Recommended tweaked whistle in the freeman price bracket?

[Nanohedron]

Recommended tweaked whistle in the freeman price bracket... I keep asking myself: How about a Freeman?

Not being flip, here; it's a serious question, because it's an obvious one. I've gone through this thread and I can't see any reason given for wanting the price bracket but not the item itself. Not that it matters, I suppose - I have no personal stake in the matter - but still I'm surprised that no one's brought it up yet, because it certainly simplifies things. But maybe I've missed something, in which case I hope someone will point it out to me.

[TxWhistler]

Recommended tweaked whistle in the freeman price bracket... I keep asking myself: How about a Freeman?

Not being flip, here; it's a serious question, because it's an obvious one. I've gone through this thread and I can't see any reason given for wanting the price bracket but not the item itself. Not that it matters, I suppose - I have no personal stake in the matter - but still I'm surprised that no one's brought it up yet, because it certainly simplifies things. But maybe I've missed something, in which case I hope someone will point it out to me.

Well. it just might be that Freeman has taken down all his offerings on his ebay store, on amazon the one listing I could find of a Freeman Whistle was sold out, on The Big Whistle Music UK site there are no offerings, on the Irish Flute Store site all Freeman's are marked SOLD OUT...........so, maybe that's why the OP isn't trying to get a Freeman.

I know from the previous thread about Jerry Freeman that he has been very busy helping with the COVID-19 services where he lives and has gotten behind in his orders.

I have two on order from him (since early June), an Alto G and Bb. I'm waiting patiently and hope they will arrive in a few weeks.

I've not seen any used Freeman's come up for sale that the OP could purchase if they wanted a used one.

[Nanohedron]

Well. it just might be that Freeman has taken down all his offerings on his ebay store, on amazon the one listing I could find of a Freeman Whistle was sold out, on The Big Whistle Music UK site there are no offerings, on the Irish Flute Store site all Freeman's are marked SOLD OUT...........so, maybe that's why the OP isn't trying to get a Freeman.

I know from the previous thread about Jerry Freeman that he has been very busy helping with the COVID-19 services where he lives and has gotten behind in his orders.

That makes sense. Thanks!

[user154785]

Recommended tweaked whistle in the freeman price bracket... I keep asking myself: How about a Freeman?

Not being flip, here; it's a serious question, because it's an obvious one. I've gone through this thread and I can't see any reason given for wanting the price bracket but not the item itself. Not that it matters, I suppose - I have no personal stake in the matter - but still I'm surprised that no one's brought it up yet, because it certainly simplifies things. But maybe I've missed something, in which case I hope someone will point it out to me.

Well. it just might be that Freeman has taken down all his offerings on his ebay store, on amazon the one listing I could find of a Freeman Whistle was sold out, on The Big Whistle Music UK site there are no offerings, on the Irish Flute Store site all Freeman's are marked SOLD OUT...........so, maybe that's why the OP isn't trying to get a Freeman.

I know from the previous thread about Jerry Freeman that he has been very busy helping with the COVID-19 services where he lives and has gotten behind in his orders.

I have two on order from him (since early June), an Alto G and Bb. I'm waiting patiently and hope they will arrive in a few weeks.

I've not seen any used Freeman's come up for sale that the OP could purchase if they wanted a used one.

Exactly.

I might indeed wait for jerry freeman to be available again as my polymer dixon plays perfectly fine but I wanted to see if there were any other serious contenders in the meantime.

[user154785]

I have a bunch of whistles, Generations, an old Oak, Cillian O Briain improved, old Feadógs, a Potter as well as Sindts and Killarneys. They all do the job and do it well.

You can overthink all this: buy any whistle under the sun but at the end of it you'll have to sit down and learn to blow the things. Whistle is a very simple and accessible instrument but you will have to sit down and learn the basics to make it sound right. There aren't any shortcuts and buying more whistles isn't really a solution to harsh and out of tune octaves, it's just delaying the inevitable. I would suggest to any beginner just to stick with what they have, make the best of it, get off the internet and spend the hours you'd waste posting threads, playing instead. And when you have a basic ability and know what you're doing and what it is you want from a whistle, look around for something to suit your needs. But what do I know..

This is very hypocritical...

So you have a bunch of whistles but no1 else is allowed to buy them?

You obviously had your own reasons when buying all the whistles you own, why don't you have just 1 and take your own medicine bud?

And btw I am about as far from a whistle hoarder as there can be. I simply want 1 brass one that I like the sound of. I have 3 cheap ones that I don't like the sound of. You can say it is cos I am a 'beginner' and can't handle them if you like, but I can play the polymer just fine and it is well documented that some metal ones are easier to handle than others. I don't want to feel like I am battling with the whistle every time I pick it up because that certainly doesn't have to be the case, as it isn't with my polymer and there is much written of other's experiences online to say that they too have experienced the same as me with cheap brass ones vs ones with a little care taken in their build.

And yes I know that Mary bergin can make any whistle she touches sound amazing, but I am not her...

[Peter Duggan]

You obviously had your own reasons when buying all the whistles you own, why don't you have just 1 and take your own medicine bud?

The difference is that Mr.Gumby can play all of his and could probably play all of yours too.

[Mr.Gumby]

This is very hypocritical...

Just my experience. You can take or leave it, continuing to flood this place and thesession.org with more threads and chasing the elusive whistle that will magically make you look competent. That's up to you. We all have our own mistakes to make and experiences to learn from.

I have accumulated a few whistles over time but would be happy enough with just the Cillian O' Briain, which is my go to whistle anyway. But I have done the basics with a few Generations (C,D.Eb) that I still have and occasionally play, and with no internet to distract me.

I don't want to feel like I am battling with the whistle every time I pick it up

That's why you will have to learn the basics. You take the battle out of it by increasing your competence. I compared this sort of thing in the past to someone buying a fiddle , spending a few months on it and then wanting a different one because it sounds scratchy. Anyone with a bit of sense would see that's ridiculous when the fiddle is involved but it seems perfectly OK when it comes to whistles.

I am not her...

Exactly. She put in the work, decades of it, and didn't lick it off the stones. Or do you think she picked up a whistle and was somehow immediately fully formed as a player?

[crosposting a bit, I see]

[Alaskamike]

After reading through the thread a couple of times I think what you're looking for is a basic whistle that you can be confident is plays properly (and all of the squeaks and jumps are your fault - not the whistles). I would recommend the TJ Potter whistle, if you aren't looking for something too loud. It's hand finished and plays very well, especially in the upper octave. Also, I received mine in about a week from ordering it.

[Polara Pat]

I feel like this topic has come up here in the past and like it has been said before; it's usually the player and not the instrument. I'm guilty of hoarding whistles but it's mostly because I'm a hoarder...of everything. I'm just greedy that way. I definitely blamed a few whistles for squeaking when I first started but it was 100% me. I now love playing all of my cheap whistles and find that they all have their own characteristics. I also stash them everywhere and in every vehicle so I'm never without.

Hope the OP doesn't take it personally. We all need to put the time in. Speaking of which, this Hornpipe won't learn itself.

[Sedi]

Like I already wrote -- there are definitely whistles that are better for beginners than others. Simple fact. So it's not always usually the player. Yes, it's true that a good player can pretty much play on anything. But for a beginner it's a different matter. Whistles that can take more air are easier to play. Like a Dixon, a Sweetone (which costs the same as a Generation), even a Clarke original will produce less squeaking and squealing in the beginning than a Generation or Feadóg. Once the necessary skills have been developed, then one can pretty much play on anything. But starting out on a whistle that takes a lot of breath control can be frustrating and make somebody completely stop playing altogether before he even has the necessary skills to sound good on a whistle that is not suited for his skill level.
The skilled player will choose an instrument according to different factors than a beginner. And what can be a disadvantage for the beginner can suddenly turn into an advantage. Like a whistle taking very little air so you can play longer without breathing.
And IMO that is true for a lot of other things, too, not just instruments. Basically it can be applied to many skills.
A beginning horse rider will need a different horse than a professional. A beginning tennis player will use other equipment than a pro. And so on and so forth. I wonder why those simple facts seem to be ignored when it comes to whistles just because there is this illusion that any cheapo whistle is just as good as any other or more expensive ones (and a Dixon is not even expensive). That is simply not true. Cheap whistles can be just as good as some expensive ones but the quality control is more or less non existant. While a more expensive (and I am not talking about hundreds) whistle will have a more consistent quality. Like a Parks, a Tilbury, a Sindt, a Goldie. Etc. And compared to classical instruments or pipes, even those are not really expensive.
I think it might have to do with the fact that 30 years back or even longer ago, there simply was just Generation and Clarke and not much else. So all the great players, who are around for a while, started out on those. But even Mary Bergin also plays a Sindt and not just Generations. Joanie Madden often plays Burkes. And some people have tested a whole package of Generations to find the "one great one" amongst the bunch. Of the many cheapo whistles I have, a few are awesome, a few are good and a few are simply horrible and even though I can play all of them, some simply are more fun than others. And considering how much I spent for those, I could have simply gotten a Shearwater or Tilbury and save some money. But I too have the collector's bug. I don't just hoard whistles but also books, DVDs and blu-rays, wristwatches, etc.
Strangely enough that never happend with flutes. I bought two and then started making my own. And those turned out so good that I don't have any desire to get another one. But that might be because on the flute the player is an even bigger factor than on the whistle because the technique has a much bigger influence on the sound.

[user154785]

I can't believe I spent that money and made no difference.

[fatmac]

When I started playing whistle, I bought Generations, they didn't sound all that good, so I bought some slightly higher priced ones, mainly Tony Dixon, & surprisingly, they didn't sound that much better, so I went back to my cheap ones, & found they seemed to play better than I remembered, so back to my better whistles, & they too played better than I remembered - moral is, it's you & not so much the whistles.

Over time you learn how a whistle wants to be played, & that is when you get the best out of it.

So relax & enjoy the journey.

[Alaskamike]

I can't believe I spent that money and made no difference.

So which whistle did you buy?

[RoberTunes]

If you like the Freeman whistles and won't accept an untweeked whistle model that Freeman bases his work on, then please be aware there is a long list of whistles available that do not have the problematic features of the undesirable, untweeked ones.

YouTube reviewers by the dozens find them and demonstrate them, by the dozens. The prices for whistles vary but there are many in a price range similar to what Freeman charges, and if Freeman is temporarily unavailable (due to COVID19 response duties), then you have many options. Freeman can speak for his own situation, but COVID19 is going to be a going crisis concern for at least another few months, could be another year. The threat of a second wave of it, in the autumn, is a suggestion that business slowdowns may persist a while, in various ways.

Check out the benefits of the successful tweeking done by Freeman, and search for those features in other whistles, if you can't wait for Freeman's offerings. You'll find something satisfactory, surely.

As for the idea that the worst whistles made are purely the fault of the whistle player, and that the worst whistles made are therefore as good as the best, because all the faults and limitations are in the player, I have to feel sad to ever see that. Tennis, anyone?

[fatmac]

As for the idea that the worst whistles made are purely the fault of the whistle player, and that the worst whistles made are therefore as good as the best, because all the faults and limitations are in the player, I have to feel sad to ever see that. Tennis, anyone?

????????

I don't think anyone has said that a badly made whistle will magically play well at any time.....