Burke Bb Brass/Aluminum Weight Difference

[Tyler DelGregg]

Folks, I'm looking to order a Burke Bb narrow bore in either brass or aluminum. They both sound good to me, but I generally prefer the sound of brass. Has anyone played both and noticed a big difference in weight? I broke my left thumb in my early 20s, (I'm 60 now) and heavier whistles tend to put a strain on the left thumb. At times, I've attached the Susato plastic thumb rest on a rather heavy copper low A, but I don't really like thumb rests.

[trekkie]

I did a quick check with an old postal scale I have (which might not be real accurate) and my Brass Bb weighed 5 oz. I don't have an Aluminum Bb to compare it with but the Generation Bb I have was 3 oz on the same scale. You might want to send an email to Mike to get a better idea of the difference.

[Stefanremy]

Hi, you could allways use a B&G neck strap with a fine hook and hook the end of the whistle in it. I do this all the time for my low whistles. Therefore I had to lengthen the cord, so I guess for a Bb whistle the length will be fine.

http://www.sax.co.uk/bg-s20-leather-pad ... r-tenor.ir

[Tyler DelGregg]

Thanks for the weight information. If it's only 2 ounces more than the Generation Bb, the brass Burke Bb should be fine. The neck strap would also work well when I play heavier low whistles. I wouldn't mind getting a brass low D one day.

[Stefanremy]

I'm also a lover of brass whistles and have a few low d in brass, thats quite heavy. But with the strap you can play as free and relax as you want. In fact you don't have to support the whistle at all, your lips and strap do all the work. For a low d you have to modify the strap a little. I see if I can post a picture of this modification. Cheers