New to this forum. Help on g-whistle

[Sandman1958]

Hello all. Hope someone can advise me. Full disclosure: I'm a sax and ukulele player, not a whistler. I have some cheap whistles and a Howard low-D. My bandleader, however, has asked me to play some whistle on a couple of tunes, so I need to get a G-whistle. The problem is, its so tiny. The smallest one I have is F#, and sounds too piercing for what we need. I imagine the G will be even smaller and shriller. I am hankering towards an alto G. I think a low-G will not cut through the mix well enough. But I really don't know, so I'm asking you nice folks for some advice. Its going to be used mainly for recording, so it has to be fairly decent. Brands, tips, anything. We're a jugband, with up to 11 instruments at a time. Thanks for your time. (Muddy Basin Ramblers is our outfit, all the way from Taiwan, via Scotland, London, Nebraska, California...)

[Hooleh]

Off the top of my head, get a decent high D whistle since you can play it in G too? I would suppose it would stand out enough from the mix without being so piercing as a high G (which I've understood are rather uncommon, rare even).
Of course if you need those high notes a D whistle won't reach, it's a different issue.

[brewerpaul]

If you're going to be recording into a mic the volume of the low G whistle can be increased if necessary. I used mine at Irish gigs quite successfully.

[AngelicBeaver]

Hello all. Hope someone can advise me. Full disclosure: I'm a sax and ukulele player, not a whistler. I have some cheap whistles and a Howard low-D. My bandleader, however, has asked me to play some whistle on a couple of tunes, so I need to get a G-whistle. The problem is, its so tiny. The smallest one I have is F#, and sounds too piercing for what we need. I imagine the G will be even smaller and shriller. I am hankering towards an alto G. I think a low-G will not cut through the mix well enough. But I really don't know, so I'm asking you nice folks for some advice. Its going to be used mainly for recording, so it has to be fairly decent. Brands, tips, anything. We're a jugband, with up to 11 instruments at a time. Thanks for your time. (Muddy Basin Ramblers is our outfit, all the way from Taiwan, via Scotland, London, Nebraska, California...)

Becker Whistles are a really good value if you want something inexpensive ($15 + shipping), although I don't think he does tunable whistles. I don't play in groups, so I don't worry about such things. Maybe tuning isn't a necessity with a plastic whistle that's more stable than a metal one. The G he sent me doesn't have the tone quality of a $200 whistle, of course, but it's far and away the best value for the money that I've ever run across. It certainly sounds decent, and mellow.

http://www.beckerwhistles.com/alto-whistles.html

Here's me playing one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUoyrkcS8uI

If I had to go for a higher end whistle, I'd buy another Goldie, probably. I owned one once and sold it because alto G seems to be a weird key for my hand size. I'm fine with A and F, but I had a hard time figuring out how to place my fingers on a G. I really should have kept it. I think, at the time, I was thinking that it was too similar to my F, which I liked better. Your fingers figure out how to play just about any whistle, given enough time. Tone and playing characteristics get really personal above a certain price point. Nobody makes a better whistle than Colin Goldie, but they do make equal quality whistles that play differently. Some people end up preferring different playing characteristics or tone qualities.

Old video of me playing the Goldie G:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vFNUEJv9os

Jerry Freeman makes an Alto G using a modified Generation Bb whistle head. They run about $40 or $50, I think. If you have a Generation Bb, it plays similarly, but a little softer. The advantage over the Becker would be a head that moves so you can tune it a bit.

[RLindner]

Phil Hardy from Chieftain just presented the new Thunderbird G.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aruFgsdLeJI

[Chifmunk]

I'd think if you are recording you just adjust the volume for the whistle to balance with the other instruments as needed.

I have two low G altos: a (Freeman-tweaked) Generation and a Tony Dixon brass 'Trad' model.
Of those two low G whistles, I reach for the Dixon more- it has a rich slightly hollow 'pop' to its tone and is a little less breathy...but mostly I prefer it because it's less of a stretch- the total length from center of top hole to center of bottom hole is almost a 1/2" inch shorter than the Generation. Yet it doesn't lose tone or volume because of that (imho).

[s1m0n]

Off the top of my head, get a decent high D whistle since you can play it in G too?

What he said. Soprano G whistles are as unplayable as they are unlistenable, but G is an easy key to play in with a D whistle.

[The Lurking Fear]

Becker Whistles are a really good value if you want something inexpensive ($15 + shipping), although I don't think he does tunable whistles. The G he sent me doesn't have the tone quality of a $200 whistle, of course, but it's far and away the best value for the money that I've ever run across. It certainly sounds decent, and mellow.


If I had to go for a higher end whistle, I'd buy another Goldie, probably. I owned one once and sold it because alto G seems to be a weird key for my hand size. I'm fine with A and F, but I had a hard time figuring out how to place my fingers on a G. I really should have kept it. I think, at the time, I was thinking that it was too similar to my F, which I liked better.

Old video of me playing the Goldie G:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vFNUEJv9os

So that's why you sold it.I've wondered why. And you're right,you should have kept it.But I don't feel bad enough for you to let you have it back.

I've got Becker's whistles,also.While non-tunable I have to say they're worth more than the price.
Only the Bb and lower,though.I don't care for the air requirements for the higher keys,feel like I have to provide more air for those than for the G!

Great for taking along when hiking/camping/fishing also.Lightweight,sturdy,and if something really bad happens out in the field how much money would one lose?

@ s1m0n-unlistenable,perhaps to some. But before I moved up to welterweight I could and did play my teensy weensy Generation G. After I left the lightweights my fingers weren't thin enough.

[Mr.Gumby]

Soprano G whistles are as unplayable as they are unlistenable, but G is an easy key to play in with a D whistle.

This is a classic example. Nothing wrong with it.

[Chifmunk]

This is a classic example. Nothing wrong with it.

Hah, its site description lists the instrument as 'bagpipes'...

[Sandman1958]

Well, I found a Tony Dixon standard G. Seems fine to me. They had a Chieftan for a lot more cash, and I wanted it very much. But not for just two tunes!

[Sandman1958]

OK, so I found an Irish traditional music club here in Taiwan that sells whistles. I went into their gaff and wanted a used Chieftain D that sounded amazing, but bandleader wants a G. So I went for a standard G in brass from Tony Dixon. The alternative was a low-G by a Chinese manufacturer. Kind of a Chieftain knock-off. The Dixon sounds nice enough to my ears, and the price is right, but it seems a little weak. How are they regarded among whistle players?