Clearly, you guys know Patrick Olwell quite well. I could really use your advice about when and how to approach him about ordering a flute. I’m an amateur who’s just begun re-learning the flute, with the goal of playing Irish traditional music eventually. I’d like a flute in D, but without much playing experience, I haven’t set my mind on which keys I’d like to have added to the flute.
Should I contact Patrick now and ask to be put on his waiting list, with a promise to send a postcard in a year with the specs for the flute? Or does he not want to hear from me until I can talk to him like a pro? Would he slam the phone on my ear if I asked him what custom features he puts on Seamus Egan’s flutes? Fell free to point out what a wannabe I am, but I already know it. 
I forgot to add that I think I’m jumping the gun and should wait a few years before making an investment like this. Generally, I’m just wondering how approachable Olwell is.
I am not someone who knows Patrick Olwell well. In fact, I am more in your category, a beginner on the flute. When I called him to inquire about buying a bamboo flute, I found him to be very approachable and very helpful. He was not impatient with my beginner questions and was very conversational. I ordered a bamboo D and I love it very much.
Carol
I’ve been dealing with Pat O for a few years now, and the guy is just great. Super knowledgeable about flutes, and he understands that he is a businessman as well as a craftsman. He likes to know his customers abit and you’ll find yourself talking offtopic pretty quickly. He even tries to speak Chinese with me.
Call him up! Place an order!
I think I’d better - I’ve been reading the backposts about Loren and the others getting their Olwells. It’s simply torture knowing you all have your flutes already!!! HOMT told me he might be at a festival in Maryland next month, so I’ll try to keep a hold of myself until then. I might phase myself in with a cane flute for starters.
Has anyone seen Solas lately? What style of flute is Egan playing these days?
Egan plays a 4-key Olwell pratten in cocus wood, and he also has an Olwell low Bb.
Most of the top guns who play Olwells play the pratten model. Though I have some time to wait, I’m going to get–at some point–a Nicholson model 6-key from him. Still waiting on the low Bb, though that should come this month.
Hi. Patrick has a booth at the Maryland Rennaissance Festival every year, where he sells mostly his bamboo flutes.
http://www.rennfest.com/mrf/index.html
He isn’t there himself every weekend, but is there for at least 2 weekends. You could call/e-mail him and find out which ones. I’m sure he’d be happy to talk to you, he’s a nice guy.
Heather
That’s the festival the House of Musical Traditions told me about, so I’ll definitely give him a call and find out which weekends he’ll be there. My friends are not happy that I’m going to drag them back to the Renfest after all these years; they got that out of their systems back in high school. 
Valuable information, gcollins. Thanks!
Don’t be afraid to call Patrick up and talk to him! Aside from the fact that he might run-up your phone bill giving you a detailed analysis of cocus wood and all of the technical details involved that might cause your eyes to glaze over, you have nothing to fear. He is very helpful and knows more about flutes (and wood, he LOVES to talk wood. Give the man a stick and it will keep him occupied for hours. Perhaps this is what he is doing while we are waiting around for instruments) than just about anyone. I’d advise getting on his list, while in the meantime ordering one of his fine D pitched bamboo flutes (they cost about 60 U.S. dollars and are quite lovely). While maybe not quite as easy to play as his hardwood flutes, it will give you something to tootle on while you wait.
Oh, and Seamus Egan plays a FIVE key, not four-key flute (Eb, short F, G#, Bb and C keys), Pratten pattern (Patrick makes several different models, this is the loudest and sports the largest bore and hole-size) in cocus. And Patrick will be happy to make you one just like it. However, you not being Seamus Egan or Matt Molloy means a wait of about 4 - 5 years.
Slan,
Zac
According to the price list Pat sent me with my wooden flute a couple of months ago, his Bamboo D flutes now go for $84.
Loren
Thanks for all the great info, Fluteboy! I bit the bullet and spoke to Patrick once already, so I know how great he is. And, not being Seamus Egan, I’ll need about four or five years to save up for the flute anyway.
Noumenon,
Definitely stop by Patrick Olwells booth at Renfest. Everytime I’ve stopped by his son was there, who teaches and play’s a fine Irish flute. Often Patrick is in the back working.
Nice to see another Marylander at C&F.
and …
Hey, for whoever is going, if Aran (Patrick’s Son) is there see if you can get some info on his Bamboo whistles - rumour over on woodie-L has it that Aran is making bamboo whistles, but solid info on deliver times and prices hasn’t surfaced.
Loren
I’m going to Renfest on Sunday, Sept 8, which is when The Man himself will be there -I’m making a list of all the things y’all want to know.
hey loren
I just talked to him last week and he said he still isn’t ready to send out the whistle to the rest of the world yet. He is also experimenting with an A. I told him if he could hook me up with a bamboo low D I would freak.
Darn, the suspense is killing me.
I’ve been thinking about bamboo whistles for about 2 years now, been wanting to try to make a few myself, but I’ve been occupied with other stuff. The cheap ones sound nice but are poorly tuned (usually) and there are problems with the crude mouthpiece design and bamboo fipple plug. I’ve actually just acquired some Soprano D sized Bamboo, but I’ll probably use that to make some Soprano D flutes instead.
I have an idea for a nice quality Bamboo Low D Whistle, but I’m still looking for a good source of Bamboo to try it with. I’ll let you know if anything worthwhile ever comes of it.
Anyway, I guess we’ll all have to wait a little longer to see what Aran comes up with, I suspect it’ll be worth the wait.
Loren
Just to make you all green with envy, I’ve gotten a chance to test-drive several of Aran’s bamboo whistles. The things are amazing. I used to own a Copeland high D and I love my Michael Burke D (compliments of our exaulted and very kind leader Dale Wisely) and I’ve been very impressed with Mr. Sindt’s work for some time, but Aran’s instruments leave just about every high-end whistle I’ve ever played in the dust. Lovely, round, clear, mellow and many other adjectives and/or adverbs apply. Perfect may be a better term. I’ve never played any whistle with so many exact qualities balanced so well in one instrument.I can’t wait till he feels he’s perfected these things (and I hope I’m not letting the cat out of the bag yet, I assume if he wants to sell the things he’ll want word to get out eventually). They won’t be cheap, though. The price he quoted me for a future high D was somewhere around $125-$150. Aran is really carrying on and expanding on his Dad’s techniques and dedication to quality (I own one of Aran’s fantastic cocobolo bodhran tippers and he makes great fiddle chin-rests as well. The guy probably has many other talents he has yet to bring out into the open. Probably just as well. I’d rather not blow hard-earned money all on one instrument maker!). By the way, for those of you who have never heard him, Aran has a lovely style of playing on both flute and fiddle (plus many other things he probably would not admit to playing in public). These whistles will be BIG stuff when they hit the market.
Oh, and sorry about any pricing flubs on the bamboo flutes. It’s been a few years since a I last ordered one form Patrick. They are worth it, whatever the price.
Slan,
Zac
I was wondering how many of you told Pat Olwell what are the qualities you liked in a flute when you ordered, or if you just left it to him totally?
I figured I’d just let him do his thing, I mean what am I going to ask him for?
Once, when I first decided to buy a flute, I found a distributor that had a few of the same model Polymer flutes in stock and I said “Please do me a favor send me the one with the most solid bell note” LOL!!! How funny is that?! What a loser! If I’d had any sort of clue back then… Well, I’m only 90% loser now, so that’s something. 
Anyway, I just figured without a ton more experience, anything I might ask Patrick at this point would be an effort to compensate for a weakness in my playing ability, and would compromise the overall playability and or balance of the instrument, so I just let Patrick make me what he’s best at, and figured if that wasn’t good enough, then I needed more practice, which of course I always do anyway.
Not saying you ought to do the same, that’s just path I chose.
Have fun.
Loren
Loren,
That’s excatly how I felt when I ordered my hammy. Cause we amatuers don’t know jack @#$! about flutes compared to these guys and we’re just looking for a crutch to carry our weaknesses.