Lets start off by talking about how the whistle looks. It's extremely professional-looking, with the dark exotic hardwood contrasted with the silvery mouthpiece and accents. It's definitely got no "shaming qualities"..most of my other whistles have something about them that is a little embarrassing/non-professional when showing them off to non-whistlers. The Silkstone is *plastic*, the Sweetone has Whistling Billy painted on it, my Clarke has those wretched diamonds, my homegrown D looks like the windway was made by a clumsy oaf with a hammer (which it was..heh!), my McHaffie says "NIBCO" on the tuning slide. I can't find a single thing about the Thin Weasel like that. Sure, a whistle should be all about the music, but it sure is nice to see someone look at my Weasel in admiration, rather than going "What, is this plastic??"
Volume: The whistle is quite assertive...easily heard, even in the middle of Dave and Busters (if you don't have one of these near you, they're an adult 'game arcade'..video games, pool tables, restaurant, etc.). I would say it's easily as loud as my Silkstone, but not quite as loud as my Chieftain D. That means it's much louder than a Generation, Sweetone, Feadog, or other inexpensive whistle that I own (with the exception of the plastic Trophy brand $1.95 kids whistle I have).
Air requirements: It requires a fair amount of air pressure to hit the top end of the 2nd octave, but the breath requirements are a constant progression along the whistle; there aren't any places where the breath requirements greatly change from one note to the next (unlike some whistles I've owned). I think that makes getting to know the whistle easier, because you don't have to worry so much about breath control. The Thin Weasel has medium air VOLUME (as opposed to pressure) requirements. In comparison: The Thin Weasel takes less air volume and pressure than a Shaw or Chieftain D, but more than a Silkstone or Sweetone. The 2nd octave requirements are an easy reach from the first octave, unlike my Chieftain D or my Susato low D (both of which have big jumps in breath requirements once you get up in the top of the second octave).
Sound: It has a minor amount of chiff, and I'm pretty sure it'll play up in the 3rd octave easily (though I know no songs that require notes up there). It should go without saying that a whistle with this much attention to detail plays in tune, but I'll say it anyway..this whistle is in tune
The tone is more 'whistly' than my Silkstone (which is more 'flutey')..The whistle has microtones or overtones or something other than 'pure' tones. As a comparison, my Silkstone is VERY pure of tone. I find that I prefer my Weasel (and Herbison, which is also quite 'whistly' sounding) for fast music like jigs and reels. I prefer the Silkstone D for airs. None of the whistles I consider favorites are as chiffy as a traditional Clarke..though I do find I like a small amount of chiff (like in the Weasel or Herbison).Now, I think the true test of a whistle is how much you actually PLAY it...because no matter how much you think you like it..if you're not playing it, there's something about the whistle that isn't calling to you. I have 'two' categories of whistle carrying: 'low end' and 'high end'. I'll carry low-end whistles whenever I feel the whistle won't be safe..such as to the beach, or to a new location where I don't know anything about the environment. Under these conditions, I generally grab a Sweetone or my Herbison Laughing Whistle. While the Herbison wasn't cheap, I could withstand the loss more than a more expensive whistle. I take high-end whistles whenever I'm going to be performing or showing the whistles off, or whenever I'm going to be going to areas I consider 'safe' (local sessions, park near my house, etc). In those cases, I generally grab my Silkstone D or the Thin Weasel. I've been grabbing the Thin Weasel more of late, but I attribute that to the fact that it's still 'new'. When I first got my Herbison, I carried it for a long time exclusively. I think both my Silkstone and my Weasel are equally good, but for quite different reasons. They have totally different sounds.
Anyway, I hope my long rambling message was informative. Thanks for not snoring too loudly.
Greg
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Wandering_Whistler on 2001-07-29 15:29 ]</font>
