Hi all,

Been a lurker for a while, so thought it best to pop my head out and say Hi!!

I am just about to start on the learning curve of whistle playing, and have joined a friendly teaching class at the Sage muic centre in Gateshead - nr Newcastle upon Tyne (1hr per week for 33 weeks of the year).

Have had on and off affairs with whistles since a visit to Lindisfarne when I was younger, but never found time to get some lessons and learn properly.

Popping to see John Bushby at Shearwater whistles tomorrow, hopefully for advice and to get an order for a whistle in!

Cheers

Ben

Welcome, and good luck with your whistling journey. You're in for more fun and personal enjoyment than you can possibly imagine.

welcome from another newbie

weeeee welcome also from another newbie...

And, welcome from ....

yes, you've probably guessed it by now...

yet another newbie

Welcome from ...
... seems to be too repetitive ...
another newbie .

Welcome from another one of whistle newness! (Had to change it up a little.)

Welcome from me yet another splendiferous newb as the summer winds down may may you have many wonderful dark nights playing whistle

Hello Ben and welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum. As a newbie (look over to your left) that's me, penurious, tone deaf, wannabe pennywhistler. Keep posting or at least, keep lurking (that's fun too), but, most of all keep practicing. Its fun any way you do it.

How did the John Bushby at Shearwater whistle visit go?

Another welcome from a relative newbie.

Would like to hear about your visit to Shearwater Whistles.

Ian

Just got back form seeing John at Shearwater.

What can I say, my wallet is a little bit scared!!

Now I cant play at all, so I will leave the ins and outs of the whistles to the pro's.

John himself is a truly nice guy. I am sure I asked some silly newbie questions, which John answered excellently. I was offered advise on the best starter whistle, but more importantly, given advise which would see him out of pocket (Recommending a lower priced whistle as more suitable - not something you see often these days!!)

The whistles themselves looked rather nice from my point of view, he states on his website that there may be evidence of the metal being worked, and that there is, but nothing that detracts from the overall look in any way, its just evident that there hasnt been a CNC mill in sight when they were made.

I cant offer comparison of the sound of these whistles, but from my uninitiated ear, they sounded beautiful!

So... I think an order will be going in for a High D, a Low D and an Alto G in alloy - Not badly priced at £120 for all three, and John reckons he can do me a bit of a discount if I order them at the same Time. (The Alto G is for home practice - I think the Low D will be a goalpost for the future, and the High D is a little too high pitched for home practice as I live in a modern (Read: poorly sound insulated) apartment and don't want to upset the neighbours!!)

More importantly though...Thanks for the welcome

Ben

Edit:

Here is the only recording of the Shearwater whistles I can find other than on the makers website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XosykVXrlVk

did i get this right?
u have no whistle at all now and cant play
and u are thinking of spending 120 $ for 3 whistles for to start?
if u ask me, get a Clarke MEG for some few "pennys", its an easy plaing and nice sounding whistle and the ideal beginner whistle
and its not that loud too

He said £120, not $120 (yes, I know that's more)! Might not be what I'd have done, but why not if he's discussed it and still wants to?


And you have the expertise to be making that judgement?

It comes to about $180ish

My philosophy on life: Work hard and play hard! By the best you can afford, take care of it, and enjoy it!!

Given that my "playtime" or hobby money has been sunk into my motorcycle (spen literally thousands!!) I feel that the money I am willing to spend is reasonable. The fact that the maker lives about 15 minutes from me, and thus is supporting a local business makes me more inclined to but all three.