Hey
I’m looking for a Patrick Olwell Bamboo flute, hopefully in Eb but i’m interested in others if I can’t get Eb. Does he still make them, or are they avaliable anywhere?
If not, does anyone no a good alternative?
Cheers
There has been lots of recent discussion on this subject. It seems he makes very few now, but they come up frequently on eBay, often at pretty inflated prices. There are a few others out there making good bamboo flutes. Anybody remember those folks’ names?
Billy Miller in Virginia makes fantastic bamboo flutes. I recently recieved one in D and one in F and they’re just beautiful. I was going to post a bit about them once 1) I get more used to playing them and 2) when we get dug out from all the snow here. 
There was a fairly extensive review of one of his E Flat flutes not too long ago. Here’s it is: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=46356
Billy’s flutes are very nice though, and he’s a great guy to deal with too.
I’ve got a D flute from Billy on its way to me (hopefully it arrived today). I’ll also post my thoughts once I’ve had it for a while, but I’ve heard good things. He’s very pleasant to deal with and responds to emails quickly.
-Brett
cheers, i’ll have a look at his website.
Let me know what you think of the flute!
Incidently, I’ve got a couple of ‘Erik the Flutemaker’ bamboo flutes.
The ‘Brazilian Major’ in G is really nice. I also have a low-D that I got real cheap on eBay, but it’s just too much for me, (wide spread, huge holes). Sounds good, though! If anyone is interested in the low-D, I’ll let it go for $25 shipping included, or maybe trade for some whistle or something. PM me, if interested!