Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

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Bcoopmando
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Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by Bcoopmando »

I took up the Irish flute 9 months ago and really enjoy it. I would like to get a whistle now. I prefer one that is mellower in sound as I will play it by myself and in a smaller room. I would like to avoid the high trebly piercing sound quality if at all possible. I also want one that plays true. I don’t mind spending a bit more and getting a nicer sound which will entice me to play however I know the main sound comes from the player!
Any suggestions would be welcomed.
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ecadre
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by ecadre »

It's difficult to know exactly what you are after, only you can be the judge.

If it's a soprano D whistle, then they are trebly and loud in one way or another at the top of the second octave. It's just one of those things.

If by a whistle with a "mellow" tone you mean a "fatter" sound with more low partials and a nice solid tone going all the way down to the bell note, then it'll likely be a wider bore instrument with a much louder upper octave.

A less loud and piercing, easy to play upper octave, then it'll be a narrower bore instrument with fewer low partials and a sound more like the "traditional" sound of a Generation whistle.

Could "mellow" be more wind sound in the note? I might not think that, but you might. This would be a characteristic of whistles like Shaw or Clarke Originals.

I'm generalising of course, but these are the trade-offs. Only you can decide what you mean by mellow.

The volume of a whistle can be more objectively assessed and commented on, though.

What do I know? That a Susato (small bore or very small bore) is louder than my Generation whistles. The pre-1980 or so Generations are a little quieter than the modern ones. My old Dixon tuneable is around the volume of a modern Generation, maybe a shade louder. That a Clarke Sweetone sits around about Generations in volume, but right at the top of the upper octave it gets rather louder and more piercing.

I know that the most balanced whistles I have between the two octaves are my old-style Generations and a whistle by Fred Rose. These are opposite ends of the price spectrum. My "new style" modern Generations aren't much far behind.

Waltons do a whistle called the "Mellow D" ... maybe that's the one? I still have a couple and their sound is, um, softer, slightly more windy, a bit less well defined that a Generation I think, and I don't play them (these are whistles that were given to me ... people always seem to give me Waltons whistles that they find lying around).

Does any of this help? Probably not because you'll form your own opinions.

What would I say? Get yourself a Generation whistle and take it from there. You can then form your own opinions about tin whistles and bore people on tin whistle forums :-D :-P

PS. if you just want to play to yourself, you could consider a lower pitched whistle, like a C, Bflat, A etc.

PPS. If you don't like what I wrote, just wait a little while and someone will undoubtedly come along to contradict me. :)
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by fatmac »

Mellow high 'D' => Tony Dixon ABS
https://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/produc ... ey-of-d-5/

Less piercing => lower keys, such as Bb/A/lowG/lowF
In this area, take a look at Shearwater whistles.
http://www.shearwaterwhistles.com/
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by Alaskamike »

I agree with both posts. Maybe the solution is an alto Dixon?
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by Tyler DelGregg »

Parks whistles have a volume control mechanism on the mouthpiece.
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by TxWhistler »

If you plan to play by yourself (solo) and not try to play along with someone else or play with a recording of a tune then I would suggest you try getting a Generation Bb. It has a lovely first octave that doesn't get shrill or loud and the highest note in the 2nd octave is kinder to the ear since it is 4 semi-tones lower than the high D whistle. The newer production Generation Bb's are really nice.

If you are wanting a whistle that you can play in session type settings then I would suggest you get a Waltons Mellow D as was suggested by someone earlier. It is a high D whistle on a C width body thus making it a wide bore D as was described earlier. It will be a little mellower than the standard D's but even it will be a little shrill or loud in the upper second octave (most likely in the 2nd octave B and C# notes).

Most likely this will not be your only whistle purchase so you can start here and see where your tastes take you.
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by facet »

Bcoopmando wrote:.... will play it by myself and in a smaller room....
Been there with that, get a Bb.

A Generation is an inexpensive way to taste the flavor. TxWhistler mentioned the "newer production". Those have a decal that reads "Made in England" while the earlier whistles say "British Made". Their brass whistles seem to be a slight bit more mellow, too. TinWhistler did a review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MmDrxUsn0g

Others I would recommend are Dixon, Susato, and especially Burke.
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by Narzog »

As someone who is generally offended by being near a high D playing second octave, I endorse Bb's (and lower). You can get the factory sopranos for cheap tho, so its still worth picking up a D and C to try out. If you dont like playing them like me you arent losing much haha.

And on 'dont spend too much because your whistle taste can change', this is totally true. But. My whistle taste is constantly changing back and forth. When I started I had a hard time with harder blowing whistles. Then I got my tilbury (which blows super easily), and I thought it was amazing. Now that I play more low whistles (that are harder blowing) I like the easier blowing less. but I recently made some easier blowing low/alto's and am now starting to lean back towards easier blowing. So my opinion on peoples preference changing, is that having ones that dont fit perfectly into your preference isnt a big deal, because you may switch back to it later. Also, I feel like anyone can change their 'preference' just by playing that style a lot and learning to like it (easier and hard blowing each have their benefits). So as spending a bit more on something that you think will be good isnt a bad idea.

And to go with my above point, theres two types of whistle players. The ones who like the cheap whistles, and the ones who dont. I fit into the second category. I think the cheap ones are perfectly good to start on but in my experience my Feadog and Gen Bb are pretty eh, so if someone wants to get something a bit pricier to start out, I dont blame them. That said my sample size is bad and I know the cheap ones can be excellent sometimes.

For recommendations, I find my Tilbury C plays incredibly well tuning wise, and is a nice crisp not shrill tone. He's changed how he makes them but I'm assuming its probobly similar, and I can recommend him as a maker. You can even email him and ask how the new model compares to the old and he will respond (I have the one with the external tuning slide before the new one). I also like my significantly cheaper Dixon d trad, the tuning seems good and the mouthpiece works as a tuning slide better than my super cheap ones. I like my Gen Bb because its a super cheap Bb. But in my case the tuning is eh so if you knew you wanted a Bb you could go more expensive. Killarney are another popular option for less shrill sopranos. Just my 2 cents, hopefully some of this is useful.
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by Flotineer »

I find my Mack Hoover A to be especially mellow and easy to play
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by pancelticpiper »

People have already pointed out the obvious, that the lower-pitched a whistle is, the lower the high notes are.

So, the most mellow-sounding whistle I have is a Bass A. It's a beast, a yard long!

In general whistles which have a narrower bore in relation to their length will have less volume overall, including sweeter high notes.

I have a Low E whistle that has the same bore generally used on F whistles, therefore it has an unusually narrow bore, and is quiet and sweet-sounding over its whole range.

With High D whistles, my old Feadog is unusually quiet and sweet-playing.

With Low D whistles, the softest-sounding one I've owned has been the all-plastic conical-bore Tony Dixon Low D.

Here you can get a quick listen to all my whistles from the High Eb down to the Bass A:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-fQhvl ... e=youtu.be
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by RoberTunes »

Whistles by Alba and Shearwater have a nicely balanced and still clear tones. The Alba is a more pure tone, and the Shearwater has a more breathy, but still very musical tone quality. If you're trying to avoid the thin or shrill high tones and playability/expressiveness limits of the cheapy tin whistles, those two will work wonders.

I also second the idea of moving into the alto range of whistles. The key of A is a nice match for the popular key of D. Or you can get a whistle from Bracker whistles, with nice tone and 9 holes so you can play any freaking key you want, on one whistle.
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by fintano »

I have a couple of "name brand" whistles. One thing that has concerned me over the years is the shrillness in the high end of the 2nd octave. There is a definite difference in the "name brand" whistles, that I won't say, because I rather like both of them. I tend to follow Cathal McConnell's recommendation that the old players used to play the high notes very short.

I have a bunch of other inexpensive whistles that I have picked up here and there. A few weeks ago, I happened to pick up, for practising purposes, my old Generation D that I bought in 1979. I was struck by its evenness across its range. It is not particularly loud, but it is very even. Not shrill in the upper register.

I'm not sure it would be that great as a session instrument, because it is fairly quiet, but for sitting around with a couple of friends, it works well.

I saw a post that said that Generation changed their whistles in 1980. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a place where Generations are sold by date. Probably when my grandchildren have grown to adults, these items will be traded as precious artifacts.
Bcoopmando
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by Bcoopmando »

I decided to purchase a Killarney whistle after rambling through all the youtube hype!
It took about 1 month to receive it in Canada. It is truly as good as most of the reviews have stated.
It is a “finely” made instrument. It is pricey but considering the included well made carrying protective case and postage to Canada this well made instrument is worthwhile considering.
In a nutshell, I would buy it again!
Bcoopmando
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I am searching for an Irish flute to tryout and see if I like it!

Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by Bcoopmando »

Forgot to mention! I purchased the Killarney hi D.
As this is my first whistle I decided to go with the most popular and recommended.
I started with a Windward Irish keyless D flute just about 1 year ago and continue to love the journey.
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Re: Looking for a mellow sounding tin whistle

Post by RoberTunes »

Two things to deal with: the lower volume and softer tone you want, and in which keys?

Moving to the key of A (or G or F) would bring down the harshness of the highest notes to a great degree, and the key of A is compatible with the popular key of D for music from Fiji, Peru, the Yucatan and also apparently Ireland.

Whistle models that suit your need in the key of D: Walton's Mellow D, Shearwater, Killarney, Tony Dixon DX001 and DX005, Goldfinch, Timothy Potter, Feadog Pro (debatable as for "softness" and quietness, but is not harsh or shrill), and Chris Wall. The Walton's Mellow D is inexpensive and highly playable, the Killarney second octave has a great tone without a noticeable gain in volume, the DX001 is a very popular nice sounding reliable whistle, the Goldfinch line has a unique bird-like tone I like, Potters - check them out. The online whistle coach and reviewer CutiePie (Stephanie), does a nice review of the DX005 that you should see.
Avoid: Generation, Walton's regular models, anything from Clarke, Oak,

Softer tone and maybe quieter in lower keys: Shearwater, Tony Dixon plastic versions (brass no longer available perhaps), Alba (debatable for "softer", these are great whistles with a clear tone and never harsh),

Investigate:
1)the Kerry Whistle Busker line. These will actually be perhaps in the "louder" category, but they, like the Thunderbirds that went before them, can express quite a range of tone colours at different volumes, they are a great expressive option, and how quiet they go (Phil Hardy makes a point of playing them soft and loud in videos on his Kerry Whistle website), is up to the player, because the whistle is very responsive, very air-efficient. They'll give you more than one option, rather than being locked into "softer" or "quieter" all the time.
2) bamboo whistles. Look for top quality makers from India online. Start with the Indian flute makers and search for those who also make whistles. Bamboo is an extremely tough material, and if properly selected, treated and manufactured, will produce a great musical instrument of great reliability. I like bamboo as an option over other hardwoods such as rosewood, which saliva deteriorates. So I'd recommend avoiding whistles if the mouthpiece is wood (except if bamboo), but many great sounding whistles have wooden tubes with a delrin or metal mouthpiece, and have a great tone.
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