Picking a whistle from The Big Three makes no difference?

[MichaelRS]

So what I'm hearing from a lot of responses to my posts and reading other post is that if one is going to pick a whistle from either Generations or Waltons or Feadog, it's really half a dozen of one or six of the other in most cases because they're all pretty much the same level of quality control and playability... at least when it comes to the high D & C whistles.

And picking either brass or nickel does not make a REAL difference because the nickel is only thinly nickel-plated brass.

Have I got those two points about right? Or is there somebody that happens to excel between those three in a particular offering or another? Or if not Excel then one that does whatever the opposite of excel is in a certain area from the others.

[Mr.Gumby]

I wouldn't really recommend buying a whistle, any whistle, sight unseen, and on the advice of people you don't know. But I said that before.

Perhaps at his stage your better option is to sit down with one of the whistles you have and play until you reach a basic level of ability that enables you to make your own informed choices about what you want or need.

Whistle buying is a great distraction for a beginning player and a great excuse to delay the inevitable : to sit down and do the work.

First on your list of priorities now should be developing the ability to blow the whistle with a well supported breath and get a full, reliable tone and intonation from bottom D to second B at least. Then develop some dexterity and learn basic technique and repertoire. That should keep you busy. Do the important stuff, do your buying, if you still think you need to do that, when you can judge, more or less, what you're buying and why you need it.

[Sedi]

I think I have to agree with Mr.Gumby here. In fact, my vast collection is not needed at all but I do not only collect whistles but also a lot of other stuff, so it's just in my genes. My 10€ Feadóg plays just fine. But you need a little more breath control for the cheaper whistles so they sound good. I played for years with just one single Generation C. I prefer the Feadógs as they are not as loud as a Walton or Generation so they are ideal for daily practice.

[fatmac]

Likewise, I tend to 'collect' things concerning a new hobby too, but having bought all the keys of Gens, it taught me that I really wanted a lower keyed instrument, (I find them too shrill whilst learning, but likely to be OK once I can play the whistle to a reasonable degree though).

I think, if you want to stay in the high key area, it would be worth getting a Clarkes or a Dixon ABS, they aren't as shrill, but that's just my opinion.

[MichaelRS]

I know what everybody saying. But I do Indeed continue to practice and improve. But I can do both. One does not interfere with or distract me from the other .As I said before, I had upwards of 18 whistles. Mostly in the key of D and a few in C.

The only thing I'm doing now, the thing I want to do, is just acquiring a FEW "decent" whistles (maybe 3-sh Ds and a maybe one or two examples of a couple of other keys a Bb, Eb and C) to practice on, while not going about it in the willy-nilly way that I did before.

But to that end the only practical way to obtain whistles in my area, Orange County California, is through Online mail order. So there's no real ability to sit down with the whistle and below beforehand.. Therefore I have to rely on the real life experiences of others for recommendations and to describe the characteristics of any given whistle 2 see if I have the best chance of liking, sight unseen, what I order.

[bigsciota]

So what I'm hearing from a lot of responses to my posts and reading other post is that if one is going to pick a whistle from either Generations or Waltons or Feadog, it's really half a dozen of one or six of the other in most cases because they're all pretty much the same level of quality control and playability... at least when it comes to the high D & C whistles.

And picking either brass or nickel does not make a REAL difference because the nickel is only thinly nickel-plated brass.

Have I got those two points about right? Or is there somebody that happens to excel between those three in a particular offering or another? Or if not Excel then one that does whatever the opposite of excel is in a certain area from the others.

The point is just not to worry. These three whistles are different. Once you play them enough, you'll hear the difference. But that's the key: you need to play them a lot. None of them are better or worse, and you'll need a lot of experience before really being able to judge for yourself.

If you want to play the whistle, buy one. You've listed three brands that will get you started; there are a lot more. Honestly, there are probably a hundred brands and makers that have been discussed on this forum, and about 80-90% are good enough to start on. It's just that the brands you mention are cheap and fairly easy to find in a shop, which is generally preferable (as Mr. Gumby says) to buying online sight unseen.

Don't worry about which is the "best" whistle, just buy one and play it. Play it until you think there's some kind of problem with the whistle, and then solve it yourself by playing it some more. Most people here who have played for any length of time can attest to the fact that many of the supposed drawbacks of their first whistles magically disappeared after a few years of playing. You will not be good enough to judge a whistle for a while, so don't worry about the latest and greatest.

[fatmac]

As an aside, I have found that I can quieten down my whistles, by putting a bit of electrical tape covering half of the sound aperture, & still play all the notes of both octaves, just more quietly. So I don't think you need worry about which brand to buy after all.

[Mr.Gumby]

As an aside, I have found that I can quieten down my whistles, by putting a bit of electrical tape covering half of the sound aperture, & still play all the notes of both octaves, just more quietly. So I don't think you need worry about which brand to buy after all

I think this sort of thing ignores the need to hear what you are doing. While learning the instrument it is of the utmost importance you learn breath control to produce a full tone and good intonation, as well as breath/hand coordination. I don't think you can do that properly by taping up a whistle or by putting a sock in it, you need to play the instrument to its full potential.

[MichaelRS]

Thank you all. I am practicing. Everything is going along fine. My skills are improving (in the areas I want to improve them) I'm not searching for the perfect whistle.
Just tring to find a few, based on the advice and recommendations from people that have practical experience with them, that might most appeal to me. I just need some information on some of the ancillary whistles the I'm inquiring about.

The lower-cost whistles (say a Walton's or a feadog in C) I don't care about so much about, so I may order two of them to see what they're like. But for example here I've learned that somebody thinks The Walton's is louder than the Feadog And yet when I see the flutes of the world lady playing her Feadog on YouTube that sounds great to me.

But the search for certain whistles or taking a break to play some of the other keys on the cheaper whistles is simply a recreational break.

Kind of like when I'm practicing a tune and it maybe frustrates me a little bit so I lay off it for a couple of days. Then when I go back and pick it up something has happened, either muscle memory or... I don't know what, but then I'm playing it better than when I left off.

I just want this to be fun, for me. And I appreciate all those here that helped make it so. And I know there are new people coming on in this bored all the time and I'm sure I'm helping some of them out with my questions, as are you with most of your answers.

[Sedi]

I also think that buying a few whistles won't keep you from practicing . And considering the price of other instruments like an accordion or classical instruments even the high end whistles can be considered cheap. A friend of mine just bought two clarinets for 20.000 € (he said you need one in A and Bb to cover everything). What is "needed" to play (how many whistles, what maker, how expensive, etc) is a different question. Fun fact - I didn't really imagine that the cheaper whistles would sound that much better once my playing improved (slightly ).

[MichaelRS]

I also think that buying a few whistles won't keep you from practicing . And considering the price of other instruments like an accordion or classical instruments even the high end whistles can be considered cheap. A friend of mine just bought two clarinets for 20.000 € (he said you need one in A and Bb to cover everything). What is "needed" to play (how many whistles, what maker, how expensive, etc) is a different question. Fun fact - I didn't really imagine that the cheaper whistles would sound that much better once my playing improved (slightly ).

Right?
If they did (sound that much better) then what would be the point of making some of the higher-end whistles? Other than just playing on a whistle made for more expensive material.

[jiminos]

As an aside, I have found that I can quieten down my whistles, by putting a bit of electrical tape covering half of the sound aperture, & still play all the notes of both octaves, just more quietly. So I don't think you need worry about which brand to buy after all

I think this sort of thing ignores the need to hear what you are doing. While learning the instrument it is of the utmost importance you learn breath control to produce a full tone and good intonation, as well as breath/hand coordination. I don't think you can do that properly by taping up a whistle or by putting a sock in it, you need to play the instrument to its full potential.

Then why does my wife keep telling me to put a sock in it?

[Tyler DelGregg]

My good and loyal dachshund’s facial expressions determine the quality of my playing. He generally prefers the low cost whistles and whines when I bring out the pricier ones. He is very honest in his assessment. He goes by the sound, not the price tag.

[Sedi]

Right?
If they did (sound that much better) then what would be the point of making some of the higher-end whistles? Other than just playing on a whistle made for more expensive material.

I think it is not mainly the sound (some cheap whistles can sound really good and besides -- it's much a matter of personal preference what sound you consider "good") but the playability IMO. The more expensive instruments are often easier to play, more responsive, better in tune. I think the problem sometimes is -- a beginner buys a cheap whistle that can sound nice in the hands of an experienced player but will squeak and squeal in the hands of the beginner. So the beginner should get the one that is easiest to play but those are often more expensive. Well, when I was younger, my mother bought me that one whistle (Generation C) and that was it . It never occured to me to "need" or want more than one whistle. But things change. Got my own money now to spend as I see fit.

Ooops -- just noticed: I think you misunderstood me. I didn't mean the cheaper whistles sounded better than the expensive ones, just that they sounded better once my playing improved compared to when I first bought them.

[MichaelRS]

And as a beginner one does not have the chops to "muscle through" something that is less than it should be.
And, for example, if the Generation D is still just fine, then there shouldn't be any post about how wonderful the pre-1980s generation was without some major qualifications about how the current one is okay itself.
Along those lines one goes back to Jerry Freeman having stopped tweaking Gen Ds because, as I understand it, the current defects in productions were just too numerous and/or varied to overcome and I halfway cost-efficient way.
So when people without money to burn hear stuff like that, they're like, "okay, I stand a better chance with a current Walton's or a Feadog if I want to get a cheap D or C".