Joe Gerardi wrote:
Saying a "Chinese"whistle is a "knockoff" is then also saying that a Colin Goldie is a knockoff of an Overton. just because they choose to compete doesn't mean they're making "knockoffs."
My second violin is a Chinese instrument (My first is a Cremonese Italian instrument.) It cost less than 1/16th the price of the Italian, and is about 75% of the instrument in sound. I use it for things like weddings at the beach, where I don't want blowing sand to damage the finish of the more expensive instrument. It also plays easier than the Italian fiddle.
As to knockoffs in general, China will make whatever the buyer asks for, at the level of quality the buyer is willing to pay. Look at Scott Cao violins- You're talking probably 20 grand or more. Because they're Strad or Guarnieri models, are they "Chinese knockoffs" as well?
People ought to know of what they speak before they open their mouth. Old internet adage: think twice, type once.
..Joe
A knockoff is a "a copy that sells for less than the original" or a "a copy or imitation of someone or something popular," according to the dictionary. The people manufacturing these whistles have a variety of copies of various brands, including Feadog, Susato, and these, which are based on the Sindt design. I'd call them knockoffs. It's not a bad word to me, I own plenty of things, instrument and otherwise, that would fall under this category. For example, I have a mandolin that's a knockoff of an old Gibson design. Cost me a couple hundred rather than a few thousand, and it sounds great!
So yeah, an exact copy of a Strad that you can get for $20,000 would absolutely fall under that category. For the vast majority of us, that's fine, since we're never going to get our hands on the "real thing," and I'm sure those violins are wonderful instruments. The maker seems to have studied for a long time and has decades of expertise on how to make violins. I'm not ruling out that being the case for this whistle manufacturer, but I'd be somewhat skeptical given the range of products they're producing.
Again, I see nothing inherently wrong with a "knockoff," but I do think it's worth calling a spade a spade. People were perfectly willing (and justifiably so) to note that Killarney was copying the Sindt design when that make first came out, this is yet another copy of the same basic design. If these are well-made, and can compete on quality with the existing whistles, then I see no reason not to buy them or promote them, copy or no. But since they're the same price as a Killarney, and the Killarneys are known to be good instruments already, I personally wouldn't really want to be taking the chance on something that could be great or rubbish. I'm sure someone will, and I'd love to hear from them what these sound and play like.