Patric Olwell has a very nice bamboo flute in the key of F up on ebay in case anyone’s interested. Lovely mother of pearl endcap.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Olwell-Select-Bamboo-Flute-/110751303128
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(salivate…) [can’t buy another flute–can’t buy another flute–]
ya, me too…
Patrick, I’ll give you $250 right now, just on general principles. But a highly desired unique flute on the world market is not going to sell for chicken feed, I’m afraid.
I see that the bidding has ended for Patrick Olwell’s bamboo flute, which ended at $363 + $25 shipping. I knew that it was a waste of time, as my snipe bid was almost $100 too low.
I noticed that the eBay ad described this flute as being in tune over 2 1/2 octaves. I had always assumed (probably incorrectly) that bamboo flutes were essentially cylindrical bore flutes (head and body) and as such suffered the same kinds of tuning limitations as PVC flutes (i.e. hard to get well in tune much over 1 1/2 octaves without a special wedge insert etc). So now I’m really curious how one gets a bamboo flute in tune over 2 1/2 octaves. Does it actually have a conical bore similar to a conventional Irish flute? Is it reamed to produce the right profile, or is it a matter of selecting the right bamboo shoot? Does it have a Fajardo wedge? Is it normal for Patrick’s bamboo flutes to be in tune over 2 1/2 octaves? Is it normal for other top quality bamboo flutes to be in tune over such a wide range?
Sorry for all the questions, but curious minds want to know!
Thanks!
Jon
they are bored. If the area up from the embouchure to the stopper is tapered then it would work like a Boehm ( and not need a wedge ). Yes 2 1/2 octaves, in tune.
Pat O is sort of a magician.