Chiff and Fipple Forums

Nice collection! I have a few of those myself. And I also love the Gen Bb. Congrats on the Chieftain! Got the V4 and it's really nice.

Edit: how do you like the Feadog Pro compared to the standard model?

Sedi wrote:Nice collection! I have a few of those myself. And I also love the Gen Bb. Congrats on the Chieftain! Got the V4 and it's really nice.

Edit: how do you like the Feadog Pro compared to the standard model?

Thanks! In the beginning I was leaning towards the V4 but then after a lot of consideration I chose the T-Bird. In one of his videos he compares the V4, the T-Bird, and the Kerry Pro and that sort of sealed the deal. I felt like the solid bottom end and the chiff and air found in the T-Bird was closest to the sound I want, even over the Kerry Pro which apparently cost more when it was available.

As far as the Feadóg, I find the Pro is noticeably brighter but also a bit thinner and slightly unstable especially in the second octave which is a disappointment. I'm not sure if that could be remedied by some head tweaking but I haven't been compelled to try it yet.

Thanks for the info on the Feadog.
I saw that video - you're right, the Thunderbird sounded great. I'm thinking about getting a second low D from them - the Kerry Optima.

The Optimas are really nice too. Those were high on my list before I decided to spend more. The replaceable head is a very nice option should anything happen.

Meanwhile, this came in the mail this morning! Phil does superb work. Couldn't be happier with it. It sounds amazing. It has a really solid and warm low end which I love. Really pure tone quality with some airiness on each note.

Now I'm not sure if this is common with low whistles in general but it has amazing response. When tonguing, it speaks effortlessly with no splitting or warbling like a lot of my higher whistles tend to do. I've spent a lot of time working on this but this whistle is very forgiving and so easy to play. Phil says the V4 is even more forgiving so that must be a dream. Again not sure if this is partly due to low whistle physics or high end manufacture or both but no other whistle I've ever played speaks this clearly and easily. I'm really impressed and can't wait to grow with this instrument.

The piper's grip is taking some getting used to. I'm finding C# a bit tricky but planting the left pinky as well as the right helps a lot. Going back to a high D is comical!

Very nice! Enjoy it! I like the slightly breathy sound. Makes it sound more like a proper Tinwhistle and not like a recorder. Some whistles (no matter if low D or others) just sound too sterile for my taste.

Not everyone is into leather... however, I had some custom leather whistle case work done by Redhawk - Steve Harris from Oregon. Good craftsmanship deserves good craftsmanship. I prefer wooden whistles but do not leave the whistles in the leather cases when not in use, only for transport. I have whistle rolls and bags, yet, most often I'll only carry a whistle or two. Yeah, I'm carrying...



And here is the link to see some of the beautiful craftsmanship done by Steve Harris. The design, tooling, carving, coloring is just beautiful!
http://s1333.photobucket.com/user/ytlie ... rris/story

I may need a gun rack for the whistles and the leather cases.

p.s. My photography skills and equipment do no justice to the beauty of these whistle cases. I may need to get one of them high-end pro camera systems except my eyes are losing ability, and I'm a penurious, tone deaf, wannabee whistler. If I could just learn to play that thing!

Here is Steve's website... enjoy!
http://www.rawhidebraider.com/

My previous whistles were lost in a house fire. I decided to start again with an Oz High D in Gidgee. Received it today from Mitch in Oz... and it is sweet.

That is a fine whistle to rebuild your collection. Good luck!

I have at least two whistles in every key since I use them in different ways on recordings. It's fascinating to see what other folks have.

Not sure I'd call what I have a 'collection', it's more a bunch of whistles that came along over time. If not a collector, I am a bit of a hoarder at heart and I tend to pick up things that interest me when I come across them.

I take the odd snap of a whistle if a discussion of the forums calls for an illustration. I tend to dispose of those after use. Here are two recent snaps, maybe they won't get discarded when I put them here.

First are two old Clarkes, a red one in E and a plain one in D that is marked 'Clarke 1843 Made in England'. I have no idea what period they'd fall into. The D one, after a bit of fiddling with it, is actually very nice.

The whistle in the second snap is a Victorian six key whistle in D.

the 'D' clarke appears to have an offset seam, compared to most where the (standing) seam runs along the backside, 180 degrees from the tone holes. It could just be rust, paint and/or asphaltum?

I think the photo is playing tricks. The whistle has a regular seam at the back.

Are you positive the red whistle (in E) is a Clarke? Is it marked as such? It looks more like one of the many brands of German or Japanese made post-war whistles.

Also, love that keyed whistle! If you ever feel like parting with it, just drop me a line!

Are you positive the red whistle (in E) is a Clarke? Is it marked as such? It looks more like one of the many brands of German or Japanese made post-war whistles.

We talked about that one before. When I got it I thought of it as an odd one someone had painted red. Last time we talked about it I took it out to take a pic and realised it was a bit too well done to be an after market paint job. It's also well made and, more importantly, at a closer look it is exactly like other Clarke's. On top of that, I since came across a mention in Dannatt's book of the first post-war production run of plain (which I read as unmarked) single colour dip painted whistles, including red ones. Putting this together I now think it is most likely one of those.

I have a few more here:

A Generation Tabor pipe of the 1970s. Generation did those for a while, trying to tap into the emerging English folk scene I suppose. Basically the same effect as your whistle with the three top holes taped over that Bill Ochs made a go of, followed to this day by Cathal McConnell and his two whistle act but in this case made only with three holes, two on front and one on the back. A D from the same period beside it for comparison.



Two French ones here, both by Ch. Mathieu, Paris. One is the typical conical design, the other, a Bflat, is the only cylindrical from this maker I have ever come across. Interesting feature of the conical one is that when using forked fingerings, it allows a decent chromatic scale.

The first ever 'old' whistle I bought was a Mathieu, back in the early eighties. I had a habit of going through drawers of dressers and chests of drawers in antique shops to see if there was anything interesting in them. One time a whistle turned up, to my delight and I got away with it for a fiver. Soon after I showed it to Micho Russell who immediately wanted it and wouldn't leave me alone until I let him have it. I gave in in the end and always slightly regretted it. Took me a long while before I got another one too.



Another example of a French conical design:



This one is a bit of an enigma. It's old and has some contraption at the back of the mouth piece the function of which I can't figure out. Whatever it is supposed to do, the whistle doesn't play.



I have a few more pics taken. I'll post those later.


[edited to fix typo]

Mr.Gumby wrote:

Are you positive the red whistle (in E) is a Clarke? Is it marked as such? It looks more like one of the many brands of German or Japanese made post-war whistles.

We talked about that one before. When I got it I thought of it as an odd one someone had painted red. Last time we talked about it I took it out to take a pic and realised it was a bit too well done to be an after market paint job. It's also well made and, more importantly, at a closer look it is exactly like other Clarke's. On top of that, I since came across a mention in Dannatt's book of the first post-war production run of plain (which I read as unmarked) single colour dip painted whistles, including red ones. Putting this together I now think it is most likely one of those.

Really!? Sorry, I have no recollection of our previous convo! I guess I was just taken in by the pretty red whistle! But you jogged my memory about the plain painted post-war Clarkes, so thanks for that!