brands of whistles

kardshark87 · Post by **kardshark87** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 9:05 pm

hey,
i am a 13 year old kid and have been playing whistle 4 almost 2 years. i got a susato (key of D) and a sweettone( key of d and key of c). i was wondering if i should get some other brands of whistles to get different tones. if u have any input as 2 whether i should buy different whistles or what kind i should buy please either reply 2 this or email me. thanx

Brent

Whistlepeg · Post by **Whistlepeg** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 10:38 pm

Hi Brent
It is great to hear that you enjoy playing whistle! It is fun to try different whistles but it can get expensive too. If you check out the whistles on the Chiff & Fipple main page, you will find lots of helpful information on the inexpensive and expensive whistles. It is always a good idea to try a whistle before you buy it, but that may be difficult if you don't live near a good music store that stocks whistles. A lot of people on this message board do strange things to cheapie whistles to make tham play better! (I haven't needed to do that as there are music shops where I live where I can try different brands such as Generation, Feadog, Waltons, Oak, Clark & Sweetone. Thom at the Whistle Shop has good varieties and is very helpful if you decide to order via internet. Let us know how you get on, and keep on whistling....
Sue

ErikT · Post by **ErikT** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 1:02 am

Brent,

My advice would be to hold off on whistle purchases for a while. It sounds like you have a couple of nice whistles to hold you over.

I find that if you wait a bit, often the whistles will come to you. What I mean by that is, you will be walking by a store or at a fair and see just the whistle that you've been waiting for... and you'll have a chance to test it.

I've aquired 95% of my whistles just this way and have been very happy with the outcome.

Erik

kardshark87 · Post by **kardshark87** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 10:36 am

hey whistlepeg,
thanx 4 the advice. what's the website of the whistle shop? i might have 2 check that out. ttyl

Brent

p.s. what's ur favorite kind of whistle and what key?

Blaine McArthur · Post by **Blaine McArthur** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 11:11 am

The whistleshop web site is at:

http://www.thewhistleshop.com

Browsing through this site is like being a five year old in a candy store. I have had just a few contacts with the owner, but they have left with with a good feeling about his store.

As for new whistles, there are, for me, two reasons to buy more. There is of course soemthing often referred to on this list as WHOA, or whistle obsessive acquisition disorder. It seems to be an uncontrollable impulse to keep buying whistles. There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself. Whistles are just as worthy a piece to be collected as baseball cards and old cameras. If that is what you are into, go for it.

You, however, sound like you are really into PLAYING. There are many whistles I would like to have just because there are beautiful to look at, or meybe they sound good, or have some strange cultural significance. But, as my budget is limited, for now I buy a new whistle when I find I need it. For straight traditional Irish music you could probably get away with just a D. But if you find yourself saying over and over this tune would be easier with a Bb or an F, or whatever, then go for it - that's why they make 'em. Otherwise, Erik's advice sounds right on.

kardshark87 · Post by **kardshark87** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 11:34 am

thanx 4 ur help everybody. i'm looking at the whistle shop right now. it's kewl. anyways, does anybody have any other sites, just so i can shop around. i live in OK so there aren't alot of whistle shops that i can go and try whistles at. i guess i'll just have to take a blind guess whenever i decide to buy another whistle in the future.

Brent

Blaine McArthur · Post by **Blaine McArthur** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 11:45 am

Brent,

If you haven't already checked out this site, you should:

http://www.chiffandfipple.com/

It is the web page of Dale Wisely, the humble sponser of this message board.

There is a page on his board devoted to purchasing whistles over the internet. See it at:

http://www.chiffandfipple.com/Buying.html

Blaine

kardshark87 · Post by **kardshark87** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 2:11 pm

hey,
does anybody have any insight on the susato dublin whistle and the susato kildare whistle?

Brent

John-N · Post by **John-N** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 5:38 pm

Brent,

The Susato Kildares are a pretty good tunable whistle for the money. Being made out of plastic makes them tolerant of temperature changes, they don't require much breath pressure, and you typically don't have to breath as often. They are also pretty loud which is good when you're playing in a session so those accordian players can hear you.

I prefer blackwood and alloy whistles myself, but for the money, the Susato Kildare is pretty good, all things considered.

John

kardshark87 · Post by **kardshark87** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 9:28 pm

John,
What kinds of whistles are blackwood and alloy (susato, sweet tone)? Also, what kind of sound do they have and how loud are they?
u can either email me or post back. thanx

Brent

John-N · Post by **John-N** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 10:06 pm

Brent,

African blackwood (grenedilla) is what many of the high-end professional whistles are made of (like Abells for example). They have a warm wood-like tone, and tend to be a bit pricey ($200-300).

Alloy is just a general term for aluminum or brass metal whistles which tend to have a different sound as well. There are many examples of these types of whistles, some of which are noted in the C&F guide to whistles pages:

http://www.chiffandfipple.com/inexp.html
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/Expens.html
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/low.html

Hope this helps,

John

ReyT · Post by **ReyT** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 11:14 pm

Brent,

Check out <a href="http://www.mchaffiewhistles.com/clipsni ... tml">Clips n Snips</a> if you want to hear examples of all these mysterious whistles. Well, not all, but bunches of 'em anyhow.

Tom_Gaul · Post by **Tom_Gaul** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 12:14 am

Brent,

If your interest is mostly in playing whistles rather than collecting them, I would take Sue's and Erik's advice and hold off on buying anything very expensive right now. Did you know that Paddy Moloney the head of the Chieftains and one of the best players in the world uses an inexpensive Generation whistle in his performances? A $300 whistle does not play 100 times better than a $3 one and I know this from experience! It may not even play as well and could be a sad disappointment. At your age you might not have as much money to throw away as some of us old folks! Later on you might want to look at brands like Sindt, Burke, Hoover etc. that are below or near $100. You probably never need to go higher than this unless you become a collector and want one of those silver inlayed African Blackwood whistles! Hold off and maybe I'll sell you mine at a discount!

Good luck to you, Tom

Eldarion · Post by **Eldarion** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 3:03 am

Well said Tom! I totally agree.

ThorntonRose · Post by **ThorntonRose** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 5:58 am

I agree with Tom and Eldarion. Stick with the inexpensive whistles for now. If you want to round out your current set, get a Waltons brass, for a traditional sound, and maybe a Dixon.

~ Thornton