Chiff and Fipple Forums

Are there any stores in the Cleveland Ohio area I can walk in and buy a whistle? Most of the places I have gone have a whistle, a beginners book, and a CD. I just want to walk in, see some generation whistles and walk out with one in hand...lol

You won’t find a Generation anywhere. The music stores have a Feadog with book and CD
You can also find an Oak minus book. Your best bet will be online.
Gremich

As has been mentioned here many times, any of the "manufactured" whistles, e.g. Generation, Feadog, Waltons, Oaks may vary due to quality control issues. If you are new to the whistle, you might do better to spend a bit more and get one on-line that has been "tweaked" and tested before being sent out, e.g. Jerry Freeman if you are in the US or Cillian O'Briain in Ireland. That way you'll know any issues are owner caused, not whistle caused.

Best wishes.

Steve

There used to be a store on the Eastside. Bagpipes, chanters, whistles etc. That was like 10 yrs ago and I don’t remember the name and I can’t locate it online, More than likely gone. Bought my first generation there years ago. Second generation (been for awhile) is my generation with a Mack fipple.

I hate ordering things online without being able to pick it up, try it etc.

Dereklilly wrote:Are there any stores in the Cleveland Ohio area I can walk in and buy a whistle? Most of the places I have gone have a whistle, a beginners book, and a CD. I just want to walk in, see some generation whistles and walk out with one in hand...lol

You're more likely to find that from a vendor at a festival, and this isn't the time of year for those in Cleveland.

There's an Irish fest in Cuyahoga Falls in June:

http://www.riverfrontirishfest.com/

gremich wrote:Your best bet will be online.

I second that statement.

I am in the same position as Dereklilly: I'd like to find a brick-and-mortar shop in my area (metro Detroit) that sells whistles, on the extreme off chance I must have a new one immediately. Searching Google Maps for musical instrument stores is a real hit-and-miss thing (mostly misses). I imagine that if I called the stores that showed up in the Google Maps listings, and asked if they carried tin whistles, most of the replies would be rather befuddled in nature.

If an Oak is an acceptable alternative, you might be able to find one at a Guitar Center. But if it must be a Generation, a little more digging will be necessary. I checked Generation's Web site, which lists all of three stockists in the US. I Googled all three, and two didn't look promising. However, one outside of Chicago might be worth calling to see if they can find a dealer in the local area.

Hope I've been helpful and did not ramble excessively.

For both Cleveland and Detroit shoppers- maybe try contacting some of the trad music groups in your city and asking if they know any local shops selling whistles.

I can't help with finding whistles in Cleveland, but Detroit musicians can always drive about an hour to Lansing where they can find Generation, Clarke, and Walton whistles at Elderly Instruments. They usually maintain a pretty good stock. I doubt you will be able to try them all out due to health concerns, but they are a good source for these inexpensive whistles, especially if you need several for a workshop or school group.

There is an Irish traditional music group in the Detroit metro area; I will be contacting them soon. The cost of fuel needed to get to and from Lansing would most likely exceed the cost of shipping a new whistle. However, if I have another reason to head to Lansing, I will definitely pay Elderly Instruments a visit.

Thanks to both The Lurking Fear and ggunner for the helpful suggestions.

Most of the whistles I've seen these days have been sealed in plastic and hanging on displays. I wonder if the day of asking someone to pull out a whistle from a glass case and have them let you play it is gone due to health concerns. The last time I did that was at Hogeye Music in Evanston, IL. I think it was 1987. (They are still there and likely still have whistles) Though I have seen Clark Sweetones on a cardboard display in a now defunct music store in the 000s.
If you can't find anything locally you can't go wrong with a tweaked Freedman.

I have always wanted to visit Elderly myself. I've bought things from them over the years both online and in their catalog days. It must be a fun place to wander about it if you are interested in string instruments.

Last time I was in Elderly (few months ago) the selection of whistles, accordions, and CDs was pretty disappointing compared to what I remember from a decade or two ago. The selection of string instruments remains brilliant as far as I can tell.

I haven't checked recently, but last time I looked the White Crow in Saginaw had both brass and nickel Generations in the normal six keys. If I remember I'll check it out during my son's fiddle lesson on Monday.

Dan A. wrote: I checked Generation's Web site, which lists all of three stockists in the US.

I've not been to the NAMM Show for a couple years now, but there were always booths that carried Generation whistles.

So at the NAMM Show any retailer could buy Generations from these wholesalers. I doubt if the Generation firm is notified of such wholesaler-to-retailer sales. I do know that until the music shop down the street closed down I could buy Generations within walking distance, and in my immediate area there are several places I can walk in and buy them now.

colomon wrote:I haven't checked recently, but last time I looked the White Crow in Saginaw had both brass and nickel Generations in the normal six keys. If I remember I'll check it out during my son's fiddle lesson on Monday.

White Crow Generation stock as of today: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KW41rZ ... sp=sharing

They have a bunch of D Feadogs and Tony Dixons as well.

Flute Specialists in Clawson, Michigan (just outside of Detroit) had some nice whistles in the past (i.e. Burke, Water Weasel). It's been several years and I no longer live in the area but they can probably tell you what they have in stock if you give them a call.

Dereklilly wrote:Are there any stores in the Cleveland Ohio area I can walk in and buy a whistle? Most of the places I have gone have a whistle, a beginners book, and a CD. I just want to walk in, see some generation whistles and walk out with one in hand...lol

If you need to, wait until next year’s Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival. By the website, it looks like a few vendors have whistles but there may not be a lot of options. I live near Wooster, OH and go to the Dublin, OH Irish Festival instead. There weren’t a whole lot of options there for whistles either. Carbony whistles and Feadog were about the only options.