Hi does anyone know if Pat Olwell is out of town right now? I’ve been trying to email him but have gotten no replies so far. Haven’t called him yet though.. Thanks in advance!
I’d call, were I you. I’ve never received a reply to e-mail from him, but almost always have gotten hold of him by phone. Talked to him two days ago, in fact, at the number listed for him on the web, so ring him up!
I talked to him on the day before yestersday by phone. What a pleasant fellow.
BTW He told me he will be stopping taking bamboo orders in from November through April again this year to concentrate on his wooden flute waiting list. So if you are thinking about getting one you had better do so quickly
Later,
Colin
Wierd ~ He has never failed to answer any of my emails, and I spoke with him on the phone about a week ago. However, he was very busy and had to cut our conversation short when the Fed-Ex man arrived (I heard him in the background) Very very nice guy!
Mary
Could someone PM me his email? Thanks!
While it is true that Patrick will cease making bamboo flutes from November-April, Steven Cox www.tallgrasswinds.com will be taking new orders for bamboo flutes starting around December, thus maintaining the universal bamboo production equilibrium.
For those who are considering a purchase from Tallgrass, what would be a good way to select? There is a 3-pack offered, but choices are major, minor and pentatonic.
Anyone out there who’s made a purchase ~ how did you choose, and are you pleased?
Mary
I have a Tallgrass F major transverse flute. It was a Christmas present last year. I really like it but it is the only bamboo flute I’ve ever played
It is very much in tune and I can get a range of tonal colors form it.
YMMV 
Colin
could someone please PM pat olwells current email address to me?
thanks fellow fluters
[quote=“Whistlin’Dixie”]For those who are considering a purchase from Tallgrass, what would be a good way to select? There is a 3-pack offered, but choices are major, minor and pentatonic.
Anyone out there who’s made a purchase ~ how did you choose, and are you pleased?
Mary[/quote]
I’ve never played one of the tallgrass flutes, but I can comment on the scale choices…
It really depends what you want to do with the flute which you should choose. If you want to play Irish music, you’ll almost certainly want the major model.
His minor flutes are a harmonic minor (according to his site) which many people feel has an asian sound to it due to the 1.5 step jump between the 6th and 7th. Being a harmonic minor, you can’t take (for example) the D flute and play a typical tune in F major which usually has the same key signature as D minor. The harmonic D minor scale is D E F G A Bb C# D.
The pentatonic also will have a rather Asian or Native American sound, but you should note that the pentatonic scales used in NA music are not necessarily the same as those used in Japanese (the only Asian music I know in any detail). There are several ways to make a pentatonic scale on a piano, or a keyless (major) flute. They all have a slightly different sound and feel to them. I have no idea which of these pentatonic scales he uses. The pentatonic will be a great choice for improvisation and can be a lot of fun if that’s a sound that you like.
just got address, cheers herb!
I’ve been thinking about this thread, being Patrick’s friend and all. Patrick lives in a tree. It’s hard for him to answer email. The power isn’t always on. And there isn’t a lot of daylight in there.
He isn’t really interested in being an industry. He’s an artist – a minimalist who works in wood. What he makes happens to be flutes. It takes a long time to make one. These flutes are made from the trees he lives in.
If you all left him alone maybe he’d get some work done.
Is he a squirrel? 
I’ve left him alone, but I sure would like to get my flute for Christmas…
Not going to bug him, though 
Mary
Wow, I didn’t know there were blackwood trees in Virginia!
When David said that Patrick Olwell lives in a tree, he didn’t mean that he literally lives high up amid the branches of a living tree. Only people who are attempting to call attention to the plight of redwoods in California or who are competing in bizarre radio station contests to win tickets to the next Britney Spears concert would ever actually live up amid the branches of a living tree. I mean, get real, people. We all know that Patrick has e-mail (else why would everyone on this list be salivating over his e-mail address?), which means he has a computer (probably one of the latest-generation cutting-edge laptops; after all, someone who makes the world’s best flutes would never use an old clunker of a computer, would he?), and of course he’s gotta be able to plug in somewhere to recharge its battery. Ever seen an electric outlet up amid the branches of a living tree?
But David wasn’t lying when he said that Patrick lives in a tree made out of the same materials his flutes are made of. He does. I’ll probably get in trouble with him and risk never ever getting another flute from him by revealing this, but by God I’ve gotta do it. The man’s living situation is wierder by far than Michael Jackson with his Neverland ranch. His house is circular, made of the largest piece of bamboo ever grown. Some of you may have seen the picture Patrick displays of his car shuttling back from Florida loaded down with bamboo for flute making. Well, in order to get this giant piece of bamboo that his house is made of up to the hills of Nelson County, Virginia, Patrick had to cut a deal with a driver of an 18-wheeler who also happens to be a flute player. You should see the set of flutes that guy is playing now!
Inside Patrick’s house, which by the way is three stories high with hardwood floors made of the finest rosewood and a roof of hand-thatched bamboo shoots, all of the furniture is hand-crafted boxwood. His plates, bowls and cutlery are all hand-carved cocus wood. (The phone number of the UVa Hospital’s allergy wing is conviently posted on his refrigerator for the use of dinner guests who have sensitivity reactions.) The toilet fixtures and sinks are made of gorgeous mammoth ivory. And being the perfectionist he is, Patrick has done all the work himself. (Okay, there is that whimsical lamp made out of a carrot by his son Aran right after he emerged from the womb. But other than that, it’s all handmade by Patrick.) Not being a wealthy man, in order to garner all the raw materials for the house he has had to barter flutes for them - and you don’t get a chunk of mammoth ivory big enough to carve a toilet out of in exchange for a bamboo flute, not even if it’s “professional grade”. Between working on the house or making flutes to exchange for materials for the house, the man’s busy night and day.
And still you people wonder “Why doesn’t Patrick answer my e-mails?” and “Why isn’t my flute done yet?” Come on, give the guy a break!
No wonder Patrick asked me whether a single California Redwood would really be valued at a million dollars or more; he was probably looking to get a little more room, and doing some comparison shopping.
I agree with everything johnkerr has wrote, I just wanted to add that the door handle on the outside was recently replaced with Delrin.
I’m surprised. Patrick told me once that he didn’t like working with delrin…said it was “icky”.
Come on, this is beginning to look ridiculous. Which self-respecting wooden flute maker would have delrin handles in his doors?