I was thinking of getting a second hand ormiston in D with no keys I was wondering if anyone can give me an idea of a reasonable price?
They don’t seem to hold their value too well from what I’ve seen, so if you’ve got your heart set on one, you might just be able to pick up a bargain. I’ve seen a couple around the £300-£350 mark over the last wee while. (Seems a good price when they are £540 new!)
There’s one for sale on ebay right now - ending on 18 February. (I haven’t actually looked at the ad - I saw it advertised on an ebay alert I’d set up). It was up to £275 which is a great price…
Well, to be honest with you I dont know why their resale value is low. I have one that I bought second hand for about $550 BUT TO ME the flute is well worth more. I love it, and have played several other ‘better’ flutes lately and thought that man was very comparable to them, although there was a certain Olwell back in July I tried that had the ‘nyaa’ to it. Man, I’d say if you can get a used Ormiston for around $700 or so, that’s not bad as long as it’s been well cared for. Super craftmanship, and it’s been right up there in volume in several sessions so far (mine’s the short D foot) and the tone is great too.
I think their prices are low because they’re not as well known as, say, Hamilton or Olwell flutes. Ormistrons are excellent flutes, nevertheless.
I came this close to buying a keyless Ormiston about five years ago when I was over in Scotland. They’re definitely very good flutes. Perhaps not surprisingly, nearly all the young (i.e. under-25) flute players I met over in Scotland were playing Ormistons. They were selling for 300 pounds new back then.
Damn…
i’ve an ormiston unkeyed for sale, but it’s an older model from the mid 90s (not much played) and isn’t as loud as newer models
Didn’t David Migoya use to sell them (Ormiston unkeyed) new for some low price too, i’m not sure if US $400 or $600?
I found his Web site, for the current prices:
http://www.ormistonflutes.fsnet.co.uk/
Some of the Ormistons i’ve seen have large squarish blowholes, that are very nice to play and loud. Others have more traditional round blowholes. So i guess there’s some variation in design.
There’s a keyless Ormiston selling here:
http://www.firescribble.net/flute/forsale.html#endbuy
I have a 4-keyed Ormiston (squarish blowhole, short D foot) that I would trust with my life. I think I ordered it through Hobgoblin? It’s unfortunately at present taking a back seat to my new love, the dreaded Hamilton – but I aim to keep “the big O” around indefinitely. 
It’s loud, an easy player, wonderfully in tune across all registers, even has small finger holes for those in need of such … I think George has hit on a brilliant series of solutions for many levels of players, and wholeheartedly agree that Ormistons are way underappreciated.
Question is how often does Brad check out the old listings and remove them. This one was up 23FEB2003 - about a year ago.
I’m an Ormiston owner also and concur that he is grossly under valuated. His craftmanship is superb - many are but his is a bit finer and especially for the price. I play it frequently but still alternate among four flutes, depending on what mood I’m in – I gues, for lack of a better reason. I guess I can’t make up my minc whic one I prefer so I play them all periodically. In the old days there were only eight cereals to choose from in the store, too. BUT I like today better.
BillG
Good catch. I think he relies on people telling him that the flute is sold, to remove the ad. I’ve had flutes advertised for over a year before i finally ebayed them out of their misery. 
It only got 2 bids and went for £285 - I guess someone got a bargain, and it wasn’t poor Borderpiper who had the first bid in - nae luck!
Oops 
the dreaded double-post.
No; David sold the flutes of a maker whose name I’ve forgotten. Good flutes, apparently, but due to personal reasons I’ve also forgotten (we were drinking when David told me the story…) the maker flaked on him and disappeared.
Ormiston’s are sold (or were) through Lark; perhaps that’s what you were thinking.
I’ve never played one myself (an Ormiston) – I’ve heard everything from complimentary to devastating reviews. I’d love to try one, myself, to make my own call. I don’t know about his keyless flutes, but the keywork on his keyed flutes is lovely.
Gordon
It was me that put the first bid in 
I’m in Arbraoth today (east coast of scotland) and have no net access. I went down to the library and was to late to bid again.
I’m looking for a flute to start on. I got my new whistle (Abell D) recently and I want to sell my kerry song bird and tunable chieftan to fund a flute. I would like a wooden one second hand and thought the ormiston looked good.
Thanks for all the help guys, I was a bit wary of this site (I only joined recently) because of the all the arguing and nasty posts recently but you’ve all been great.
(maybe it’s because I didn’t mention any famous whistlers… :roll: )
The principals in the nasty threads
have all gone. We’re nice enough.
Welcome.
does anyone know how old the flute sold was - ie. one or the newer models or not.
Hi John,
It’s difficult to tell how old the flute is without knowing its number which is stamped on the headjoint. The flute on ebay looks like one of George’s C flutes (ie with extended footjoint and venting holes). Someone got a really good deal on that. I think the reason why George’s flutes don’t hold their value on the second hand market is because none of the well-known players play one. I believe that’s going to change. I can think of a number of exceptional Scottish players playing Ormistons who could come through at any time. My money is on Kevin O’Neill from Glasgow to be the first. Anyway time will tell.
No, i was thinking David, he used to sell some nice looking flute from a Scottish pipe maker, i just got the wires crossed with Ormiston; thanks for the clarification.
I think re: Ormistons, the reason they get variable reviews is that there is some variation but more importantly, his flutes are not typical Irish flutes; the blowhole is cut different, they may require some getting used to before they play easily. That’s what i thought, at least, when i tried a couple of them.
g