Yamaha reply

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 1:24 pm

Little did I think that I'd get a reply within 8 hours!

I just received this from Yamaha:
<<Thanks so much for the link to the bulletin board. I was very pleased to see that most people are happy with our student recorders.

Unfortunately, I have heard no mention of a penny (tin) whistle in any of our R&D meetings or memos. I will, as the US product manager for recorders, suggest in my next monthly report that this be considered. My suggestion won't be given much consideration without additional information though.

Can you estimate for me the number of whistles purchased by consumers in the US? Canada? Other countries? Also, what would be the acceptable street price (actual purchase price) for a good whistle in the US? Would it be plastic? Other material? Would schools realistically use this product or would it make more sense as a consumer/hobbyist product or as a toy bundle with a book?

Finally, can you suggest a 'model' or two of existing whistles that I could review? The link you forwarded mentioned a few (Clare, Hohner, etc), but which whistles would be considered the best? Any help would allow me to make a complete proposal to the recorder design section.

Warm regards,>>

The email address is: MSchaner@yamaha.com

And my response to him has been:

<<Dear Michael,

Thank you for your prompt reply. As far as use in schools, I am not qualified to speak, but I will encourage teachers to get more information for you, if you'd like. You may get valid estimates of sales from a place like The Whistle Shop, and Song of the Sea, to whom I will forward your note.

If you peruse the website http://www.ChiffandFipple.com (dedicated to the penny/Irish/tin whistle and presided over by Dale Wisely who probably has a great deal of information to offer you!) you'll find an enormous amount of information about all varieties of whistles, from the extraordinarily inexpensive models (Generation, Walton, etc) which go for under $10 through midrange (I would imagine that a manufactured plastic whistle like Susato would be a big competitor) that range under $100 through the elite, hand-built models like the Burke, O'Riordan, etc. and the whole gamut of keys that are common (soprano D being the most common, but ranging up to the high G and down to a low C, from my reading).

Unlike many instruments, an inexpensive whistle is not necessarily a 'toy' or unplayable or considered a 'student model', or even substandard in sound! I hesitate to go into detail, as I'm neither a whistlesmith, nor a terribly accomplished player, but it appears that consistent sound quality, ruggedness and ease of playing is often the issue.

The bright side of this, from a manufacturer's standpoint, is that whistleplayers tend to be affected by something called WhOA disorder: Whistle Obsessive Acquisition. One instrument simply will NOT do. I have only been mildly touched with this, and have two A whistles, 4 soprano D's, a C and a Bflat. I show no symptoms of slowing down either.

Please let me know if you would like me to pass your letter on to others who may descend on you with near maniacal fervor. We whistlers are a strange and dedicated lot! >>

As soon as I hear back, I'll post the email address he recommends.

cj · Post by cj » Thu Oct 18, 2001 1:41 pm

Way to go, Tyghress! You represent us well, and I hope Yamaha takes notice and digs further into this matter. I'm glad you explained WHOA to them too

AnnaDMartinez · Post by **AnnaDMartinez** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 2:42 pm

Hip, hip, Hoorah! Hip Hip Hooray! Yippee! Good goin', Tyg! This could get real interesting.

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 3:02 pm

Tyghress,
my hat is off to you,well done!:) Mike

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 3:18 pm

I want my Yamaha whistle! Tunable in neon pink!

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 3:27 pm

Tyghress,
my hat is off to you!I'ts one step closer to an end to whistle discrimination in classrooms around the world...move over
Blockflöten!!well done:) Mike

sorry about the double post,seemed to have dipped my hat twice but you deserve it!

[ This Message was edited by: mike.r on 2001-10-18 17:38 ]

bob baksi · Post by **bob baksi** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 3:40 pm

Dear Yamaha (assuming you're now monitoring this messageboard, and too bad if you're not)
I am the happy owner of a Yamaha keyboard, so I already know you can make good musical equipment. You certainly can make a range of whistles if you want to cover the market..
To give you an example of WHOA (see Tygress explanation of WHOA above), I started playing tinwhistle 17 months ago. I now own 22 tinwhistles. They range from mostly inexpensive OK and inexpensive bad whistles through mid OK whistles to really wonderful whistles (particularly Glenn Schultz & Copeland). price range - $10 low end through $200 high. Jump on in.

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 3:41 pm

Good Show Lady Tygh!

Can I put in an order for a Shakuhachi voiced Yamaha Whistle in cherry bark wrapped bamboo? Since you are going to be the US Rep for Yamaha(he he)I thought I might ask. :roll:

[ This Message was edited by: Thomas-Hastay on 2001-10-18 17:50 ]

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 4:01 pm

Well done!

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 5:04 pm

Dale, I think Tyghress deserves a prominent mention on the main page for this wonderful representation!

Maybe Yamaha will name a whistle The Tyghress!

AnnaDMartinez · Post by **AnnaDMartinez** » Thu Oct 18, 2001 5:12 pm

avanutria, only if it has orange and white stripes! hehehe! Just think, no more tonettes for forth graders!

_________________
Let it shine! Anna "Ain'tNoMouse" Martinez

[ This Message was edited by: Anna Martinez on 2001-10-18 19:14 ]

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 2:18 am

I think Whistlepeg deserves a round of applause for getting this whole discussion started and Dale for injecting such a positive vibe into the original topic...what a great forum this is!Peace, Mike:)

WyoBadger · Post by **WyoBadger** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 6:32 am

Yahoo, Tyg!!! I'm with Bob--Yamaha does make some fine instruments; I've spend many a happy hour playing their euphoniums and tubas. You know what this means? They're pretty darn good working with brass, too...something to think about.

But we have plenty of good brass whistle makers. What the whistling world really needs is a good-sounding, inexpensive, neon plastic high D. Can't wait to see what comes out of this.

T

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 7:01 am

This is something else, isn't it? Thanks for the kudos, but it was just an email.

I tend to agree that what I personally am looking for is an inexpensive ($20 range maybe?), pretty, 21st century kind of whistle that is sweet from bottom to top range and not terribly loud, and in no need of tweaking to make it acceptable to playing in public.

Then I start thinking, gee, wouldn't it be nice if it were under $10 and all of you people who carry around a few spares to hand out to kids who get That Look when they listen to you play.

I think of the variations in fipple design, shape of the bore, basic material, design of the finger holes, and I get dizzy and don't want to suggest this model as being superior in sound over that one.

I would like to get my thoughts a bit more organized, and less based on my personal (and limited) experience, so I'm posting a bit of a survey, and will send a summary of the results to Michael Schaner. In the meantime, anyone who has information on sales projections, both in the USA and abroad, can pass that information on to MSchaner@yamaha.com. He is a product manager for Yamaha Corporation of America.