Wanted to hear what people had to say about the wait for an Olwell flute, mostly the keyed models.
Reason I ask is I have a client who mentioned that she’s been waiting for a keyed Olwell now FOR 12 YEARS!
Needless to say, she’s rather dubious about this “list” everyone says he keeps.
I hear (from Patrick himself) that the current wait for a keyed flute is about 4-5 years. Is this accurate for everyone other than Molloy, Egan and Nugent?
12 Freak’in years?!?
Wow, that’s so wrong. I can’t think of anything worth waiting 12 years for, except maybe a good bottle of wine.
I’m 5 months into the wait for my keyless Olwell so I can’t help you much with my answer. I do have several friends who’ve ordered Keyless flutes from Patrick and they all seemed to be ready in the one year time frame Patrick quoted.
Boy I’m dying to hear how long others have been waiting for one of his keyed flutes…
Loren
Reading about long waits for highly-desired flutes reminds me of a story a friend of mine told many years ago in Scotland after visiting the “atelier” (is that the word?) of a famous bagpipe maker, quite an elderly man at the time and on the brink of retirement.
She said she observed that he kept his back orders on a wall hook. When he finished all work on a chanter, he would go over to the hook and yank an order off to start work on the next. (In those days, before the “soleless” chanter fad struck, the maker wanted to know whether to turn the wood for a metal sole or an ivory or plastic one.)
She noted that he took the order, seemingly at random, from near the rear of the stack, looked at it, stuck it back on the front and then picked another from the back!
She asked how he maintained this filing “system” and he said he tried to keep the older orders in the rear, but he “was no’ a fanatic aboot it” and that he would “get roond tae a” of 'em in guid time."
This particularly puzzled her because he then agreed (after much palaver) to sell her part with his own “prersonal” stand of pipes spot because, he said, he was going to retire, and because she had come all the way from California.
In fact, he did retire shortly thereafter. we all wondered what happend to all those waiting orders?
I still treasure one of his chanters, which I contune to believe are nonpareil. Fitted with a silver sole in runic design, it cost me $33 in 1964. I wonder what they are bringing on Ebay today?
This is really funny! I ran into Pat a couple of weeks ago and he told me to just send him a postcard once a year reminding him who I am, how long I’ve been on his list and what sort of flute I ordered from him. He hates to be bothered, and he’ll say so himself. I heard a story from some of my friends about a woman who is on Pat’s list who pesters him constantly about the flute and has done so for years. According to the story, this has annoyed him to the point that he has told some people (not myself) that she will never get a flute. Now, don’t take this as the absolute truth, since I heard it through the grapevine, but it may have some truth to it. In other words, if you want your Olwell don’t pester him about it. A once a year, friendly, detailed postcard will do fine. Pat is a wonderful guy, he’s also a very, very busy guy. Good luck!
Chris
The information that I have received from Mr. Olwell indicates 3-4 years for keyed models. Whether he keeps his time schedule, I can’t say.
Erik
Chris,
Oh man, that’s a funny story!
I ordered a Keyless D Bamboo Flute from Patrick on Aug 28th (approx) and rec’d it yesterday. Great service.
It is a lovely instrument, but I can’t get a note out of it. I am looking forward to starting lessons next week.
Cheers 
Gerry
How long is the wait for an Olwell keyless D blackwood flute then, a year or 18 months?
On the fully-keyed list for 5 years; emailed Patrick Olwell about 6 months ago, and he said it’d probably be another year/18 months. That’s fine with me.
I’m on the list for a keyless. Patrick told me to call him up at about 9 months on the year wait and see where he was at with his schedule. Very nice to speak with on the phone.
Based on the above comments I’m thinking that the nine month reminder is a must.
Not only is it a must, it’s kind of expected, I think.
What did you order? Nicholson, Pratten, Rudall . . . timber . . . silver, nickel silver?
Stuart
What did you order? Nicholson, Pratten, Rudall . . . timber . . . silver, nickel silver?
I really didn’t know that I had a choice. I know that people on the list have requested certain styles from Patrick before. When I called him up to order the flute I just specified blackwood. He didn’t ask what style so I figured he’s got the “Olwell standard” model in mind. Does anyone have any input on this?
Thanks,
Don
Could someone PM me Mr. Olwell’s email address? I’m thinking of getting on the list for a keyless. I haven’t made up my mind yet, though. I have kind of a quandry… I love my CB Beginners so I’ve been thinking of ordering a Blackwood with slide and rings from Mr. Burns, but I’ve read so many good things about Olwell flutes… 
Plus I’m not even sure what to tell him I want, other than a Keyless blackwood. I’m thinking Pratten but really couldn’t tell you why… Oh the humanity… 
Thanks,
Tony
It is a long wait, but just think, when you finally get it, you’ll be able to join the elite group of people who can brag about their Olwells in Chiff&Fipple. Somehow, this makes it all worthwile.
, glauber!
Patrick is a lovely man who really wants to build flutes. My advice: Put your order in, send him a note now and then, and otherwise leave him alone. He’s a craftsman who knows what he’s doing, he will build you a wonderful flute, and he needs time to do his work (not to mention have a life and take care of his family and maybe play a little music).
Basically the things we’d all like in life, no?
Don’t forget: Patrick makes fabulous instruments because he loves to make fabulous instruments. He didn’t really market himself; we found him – and I suspect even Patrick didn’t ever plan on having such a long waiting list. But if you want an Olwell, there’s only one Olwell. So I think we owe it to him, and ourselves, to honor his love and craft – we’ll all be better off in the long run.
Respectfully,
cat.
i’ve been on “the list” since 1995. spoke to patrick last week. apparently, i’m looking at this summer for delivery. 4-5 yrs seems a bit of a low end of the estimate from my exp. and what i’ve heard. but 12 years?! that seems excessive. has she actually spoken with patrick lately? does he know she’s on his list?