I discovered recently that an Olwell headjoint in my current flute improved a lot the power of it and I feel really comfortable with that mix. Unfortunately the Olwell headjoint belongs to a friend and I can´t keep it anymore.
I am wondering if Patrick Olwell makes headjoints to sell.
Of course I am going to email him but for sure a bunch of you can answer me quickly.
Just in case: Is there anyone selling an Ollwell headjoint in blackwood?
Regards,
S.
Yes he does. He made one for my original R&R, #4117. You will have to send the entire flute for measurements of course. I think I paid $500.00 for it, but that was several years ago.
Arbo
I think it will be about 800 now.
An Olwell headjoint is a very useful thing.
Thanks for the quick response.
S.
What flute did you put the Olwell hj on?
Arbo
Question: I know that the Olwell hj for the Pratten fits the Nicholson body too.
Does it also fit the Olwell Rudall body?
I tried it in my Watson flute, but as other people told me it works in a lot of flutes. The combination of Watson body with Olwell headloint is absolutely terrific.
Yes, I believe there have been other reports of this ptcular combination working.
Olwell hjs are a good thing to have around.
i would assume he uses the same size tubing for all his flutes </uneducated opinion>.
Smoro, would you be able to describe the difference(s) between the Olwell and Watson headjoints in the Watson flute?
Yep! Well, I want to say that the Watson flute is really good and I feel really confortable with the headjoint, which makes the flute responsive and powerfull, but with the Olwell headjoint I feel the more I blow louder is the flute, without jumping tho the second octave, you have full control specially on the “D”. Do you know what I mean? The olwell headjoint makes the things easier, but may be it´s my embouchere too.
Thanks, Smoro. I have a Watson flute on order and hopefully after some serious playing time with its own headjoint I can try a friend’s Olwell headjoint with it. It’s a nice feature that the Olwells have in making the headjoints fit all three of their flute bodies. I’m hoping to explore the Olwell flute further in approximately 5 years.
Good luck!
I have had a Glenn Watson for over a year, and I have an Olwell headjoint, so I thought I’d put in my experiences.
I agree with Smoro that the Watson headjoint can produce lots of different tones. I also find the Watson as a flute is beautifully balanced through 3 octaves. I get frequent comments on tone quality playing the Watson. People say things like “fat” and “dark”.
Also agree with Smoro that the Watson is powerful. I was playing the Watson last night with 10 fiddles, 2 guitars, and a bodhran, and people from all over the room reported that they were easily able to hear the flute. Developing that power with the Watson took months rather than days. I had to learn to put more air through a smaller opening in my lips, in a more precise position. I think it’s the latter issue that Smoro might be talking about. Get the position of the airstream a little bit wrong on the Watson and you can lose power and overtones in the first octave, or skip up the octave easily, depending on which way you go. Lose the focus, and the interesting tone goes away.
By contrast, I find that the Olwell headjoint that I play on the Rudall and Rose was more accessible, in that I got tone I was very happy with sooner than with the Watson. My eyeball says the Olwell chimney depth is deeper than the Watson chimney depth, which may or may not have something to do with it. On the other hand, maybe what I learned getting up to speed with the Watson explained why I was faster getting up to speed with the Olwell, since I got that flute after the Watson.
I have a friend who has both a Watson and an Olwell Pratten, and I notice he mostly plays the Olwell. He says it’s easier for him. Can’t go wrong with an Olwell of course!
My summary is that the Watson headjoint is splendid, but be prepared to put in the time to develop your embouchure. Glenn’s waiting list for keyed flutes is still short and it’s a fine flute.
Hugh
Perfect description.
And yes, I think that the Olwell deaper chimney is the key, absolutely.
Thanks, Flutefry. Getting information from two people who have first hand experience is helpful.
My experience is the same as others who wrote here. Olwell flute as purchased has fabulous tone. Olwell headjoint makes a big difference on my Ward flute as well. The two HJ interchange fine.
The Olwell has a much larger embrochure hole and undercut sides on the chimney. The ward has nearly straight sides and a much smaller oval. My perception is that I have to blow more nearly straight down in the Ward.
The Ward HJ is great for practice because it sounds so good when I hit the combination of factors that make that great tone, but I just can’t get a lot of volume. The combination of air speed and narrow air stream and exact location have a very tight tolerance. It is easy to produce that dark reedy sound when all the factors are on. Back to practicing…
Lewis