Chiff and Fipple Forums

I've been playing a Parks ABS which I bought from a forum member a few months back. I wanted to try something else and had some money from a mandolin I sold.

I had contacted Charlie of Whorfin Whistles just as he was about to post his seconds for sale and ended up with three D's and a C in boxwood, boxwood, bloodwood and dogwood.

Then while watching the Seahawks playoff game I "won" an ebay auction for another Parks, a Mack Hoover thin brass, Freeman tweaked Blackbird and Freeman tweaked Bluebird, all D's.

Then I bought a Gene Milligan D on ebay.

I spent almost $500 but am quite pleased with the assortment and in the next few years I'll sell the ones I end up not using. (and the Parks right away)

I'll post photos when they all arrive. I just received an eight whistle leather roll and, without the Parks, now have eight whistles to put in it.

Cool!

I will say that when I read the thread title I envisioned a chromatic set.

Whenever I start with a new instrument I follow the same pattern. First I get something inexpensive but fully functional to try out. Then as my interest grows I look for good deals in order to try many well reviewed examples of the instrument. I'm not looking for a particular thing because my knowledge is not great enough to predict what I will want a year from now. I need to build that knowledge through experiencing many instruments over time in order to eventually narrow down what I prefer. Therefore I play other people's instruments whenever I get the chance and buy when I can do so at a price which will allow me to resell with little loss.

As an example I spent a total of $66 including shipping and tax on four whistles in an ebay auction. The Parks (new model) currently costs $80 new and I'm guessing this one will sell for $25-30 used. The Mack Hoover brass whistle costs $90 new ($75 plus shipping and tax) and this will sell used for $40-50. The Freeman Blackbird costs $50 new and will sell used for $20-25. The Freeman Bluebird is no longer made so will probably sell used for $25-30.

So this purchase hasn't been an expense, I'm merely parking my money in these assets indefinitely and can change these back into money fairly easily.

The Whorfin whistles are more risky in that I've put four eggs in one basket and may have been carried away by the opportunity to buy seconds which play comparably to the first line ones which would cost me about $200 each. I really like the whistles and the maker and at an average of $77.50 per whistle I think those I sell in the future will return most of my investment. Also, these vary in key, tone and breath requirements; I wouldn't have bought four which were the same.

The Gene Milligan #35 for $103 intrigued me and I trust it will hold its value.

I guess I wrote all this so that those who think I'm crazy to buy nine whistles in one day will recognize some method to my madness. I'm a retired CPA which gives me a certain perspective. I may go a year without another purchase or might buy more today if the right opportunity presents itself.

When I started, I bought a full set of Generations, in both nickel & brass, to see what I liked best.

Being a beginner some of them squealed, which pointed me to the lower whistles, but after a bit of time I found that it was my technique at fault, not the whistles - but I've bought most of the low ones anyway, (A/G/F & D).

My most expensive one is a pre used MK low F, cost £80, & I thought long & hard about spending that much on a whistle.

Looks like a whistle bug is biting you.
Have fun with your new purchases.
Tell us about your experiences when you get to use them more.

OK, I am insane. There is no use denying or rationalizing. In the photo below the horizontal 19th century flageolet and the Parks C, D pair were the only ones I had for a number of months. Left to right the recent additions are:
Mack Hoover low E
Marek Bzowski wild pear sopilka, key of A
Mack Hoover conical Bb
Freeman tweaked Bb
Whorfin dogwood C, #S-1
Freeman tweaked C blackbird
Gene Miligan D, #34
Whorfin boxwood D, #102
Whorfin boxwood D, #117
Whorfin bloodwood D, #119
older Parks D
Mack Hoover thin brass D
Feadog D
Freeman D Blackbird
Freeman D Bluebird
Generation F
Generation G
Roland Aerophone Mini

Sequimite wrote:OK, I am insane. There is no use denying or rationalizing.

Probably only one cure—buy a larger roll...

Best wishes.

Steve

That's a good start.

Sequimite wrote: I get something inexpensive but fully functional...

Whistles are fairly rare in the music world, in that this is possible.

For it's the functionality that costs money, with most instruments. As you pay a higher and higher price you get more and more function, and top-end instruments can do all sorts of subtle things that are extremely difficult, or impossible, on cheap ones.

This became most apparent to me when, after playing a $1,000 Yamaha Boehm flute for a few years, a friend let me play his Haynes. OMG the difference was greater than I could have imagined!

But with whistles, after 40 years of playing, my best whistles are the old ones I got for under $10.

Sequimite wrote: ...buy at a price which will allow me to resell with little loss...purchase hasn't been an expense, I'm merely parking my money in these assets indefinitely and can change these back into money fairly easily.

Yes indeed, that's my philosophy exactly! Buy a whistle used, try it as long as I like, then if I don't want to keep it I resell it at the same price, giving me an indefinite free rental period.

I bought and tried 30 or so Low Ds from a large number of makers before I settled on the Goldie I now play...and the sum total price I paid was the price of that single whistle.

And there's me thinking that having a few Generation duplicates or buying a Sweetone for no particular reason (other than trying it) the other week is the height of indulgence

In fact, I've been getting rid of a few. I gave away my Shaw C whistle to a friend the other day (I just did't play it, and he would), a "frankenwhistle" (Feadog D whistle with a Dixon head) to another friend at a session, and a couple of Waltons whistles (these just appear, I never actually buy them) to acquaintances who were curious about playing.

As I said about the Shaw whistle, the only thing it's giving me is the knowledge that I own it, so what's the point?

ecadre wrote: about the Shaw whistle, the only thing it's giving me is the knowledge that I own it, so what's the point?

Yes my thoughts exactly.

I just don't have the collector mentality, and my goal is to get down to one very good whistle in each key I require.

My current exception is that I picked up, a while back, for a few dollars a whole bag of old Generations. I've played through them and none of them are going to knock my present Generations and Feadogs off their perches. I do really like the Walton C that came in the bag, it will be my one keeper, put on my home-made C# body.

Sequimite wrote: Freeman tweaked Bb

I have one, the nicest-playing Bb I've ever owned.

So nice that I moved it onto a home-made A body, the result being the finest A I've ever owned or played. Yes it outplayed the Sindt A that I used to own (I sold it).

For a replacement Bb I heavily tweaked a Generation Bb head, which plays excellently.

I bought two Dixon brass trad whistles last year, my first and only whistles, and I've been quite content. The itch is scratched.

Self-discipline to not buy an altogether different type of instrument that I don't own yet, is a whole different challenge.