still usually there is a big difference between waiting for a keyed flute than a keyless one…
I’ve been waiting a year now for a 4 keyed model and have heard nothing in 5 months.
falls church virginia
What a shame. And one of the best – if not the best – flute-makers in the world is just next door…
Just out of curiousity - He did a great job and you got a nice powerfully sounding flute, but you wouldn’t recommend him?? Why?
Well, I wouldn’t call making a new headjoint a restoration. If you like Sam’s embouchure cuts and you want a new headjoint for your new flute go for it.
But for actual restoration (cleaning, new pads and cork, fixing cracks etc), there’s nothing that you can’t get form any other good flute restorer. Dealing with Sam can be awkward and he can be very busy sometimes, if there’s nothing specific you need from him, pick someone else.
Hi David,
When you said one of the best flute makers was right next door to me in Virginia I wasn’t sure who you meant. Patrick Olwell’s waiting list is some seven years or something isn’t it? Plus, I doubt he’d take an order from me after I sold an unkeyed flute from him several months ago on Ebay. (Couldn’t blame him) So forgive my ignorance here, but I was wondering if you had someone else in mind which would be a high complement indeed coming from someone with as much knowledge as you. I guess selling the Olwell and ordering a Murray was a mistake. I’ve played both and felt a little more comfortable with the Murray, but that Olwell was a good one. Beautifully made with a rich full voice and with incomparable Olwell tuning. But I’m getting older and it probably was best suited to someone younger and more experienced. Plus I wanted those keys. The Murray was supposed to be my retirement gift to myself. I expected it would take about a year, but after what seemed like a promising start, I’ve been waiting for some word on where things stand and becoming a little less hopeful. All the best, Libraryman (actually “ex-Libraryman” would be more accurate).
I did mean Patrick. The waiting list is about six years for a six-keyed flute. Less I assume for four-keys. You should have at least spoken to him. Of course he resents it when people buy and sell a flute within a short time of ordering and receiving it, when so many people are clamoring for a flute from him that they plan to keep forever. That said, some Murray flutes are very good and there are some great players – Harry Bradley and Peter Maguire, for instance – who prefer Murrays to Olwells. The problem as I see it that Murray’s flutes are inconsistent. I’ve played some great ones and some not so great.
This summer nearly every Olwell flute that I had for sale flew out of the shop, while a great-playing Murray with three keys, priced at €1,300, languished on the shelf. I still think it is great flute. It has three keys (C, F, G#), plays in tune, great bark out if it, slim and comfortable in the hands. People like Ciaran Somers and Niall Keegan also thought it was a fine player. Anyway, at this point I am going to offer it for $1,400 and lighten the load a bit.
You will get your Murray flute and you will be happy with it. Irish time is different than US time. It is important to keep that in mind when dealing with an Irish maker. Irish makers often resent the strict time-table that Americans hold them to. Americans are far more precise in their plans, whether setting a date and time for delivery or for scheduling an unprovoked invasion of a 3rd. World country. It can be frustrating but Sam is not venal and is very like my plumber, who tells me he’ll come to my house at 2 PM on Tuesday and shows up at 4 PM on Thursday. Once you accept that attitude, your life becomes a lot easier and you begin to understand the concept of craic.
Thanks again David,
I did not mean to sound like I was complaining about my year’s wait. Its just that this thread started with people saying that they had recently received flutes from Sam and it made me wonder if I should give him a call. I know Sam’s work is in demand and so would only ask him nicely how things were going. I placed my order with him because I played two of his flutes and thought they really suited me very well. I knew my Olwell was a good one because I heard some Olwell players playing it–including Patrick himself. But after three years, I concluded it really was better suited to a younger and more experienced player and so I sold it on Ebay. I guess I could have talked to Patrick to ask about a keyed flute, but I guess I might have felt a bit awkward even if I think he knows I did not purchase it with the intention of trying to make a profit. Anyway since I am now retired, I’m getting on Irish time already. (What’s today?) Sounds like the life over there is good to you. Enjoy that craic. (Can you say that?) All the best, Steve
Libraryman I really hope you get your Murray flute, but, judging by my own experience, I suspect you would have done better to have ordered a flute from Pat Olwell who is nearer geographically and is 100% trustworthy. If you order a flute from Pat then you can be assured that you will receive a flute.
Thanks Steampacket. I read about your awful experience with Sam and was really sorry that you have been treated that way. Absolutely dreadful. People say Sam is really a decent guy, but how can you excuse refusing to return a flute sent for repair? As for me, I never did hear from him again. I wrote, but got no answer. But I have a nice McGee 5088 and a Copley which I alternate playing and actually prefer to the Olwell Nicholson I once owned. I just found it to have great potential, but my playing on it was wildly inconsistent. Maybe it was just me, but then I am just me. As for Sam, I guess I have learned a lesson that was costly in terms of a lost deposit, but not as costly as a lost Murray flute. The lesson? It is generally best to deal close to home.
This is the greatest truth I have ever seen on here. I have had some bad experiences trying out flutes by the “great” makers across the pond. Some cases ended up in stolen money and others with firewood quality instruments. I’m sticking to makers over here. Between John Gallagher and the Olwells I have no reason to look elsewhere I just learned it the hard way.
Wow that is some experience!!
Surely “the great makers” on the opposite side of the Atlantic to you would not last too long in business if they made firewood instruments and stole money. Can you elaborate without risking libel.
Oh don’t get him started, please… 
I could make a nice warm fire with some of these flutes he speaks of…
It’s probably not in very good taste for another flutemaker to stoke this particular fire.
I thInk it is generally best to deal close to home because you have a chance to meet, talk to, and get to know the maker and I think it is only human nature that he or she will be likely to be more responsive to you that way. What is not normal is to write a customer who has sent you $500 to say your flute is done except for a mixup with the rings and then keep them hanging for almost 2 years. That is what has happened to me. If this is due to illness, Ii am sorry, but I am not apologizing for feeling kind of taken. That said, I would never suggest that no foreign makers are trustworthy. Terry McGee made me 2 flutes, was a pleasure to correspond with, and sent each earlier than his estimated delivery date. The first was a 5088 model in D that has been my favorite flute ever since I got it. The second is a C model that I do not play often, but that is because I am just not good enough to play it well. Anyway, I am sure many others have had successful “long distance relationships.” But I still think it is more of a gamble.
Based in Sweden all my dealings with flute and uilleann pipe makers have been long distance by default. Over the years I’ve sent and received flutes, and parts of pipes to Chris Wilkes, Dave Williams R.I.P., and Martin Doyle and had no problems at all. I’ve purchased flutes from Cork, California, New Hampshire, a Wooff chanter from Australia, again no problems.
Sam Murray is the only maker who has been a severe disappointment. Sam refuses to return my keyless flute which I personally left in his workshop in July 2011. An attempt was made about 10 days ago by someone visiting Galway to obtain my flute and another person’s flute, that was left for repair over a year ago, and Sam could not produce either of the flutes. Sam and Sean still maintain radio silence, no communication. As my flute’s long gone I’ve nothing to lose now. 25 euros gets the Galway District Court Small Claims Registrars involved, Sam must be taken to task. He can’t just take people’s flutes and money unchallanged
I have to say that I find this a disgraceful comment. Whether you meant it or not your comment may leave the impression that Murray makes “firewood quality instruments”, which is obviously not the case. Why not tell us who you claim makes these instruments?
I don’t know which makers O Gaiteiro de Chicago is referring to that make “firewood quality instruments”. Sam Murray makes good quality flutes as does Eamonn Cotter, Martin Doyle, Marcus Hernon, Hammy Hamilton, Chris Wilkes, Glenn Watson, Gilles Léhart, Stephane Morvan, Terry McGee, Michael Grinter
I can vouch for the quality of Sam Murray’s flutes. I had the chance to play a few recently at an Irish Music week and they’re excellent instruments. The story Steampacket mentions, (if accurate) however is unacceptable conduct, even from a maker of his calibre. Getting one’s flute back, especially when the owner just wants it back with no repairs made, should NOT take two years. I would be horrified to be separated from my flute for that long.
Should anybody still be reading this woeful thread, I am selling a beautiful Sam Murray 6-key boxwood flute with an ivory end-cap, in the key of D. The keys, the slide and the rings are silver. It is about two years old and it is like new. No warps, cracks, or chips. Comes in the case that Sam provides. Has a hard edge but retains the sweetness of aged boxwood. Also note that the blocks are in place to have the two bottom keys added. This is a terrific flute from a wonderful maker.
Postage within the EU would be €15. I will be coming to the US in two weeks. I could bring it over then and post it from within for about $25.
Contact me for more information. Thanks
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