Chiff and Fipple Forums

belayatron wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:31 am Whistle sounds are so personal, so am going to comment but think you should still get one and see if you like it.

I have a shearwater low d and low f (which I love) and a highD which is ok but not my favourite.
It has quite an unusual sound, very quiet and very chiffy, a little like a wooden block Clark original, but without the air requirements of the Clark.

I do carry it in a bag quite regularly as, due to its quietness, it’s a good practice whistle, but I can’t get the same expression out of it as others due to its chiffy/airy sound.

Sedi wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:18 am I like mine quite a bit. It's the narrow bore version. Mine is not very "chiffy" or breathy. It's very stable and reliable. And I even played it without amplification in a small concert hall together with two amplified singers and an accordion. It stood up to the task very well.

Sedi wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:26 am I think the narrow bore is loud enough.
Here's a video I made with it quite a while ago. Lots of wrong notes in that tune, I think .
https://youtu.be/kgfQ-ZCUHe8

Nathaniel also made a video about them (in fact I think he made more than one) - he's a member here and his videos are a great resource for whistle review.
https://youtu.be/reEBskcJPNw

Gary90 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:54 amI didn't know this was you lol, iv watched some of your videos before. Good sound off that

Sedi wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:05 am

Gary90 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:54 amI didn't know this was you lol, iv watched some of your videos before. Good sound off that

Thanks . Yes, I tried to stay a bit under the radar online. So I chose a different name for the YT channel than for basically all the forums I visit (mainly this one here and a few watch collector forums, another hobby of mine). It was kind of a big step to even show my face in the videos .

Gary90 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:14 pm but the minute i go to play infront of someone i will mess up lol.

AngelicBeaver wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:30 pm For the record, I believe that my Shearwater was the wide bore version. I liked it well enough. It's mellow, with a full, airy sound, and it's got a bit of snap to it. I've heard several people sing their praises, and one guy for whom a Shearwater was his One Perfect Whistle, so for the price, I'd order one and see how you get on with it.

OPINION SECTION
(and note that I only have experience with the wide bore aluminum soprano D, aluminum A, G, F, and low D, so no experience with the brass, plastic, or narrow bore offerings):

I think my main issue with Shearwaters in general is that the tone is a bit round for my taste. Some whistles have a focused 'bite' to them, or they're so pure and refined that you can feel the resonance, but the Shearwater's tone (to me) kind of sits in a middle ground where it's solid, but not really pushed/refined to the finest extremes that whistles are capable of, if that makes sense. I think it makes them more forgiving to play, and therefore very suitable for people who are starting out. You can also cover your keys relatively inexpensively, and John offers customization options you can't get off the shelf with a Dixon, for example (alternate hole patterns, special heads for low breath requirements). But in my case, I just have a lot of whistles, and many that suit my tastes more than the Shearwaters, so I've sold most of them on. For someone still refining their preferences, I'd recommend them as a starting point.

I heard a video of his brass model, and it was intriguing, but John is a bit particular about people demoing his whistles, so I promised him I wouldn't include his whistles in any future videos.