
Micah
Well, I can’t keep quiet about JOHN Gallagher from Elkins, WV. My keyless Pratten (based
on a Boosey & Sons, Pratten’s Perfected #4600, I believe) took a little over 3 months
(although his wait has gone up slighty since then, I think).
Me either. The R&R almost playes itself. I played one all last week. I ordered one about a month ago and it will be ready in about another month. He does not have a web site and does not solicit business and is out of the beaten path. He copied his R&R from the one Chris Norman plays.
John Gallagher is terrific. He’s constantly refining what he’s working on. He spent 8 years working (8? maybe 6?) with Rod Cameron.
He’s listed in the phone book at Elkins, WV, so shouldnt mind me giving it up here: 304-636-8688.
Nice fellow, too.
Too, a new face on the flute maker’s list about to put his own out there is Paddy Ward, another friend of mine who is modeling his on a dandy Hawkes flute he owns. Currently he’s making keyless and keyed flutes with double bodies (D and Eb). Waiting list? What waiting list?
He just moved from Boulder to Shokan NY (upstate, west of Kingston).
not sure if he’s listed yet. I played a delrin model of his flute and was very very impressed. I think he’s wanting $1000 for the double-body delrin flute.
He told me just the other day that he’s got a couple boxwood and cocus keyed flutes done.
dm
Wow, a proliferation of flutemakers, just when the market is on the slide (the “Celtic” music craze being over and all :roll: ), not the best time to be trying to make a living as a (new) flute maker…
Loren
Really? This is good news! It’s not over, over here, yet.
I always assumed the “craze” folks weren’t too likely to be spending $1,000+ on flutes anyway, but maybe I’m wrong.
-brett
Is the craze over?
I didn’t think there was ever really a craze. For ethereal quasi-weirdo super-processed Enya junk and all its pseudoneopagan offshoots, sure . . . but maybe I missed the craze. Not that I dislike all Enya/Eithne stuff, of course, but, well, it DOES all start to sound the same.
Riverdance was something else entirely. 
Stuart
Whatever field I talk to people in they tell me it is over - everything is on its way down ( except law enforcement, warmongering, drinking, and so on which seem buoyant )
Not that I have anything against drinking except the price !
Judging by the number of accomplished young players in Ireland the “craze” is far from over. The fact that more young people than ever are playing traditional music on fiddle, flute, whistle, pipes and concertina argues for a solid basis for the continuity of the tradition.
If the death of the craze results in fewer hangers-on whacking dead goats-- cultural tourists who think that their mindless thumping is music-- then I’m all in favor of the passing of the craze.
Not new, but Fred Rose appears to have a very short waiting period. I can only recommend it as a beginners instrument since, well, I’m only a beginner. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good value for you, but I’d allow more experienced players to weigh in on that issue. But if your criteria is a short waiting list, then Fred’s an excellent (& friendly!) candidate.
- Patrick