Here are Goldies from the Goldie site, L-R several each of A, F, Low D, and Low C.



I'm going to be ordering a G, which as you see isn't included in this photo.

Colin makes his G whistles in the two tubing sizes on either side of where G would be in this photo, a "narrow bore" using the A tubing and a "standard bore" using the F tubing.

My question is, for people who play or have played either G, what are your impressions?

Have any of you played both?

Thanks!

(BTW Burkes tend to have large bores for most of their sizes, however a G made from Colin's F tubing would have a larger bore than a Burke G.)

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Richard Cook
1978 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle

I have a standard bore Goldie G, and it’s a great whistle. The one I have is a .9 but it plays pretty hard, I think perhaps due to the wider bore. It takes a lot of push and air in the upper 2nd octave. I have to say, if and when I get the chance, I will likely go for a narrow bore variant but with a .8 windway, but that’s only because I think the combination of narrower bore and harder blower suits my playing style that little bit better, and doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with this particular combination.

If you play any other Goldies then you’ll already know what to expect, they’re great whistles. I’d consider your playing style and what you want from it to make your mind up about standard or narrow.

Let me know if you have any other questions or want to hear it.

I have owned a Goldie Mezzo G for years. I never knew there were two tube sizes. I would guess mine is an "A" size. It's a fantastic whistle.

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https://mnsongwriters.org/members/greg-connor/

Thanks!

About my preferences, I tend to prefer whistles on the narrow-bore side, with the sweetest possible high notes even if it means somewhat quiet low notes.

Without having played any Goldie alto G, I would guess that I would like the one with the A tubing.

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Richard Cook
1978 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle

What are the bore diameters of these two variants? I got some 19mm inner diameter tube the other day that I want to make an F and G out of.

So my question is would this be decent for a G or would it be too big? To my knowledge the thunderbird F is also the same tube size as the G. Along with the Goldie having a variant that is the same bore for F and G. And Burkes are usually big bore? But not exactly sure what inner size those are. Personally I value good low notes so I think I would like the bigger bore styles. But I'm not sure if 19mm is even too big for that.

On the Goldies, my uneducated not overly useful opinion is that it sounds like you will like the less wide bore more haha.

19mm would probably work for a G -- it is the inner diameter of one of my quenas, which is in G. But it's pushing it. I used 19mm for a low D quenacho and a low D flute. 19mm for a G could cause some issues with the highest notes. You might have to use a slightly different fingering for the high C# -- but that note is rarely used. If it makes problems, you can try fingering it like this: ooo oox -- covering the lowest hole can stabilize the note on those very large diameters. That fingering also works nicely on the Thunderbird high D "session killer".

One other thing I realised that I forgot to mention in my previous reply, my standard/wide bore is LOUD. Like, the upper second octave is really really loud. Like, top E is around 100 db kinda loud....

I am the proud owner of one of the first two narrow-bore Gs that Colin made. (I'm pretty sure Brian Finnegan got the other.) It has the same bore as the A whistle I already had. Both instruments are very good indeed.

[ramble alert] I got the G whistle when we met up with Colin and Brigitte in Brittany in 2003. IIRC I hadn't ordered it: Colin just showed it to me, saying it was an experiment. After at most 10 seconds I said, I would like to have that please thank you!

Colin had a low (low low) G with him as well. In the wee hours we were told to stop playing in the garden of the hotel where my brother-in-law's wedding reception was being held (we were keeping other guests awake, apparently), so we continued our G session in the underground car park, where the two G whistles sounded just great together. [/ramble alert]

Thanks! All of that confirms what I was expecting.

My Goldie F has a bore just a hair over 18mm which I feel would be rather wide for a G. I would expect it to be loud.

I don't know what the bore of Goldie's A whistles are, but as I said I always prefer a bore a hair on the narrow side.

For example the A whistle I play is home-made using a Generation Bb head and slightly larger ID body (14.6mm). For me, it's the best A whistle I've ever played.

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Richard Cook
1978 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle

What a great sound that would have been!

I do have a Bass A and a mezzo A, I wonder what they would sound like played together.

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Richard Cook
1978 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle

I don't have a proper instrument for measuring the bore but squinting with a ruler I'd say my Goldie G whistle is near enough 15 mm. The bore of my Goldie A actually looks a hair or two wider.

Thanks, that ID sounds like it would be just right.

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Richard Cook
1978 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle