I caught Danu in concert last night. Needless to say, it was a rediculously good show. I just want to report that Tom Doorly, the flautist, is now playing an exquisite Pat Olwell flute, fully keyed, made of cocus wood, in D , rather than the Seery flute he had been playing in the past.
Chris
That means the waiting time for an Olwell will double…
Tots
Naw, i don’t think so. Practically every Irish flute player on the face of the planet either already has an Olwell or is in line for one. Considering that Larry Nugent, Seamus Egan and Matt Molloy have all played Olwells for quite some time, I don’t imagine the waiting list is going to get much longer. As a matter of fact, now that the whole Riverdance phenomenon has died down, many people who got excited about Irish music and thought they’d give it a try have since changed their minds and there are more good used instruments for sale than ever before. I predict that the waiting lists will actually get shorter. Tom said he got his flute in about two years. I think that was probably a special favor from Patrick.
Chris
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2002-01-16 12:38 ]
Well, it’s about time!
I quite like my Seery. Perhaps it doesn’t have the ‘class’ some of you are looking for, but it suits me just fine. No problems with cracks either. Very nice.
Hi Whistle God, welcome to the board. That’s some name you’ve got there. Any truth behind it?
Anyways, I wasn’t knocking Seery flutes, I think they’re great, but nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to an Olwell Pratten in cocus.
Chris
Just what popped into my head is all.
My point was just that I feel the Seery polymer flutes are as good in most respects as their hardwood counterparts. Obviously, there are some differences, but in tuning, and playability, I find little difference. Not enough to justify the extra money for a hardwood at this point.
Thats all
I admire where the Whistle God is coming from. I’d love to just play a flute that I like, and not have to wonder whether there is another flute on the planet that I’d like more than the one in my hands.
It is a problem of desire. I suffer from it, and in the Buddhist tradition, I continue to search for the root cause of my desire and find enlightenment.
Meantime, after I traded away my Olwell keyless for a a killer 8-key Rudall orignal with a Wilkes head (and alas patent head!), and already longing for the Olwell low Bb in a few months…I still wonder if there is not a better flute.
But…here I am travelling in Beijing, playing my travel Seery, and it’s a darn good flute.