Feedback on Abell whistle needed

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Baen
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Feedback on Abell whistle needed

Post by Baen »

Hello everyone,
I'm seriously considering ordering an Abell D whistle, and would like to get some feedback from those of you who have them, or who have played them. I'm only interested in playing Irish Traditional Music, in case that makes a difference.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, and feel free to PM me.

Baen
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Richard Katz
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Abell Whistle

Post by Richard Katz »

I have been playing an Abell D whistle for many years. I absolutely love it. Great timbre and tone. Chris is a great person to deal with as well. Very good customer service.

My other whistles are a brass Session D by Michael Burke and a brass Low D by Copeland.

Cheers! Richard
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Post by tommyk »

Baen,

Mr. Chris Abell is indeed a pleasure to work with. A gentleman to the n-th degree (what is "nth", anyway?).

All of his instruments come with a no questions asked return (if I recall correctly, 15 days from receipt - but don't quote me) policy.

I've played scores of whistles. Yes, taste is clearly involved, but I have found his second to none, hands down. My own playing improved dramatically within 8 hours of getting my first Abells.

I've owned a blackwood set (G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, and F bodies, with one headjoint for the G, one for the A/Bb, one for the C/D/Eb, and one for the F) for almost two years now. The set is currently being fitted with the remaining headjoints so that I won't have to switch during live performances - something which has become very important in my group playing settings.

I also own a "monster" 9-hole whistle (basically a D/C) in pink ivorywood (for which Mr. Abell charges nothing extra), and I have owned a D of his in boxwood.

All super whistles but, for my money, stick with the blackwood: very nice appearance which "goes with anything" and super playability, tone, and ease of care.

Feel free to ask me any more specifics.
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Tyghress
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Post by Tyghress »

My Abell is a great whistle, not 'finicky' in its demands, and lovely sound across both octaves. I have been playing it for about 2.5 years now, and have an A, and a D/C combo.

I acquired the D secondhand, and when I had a problem, Chris fixed it with no questions asked and at no charge.

Sincerely,
Tyg
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PhilO
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Post by PhilO »

I have a delrin D which is terrific and a blackwood Bflat/A set which is equally terrific. These are not cookie cutter whistles and you should make known to Chris the desired characteristics as many have stated that they vary whistle to whistle. Also, the beak or mouthpiece is atypical - a bit squat compared to all others; I don't mind it, it's just a different feel.

Philo
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Post by emmline »

I like my Abell C very much. Beautiful thing, lovely tone. It does clog a bit more than some.
livethe question
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Post by livethe question »

I have an Abell Eflat/D/C set and an A/Bflat set. All first rate. I'm looking for an Abell D in delrin.

Philo, you've said before you wouldn't get rid of your delrin Abell but If you ever change your mind, let me know. I'd be interested in trying to trade you out of it. At the moment I'm whistle rich and money poor with Copelands, a Thin Weasel and some nice Burkes as well as a Reyburn low d for sale or trade. Someday maybe I'll be money rich as well as whistle rich.

Anyway, I'll always keep an Abell (along with my O'Riordans, a Busman, and a couple of Burkes) and I agree that Chris is very good to work with.

take care

jim d
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Doc Jones
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Post by Doc Jones »

In a nutshell?

Outstandingly bueno! :D

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Tell us something.: I play whistles. I sell whistles. This seems just a BIT excessive to the cause. A sentence or two is WAY less than 100 characters.

Post by IDAwHOa »

livethe question wrote:Someday maybe I'll be money rich as well as whistle rich.
jim d
Pftft...

Yeah, like :lol: !!!!
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Post by Kate Dowling »

I play strictly ITM and have been playing an Abell D for about 15 years now. Love it. I always receive compliments on the tone. It's nicely in tune with itself between the octaves as well. I also always get questions as to what kind of instrument it is! I never encourage people to spend a ton of money on whistles - spend money on a good flute instead, I say - but often my students wind up ordering Abells because they fall in love with the sound of them.

Keep it oiled, as instructed, and clean out the fipple now and then - I like to use the wooden coffee stick stirrers that you pick up at Starbucks or whatever your local cafe is. Stick a couple of these in your whistle case and cleaning out the gunk is a breeze.

Only other whistle I own is a Generation (I've probably had the same generation about 8 years now) that I keep in the kitchen to pick up when the feeling strikes.

Good luck! - Kate Dowling
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Post by Wanderer »

Hearing Joe Limbeck of the Flying Fish Sailors, playing an Abell whistle (though I didn't know it at the time) is what compelled me to learn to play the whistle.
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Post by TonyHiggins »

I hear the older ones are more pure sounding than the newer ones. I have one from about 3 or 4years ago. It's fairly breathy. I like that myself; some won't. The tone is not at all Generation style sounding. It's more toward a flute as a high d can get. My low A is extremely breathy and I'd prefer to take the excess whooshing sound out of it. It was also said in a thread awhile ago that Abell wasn't keen on taking out much of the breathiness. Otherwise, the tone is fabulous. (They're both blackwood.) I heard rumor a while ago that he might come out with a low f. hmm... That'll be expensive.
Tony
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Post by The Weekenders »

I have heard Tony play on his many times. It has great presence and sounds right for ITM. A beautiful whistle that belies the idea that only cheapos are authentic sounding.
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Post by Bloomfield »

So, I am the lone crank. :) I don't like them much: the mouthpiece feels a bit awkward, the tone on the two or three I've tried was a bit hollow and unfocussed and I think they are difficult to blow in tune (we were discussing on email how many Abell players sound a bit off in the second octave).

In fairness, I'm not a fan of wooden whistles in the first place.
/Bloomfield
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bradhurley
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Post by bradhurley »

Bloomfield wrote:So, I am the lone crank. :) I don't like them much: the mouthpiece feels a bit awkward, the tone on the two or three I've tried was a bit hollow and unfocussed and I think they are difficult to blow in tune (we were discussing on email how many Abell players sound a bit off in the second octave).
I think the tuning issues have more to do with the player than the whistle...Chris prides himself on having his whistles play in tune. They just take a more focused stream of air to play in tune in the second octave, otherwise the whistle will sound flat. The focus issue is kind of like playing the flute; you can get a sweet, focused, and rich tone out of an Abell once you learn how to blow it properly. It takes hardly any more air than a Generation once you get the hang of it.

I prefer a whistle that allows me to make the second octave sound quieter (or at least no louder) than the first, which can be done by focusing the airstream tightly. I can do this on my Sindt but have never been able to accomplish it on the Abells. The high notes on the Abell tend to be too loud and shrill for my taste, at least on the D whistle and Eb --this is not the case with my Abell Bb, which has a lot of the qualities I like about a good Bb Generation but it's better in tune.

Chris's whistles are wonderful, but I wouldn't call their sound "authentic" for Irish music. They don't sound like at all like a recorder, but they also don't really sound like a whistle either...they're somewhere in between, at least to my ear.

I have an older Abell D whistle in blackwood (number 95, which I traded up from number 12 or 14) and a new one in mopane from a year or two ago. Chris has changed his design in recent years, and the new one sounds sweeter and less shrill in the second octave; I like it a lot more.
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