So- Would anyone would care to provide their opinion on an Olwell boxwood vs. a Noy boxwood? I’d love to compare the two side by side but that seems unlikely to happen.
Best,
Robin
Olwell has three bore profiles. Noy has two choices of hole sizes and two choices of embouchure. Can you narrow down your question a bit?
Sounds like a good fight, are we taking bets?
Is the Olwell lined or unlined?
Ok Jessie- I’m looking for something with a warm, round tone that is responsive with good volume. that performs well in both the low & upper registers. I have a 5-keyed Noy that could hold it’s own with a Boehm flute except in the extreme upper range where it just isn’t designed to go; however, the tone is almost too bright for my taste. It is easy to fill; however that and reach have never been a problem for me.
Three embouchures, now (or at least when I tried them out): “Ruddall”, “Pratten”, and whatever that square-ish cut is called…“barrel”, I think? He also offers the option of lined or unlined toneholes, which he claims makes a difference in response. I went for unlined toneholes, myself.
Anyway, combine embouchure cut with lined or unlined heads, and you have six possibilites for the head alone. Factor in the tonehole choices, and YIKES. 
Oh Yeah, you’re right, Nano! Three embouchure holes.
Ok, springrobin. In general, blackwood will be louder, and boxwood more creamy (if that makes any sense). You want good volume AND sweetness in the upper register. Olwell’s Nicholson is a good compromise of volume and sweetness. But Peter Noy’s small holes are as big as others’ big holes. I find Peter’s big holes too big, or at least I did last time I tried them. I wasn’t too happy with his oval embouchures, but I liked his “modern” ones. But tastes change and so do abilities.
I would say Olwells tend to be accessible and focused, while Noys tend to have a bit more edge, especially in blackwood.
That said, for the sound you are describing, I think you’d find it most easily on a Sam Murray flute.
Contact the makers, I am sure that they would love to address and work towards any sound quality you would like. The opinions here seem great, but perhaps after you talk to the makers you would be able to narrow the question.
I have deliberately not looked at Jessie’s response so that you get a completely different point of view that’s unaffected by her response.
I have both Noy and Olwell small-holed D’s in boxwood with unlined heads. The Noy has a Rudall embouchure. I absolutely love them both.
I’ve had the Olwell for over a year and play mostly Irish dance music on it. It has a nice traditional Irish sound, clear and full, though likely not as loud as would come out of one of his lined blackwood Prattens. It is unmistakeably an Olwell in sound and playability, but I still think it has a bit more warmth to its sound than would one of his blackwood flutes or one with a lined headjoint. It crossfingers a Bflat and Gsharp/Aflat well, but it’s difficult to hit an Fnat by either cross-fingering or half-holing.
The Noy I’ve had for six months or so (I ordered it and the Olwell at the same time to see which I’d like better – it’s a tie). I’ve used it to play mostly English dance music. It has a wonderful warm sound, a tad less edge than the Olwell. The cross-fingering is complete – it has a wonderful Fnat in addition to the Bflat and Gsharp. I’ve ordered a keyed footjoint which should come within the next few weeks to make it fully chromatic.
So I had been playing the Noy in an English dance-type style (whatever that is, I plead ignorance, but I certainly wasn’t going for an IrTrad sort-of dirty sound). I thought it really didn’t have an IrTrad sort of sound. But, as I pointed out once before, I picked up the Noy one day thinking it was the Olwell, and didn’t realize it for about 10-15 minutes. I think a Noy can be played pretty much the same way an Olwell can. I find it easier to push the Noy at the bottom fo the first octave. The Olwell is, I think, quite a bit easier to get a good full sound out of at the beginning, but after a couple of months, I found both really easy to play. Both have really versatile voices.
Edited to add: I love Peter’s modern embouchure for its power and the lightness of the thinned head. But I found it kind of sterile – clear and powerful (esp in the third octave), but not what I was looking for in a flute for traditional music. I find the Olwell and Noy equally accessible up to the third octave A, and Peter says it will be easier with the Eflat key.
I also have an Olwell Nicholson, which is quite similar to the Rudall, but the Fnat is REALLY easy to half-hole. It’s probably the easiest in the third octave, too.
Nooooooooooooooooo…!!!
JK 
Jessie, congratulations on making it to your 9th month, and happy birthday. Play the babe a nice tune for me…
M
Well I played the Noy and the Olwell side-by-side last night. It is much easier to get a pure sound out of the Noy and a dirty sound out of the Olwell. Both can be played the other way, but it takes more effort to get a dirty sound from the Noy and a pure sound from the Olwell.
I don’t have an Olwell to compare w/ so I can’t comment on the orig. question…
(Thread Hijack):
How do you play the Fnat on your Noy…I find myself playing (xxx xsx) (s=shaded) ???
I go with xxx xox and lip down. It’s maybe 20c sharp, and the F# is somewhat flat in equal temperament.
All else being equal?
Oh, geez, it’s hard to say. I’d say the Olwell is louder, but that’s from a player’s perspective. It could be that the fuller sound of the Olwell really is louder, but that the purer sound of the Noy would carry better.
They’re both really easy players for me; the embouchure cuts are pretty similar, so there’s a minimum amount of adjustment to bounce back and forth – most of the adjustment for me is in finger position and balance (the Olwell has a C foot, the Noy doesn’t).
I could have been clearer. I meant were the flutes otherwise pretty identical physically, i.e. both keyless/keyed, relatively similar embouchure cut, bore dimension, wall thickness; that sort of thing.
I found that my Olwell was more audible to those nearby in noisy situations like céilís (a helpful quality, then, when other musicians need to hear) and sessions. Still, the Noy seems to project at least as well or better; helpful in solo playing for dances. As for volume alone, they both seemed completely the same in my dining room, so I’m chalking it up to the effect of broader Olwell harmonics making the tone seem louder when it actually isn’t, to the best of my perception. The Noy, to me, is more “laser”-like in its reediness.
Oh GREAT… thanks guys!!! Now you’ve got me calling Noy and Olwell to see about ordering another flute… arrrrgggghhhhh… I thought I was getting stronger than my addiction…
checking my piggy bank…
Dave
That’s just fine Parky, send the Cotter over here, I need a fully keyed flute.