Key of F

[hawthorn1213]

The Gary Humphrey whistles look like they'll do the trick. Does anyone have an experience with them?

[Mr.Gumby]

Not with an F. I had a D for a while though. It was a fine whistle but between the price of it and the cost of his preferred shipping it turned out Very Expensive. And I eventually sold it on to recoup the expense.

I would suggest you try your Generation F first. They're lovely little whistles off the shelf and given the use F whistles normally get I wouldn't recommend spending ten to fifteen times the price for any other whislte.

[Bretton]

I have a recent (maybe 5 years old) high F brass Generation that's one of the better stock Generation whistles I have. For the price, it's worth giving it a try. Chris Abell makes a high F whistle if you want something higher end. https://www.abellflute.com/whistles

Edited to add:

Humphrey whistles are some of my favorites, but I've only ever played his high D models. They have very balanced octaves (strong low D without the high B being too harsh or hard to hit). And, Gary's a swell guy!

-Brett

[pancelticpiper]

Many years ago an experienced whistler mentioned to me that in his opinion the D was the poorest Generation size.

He said that it was the only size that didn't have its own dedicated tubing-size and head; rather, it was merely a stretched Eb.

He felt the bore was a tad small (in relation to length).

I don't know if it's true, but he said the original Generations were Alto/Soprano pairs Bb/Eb and C/F, each whistle being designed from the ground up and playing nicely. (Of course D/G are likewise an Alto/Soprano pair.)

Does anyone have early Generation literature with which to discover if there was a period when the D wasn't made? Or if that guy's theory was hogwash?

In any case you're not alone in your rankings. I've often heard a preference for Generations in Bb, Eb, and C.

Personally my best-playing whistle (in any key) is an old Generation C. I wish I could find a D that plays like it.

[busterbill]

I found one made by David Furman in Argentina. He calls his company Clover Flutes. He posts on the Chiff and Fipple Facebook page now and again. He uses aluminum. It sings.

[Mr.Gumby]

Many years ago an experienced whistler mentioned to me that in his opinion the D was the poorest Generation size.

He said that it was the only size that didn't have its own dedicated tubing-size and head; rather, it was merely a stretched Eb.

He felt the bore was a tad small (in relation to length).

I don't know if it's true, but he said the original Generations were Alto/Soprano pairs Bb/Eb and C/F, each whistle being designed from the ground up and playing nicely. (Of course D/G are likewise an Alto/Soprano pair.)

Does anyone have early Generation literature with which to discover if there was a period when the D wasn't made? Or if that guy's theory was hogwash?

Richard, you have posted this several times before. As before, the reply is that there really isn't any evidence D and G whistles were not available at any point in time. The Generation D whistle goes back at least to the early 20th century, well before plastic heads came in. As do the little G whistles, Generation or otherwise. Plenty of whistles from that time survive to tell the story. Tubes and hole spacings don't seem to have changed from the early G and D models onward. The early Generation C whistles, however, shared the same diameter tube with the D and E flat so, if you want to make a case at all, a case could be made equally easy that D and E flat were upscaled Cs, a bit like how Susato designed their range. The Generation C only seems to have been redesigned, and given a wider tube, when the plastic heads came in.

It's not particularly unusual for whistles to share tube diameter and head design. Whistlemakers appear to feel it works well enough.

[nicx66]

I have an early Clarke, late 19th early 20th century high F whistle that I got for a few bucks on Ebay. It has been banged about a good bit and the fipple has shifted. I will copy it when time allows and make a half dozen or so until I get one that I like. I will keep you posted when I have one available.

[Mr.Gumby]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2296091736

£20 is a bit much, especially when you add the postage. Last week there was a batch of two, a D or C and a little G that went for £17, postage is getting excessive (and prohibitive) with the ebay shipping scheme and they would have cost me £30 in total. That's silly.

[Mr.Gumby]

Not sure it's a player's whistle, not one for regular playing anyway, with the lead fipple, no tuning slide (and at that age probably not A=440) and all that. The ones I was looking at last week were pre 1950s ones as well.

[Tor]

My F and my Eb (both off the shelf) are very different. The F is almost like my (D) Bluebird. The Eb is nothing special, nothing like the F. Quite similar to the D I have. Not bad though. Yeah, the G is too small. Haven't got a C or a Bb.

[fatmac]

Very annoying, people talking about all these whistles..........

I've just had to order up the brass Eb, F, & G to complete my Generation collection.

[fatmac]

I'm guessing you like the low ones.

I've got a couple of TD brass trads that cover that end for me (A & G).