Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

The Ultimate On-Line Whistle Community. If you find one more ultimater, let us know.
MichaelRS
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:07 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm interested in the tin whistle as a hobby. I'm here mainly to get information on the playing qualities of various types of whistles.
Location: Orange County, California

Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by MichaelRS »

No, did not receive a second Potter whistle. This is just a revamped post on the subject. Anyway...

I really like it. It is what I hoped the Mellow Dog or that Dixon brass Trad D would have been. I wish I was a better player or had the musical background to describe it better, but I can only say I like the smooth tone and what I consider to be the easy transitions between the octaves. I used to be more into firearms thsn I am now and if I was describing it in those terms I would say it has a very smooth action.

The barrel is a little smaller then the two I mentioned above and I guess that's what gives it its slightly higher pitch. I haven't played one yet, but I think it's similar to how I hear people describe the Freeman blackbird.

I believe it is totally represented well by all the other good things people have to say about it on other threads and it's now in my top three whistles category. Right up there with another craft whistle by Becker ( I like his high D and his Alto G. The Eb is not working for me so well, but that I think the High D is pretty much as high as I like to play the whistles) and my old Susato Dublin High D. Which only proves I'm not just necessarily stuck on poly whistles.

I still would like to give the Blackbird a try and an O'Brian tweaked whistle, but maybe a little later. I still have my Chris Wall coming, Chris thinks he'll be able to get it out by the 15th, so I'm looking forward to trying that. But I think that's pretty much going to round out my whistle collection for now and I'll be getting rid of some of them pretty soon here, after I find out where the Chris Wall fits in to the rankings.

I'm kind of turning my attention to a concert type flute to see if I have any talent for it and really like it once I start in on it. But boy, they are not like picking up a decent whistle for a low price that's for sure. If you don't have about six or seven hundred dollars to burn for a decent new student model, you have a very confusing decision to make trying to find a quality brand of used instruments for a decent price from a reputable seller. And my budget considerations are such that I pretty much have to get it right the first time.

Anyway...
The bottom line is, I highly recommend the Potter whistle. YOU may have reasons for not liking it, but I very much doubt it will be because it's not well-made and doesn't play well. Because it is and it does.
User avatar
Mr.Gumby
Posts: 6603
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: the Back of Beyond

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by Mr.Gumby »

I guess that's what gives it its slightly higher pitch.
Where did that come from??

It's a D whistle playing at A=440Hz
My brain hurts

Image
User avatar
Loren
Posts: 8387
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Location: Loren has left the building.

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by Loren »

Mr.Gumby wrote:
I guess that's what gives it its slightly higher pitch.
Where did that come from??

It's a D whistle playing at A=440Hz
Well Duh, it comes from the “very smooth action” :P

Now why don’t you leave the poor guy alone for a bit Peter, before another one of his threads gets vaporized :wink:
User avatar
rhulsey
Posts: 524
Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 8:38 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: East TN
Contact:

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by rhulsey »

I myself am searching for a mustard-colored background.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities
can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
User avatar
Mr.Gumby
Posts: 6603
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: the Back of Beyond

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by Mr.Gumby »

Now why don’t you leave the poor guy alone for a bit Peter, before another one of his threads gets vaporized :wink:

Sure, threads come and go, no big deal. The pitch thing baffled me t but if I missed a fire arms related metaphor and got the wrong end of the stick, I am sorry. That sort of stuff is, thankfully, alien to me.
My brain hurts

Image
Tyler DelGregg
Posts: 343
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:10 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Whistles are fun, whistles are charming, whistles sound nice, whistles are affordable, whistles make us smile, whistles make dogs bark, and whistles upset some neighbors.
Location: Middle of Virginia

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by Tyler DelGregg »

I agree, the Potter is a nice whistle. I've actually grown to appreciate its squarish head. I was asked to bring a whistle to a small party at a friend's house for some light solo playing. I took the Potter because it is quiet and plays sweetly. I do have to use careful breath control on OXX OOO. It's interesting how you can find a whistle to fit various occasions.
MichaelRS
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:07 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm interested in the tin whistle as a hobby. I'm here mainly to get information on the playing qualities of various types of whistles.
Location: Orange County, California

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by MichaelRS »

Well, as I said, I don't have sufficient music background to give the description justice and I think I heard something about the Freeman Mellow Dog's "larger" barrel, larger than the Potter, is what gives it its slightly deeper tone as compared to what I would say is more chipper with the Potter and, again, comparable to what people are saying about the Blackbird. If it playing at a different Hz is the actual reason, for whatever reason, then so be it.

Coincidentally the guy in the video linked below, from England, just posted a review of the Potter. Probably the only review or example of its playing you will find on YouTube, because when I searched for Timothy Potter whistles there the only results I got was various videos about "Harry Potter".
So when I wrote back to Timothy Potter, to tell him how pleased I was with the whistles, one of the things I suggested was that he should put it more out there on YouTube with examples of it. David's video tends to be a tad echoey. but all the good things he points out about the whistle are, in my opinion, spot on.
(And yes, the maker's sticker is easily removed)

https://youtu.be/ul5aLNRBP4w
User avatar
whistlecollector
Posts: 493
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 3:29 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: Somewhere between Here and There.

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by whistlecollector »

MichaelRS wrote:Well, as I said, I don't have sufficient music background to give the description justice and I think I heard something about the Freeman Mellow Dog's "larger" barrel, larger than the Potter, is what gives it its slightly deeper tone as compared to what I would say is more chipper with the Potter and, again, comparable to what people are saying about the Blackbird. If it playing at a different Hz is the actual reason, for whatever reason, then so be it.
Hm. Typically a narrower bore makes a whistle softer or quieter in tone while a larger bore makes it louder.

Is that what you're hearing maybe?
-- A tin whistle a day keeps the racketts at bay.

-- WhOAD Survivor No. 11373
MichaelRS
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:07 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm interested in the tin whistle as a hobby. I'm here mainly to get information on the playing qualities of various types of whistles.
Location: Orange County, California

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by MichaelRS »

whistlecollector wrote:
MichaelRS wrote:Well, as I said, I don't have sufficient music background to give the description justice and I think I heard something about the Freeman Mellow Dog's "larger" barrel, larger than the Potter, is what gives it its slightly deeper tone as compared to what I would say is more chipper with the Potter and, again, comparable to what people are saying about the Blackbird. If it playing at a different Hz is the actual reason, for whatever reason, then so be it.
Hm. Typically a narrower bore makes a whistle softer or quieter in tone while a larger bore makes it louder.

Is that what you're hearing maybe?
LOL okay. Then I have the physics a little confused here. somebody else who has the Potter will have to explain it better, I just don't have the words since things like PURE and SWEET and so forth are subjective. And referring to what others say about Blackbird is about the only way I can imagine to describe it as I have not played one of those.

I can tell you that the barrel of the Potter slides easily into the barrel of the *Mellow Dog with room to spare.
And I do find it to be SLIGHTLY quieter.

Really the only Improvement I would suggest for Timothy Potter to make is to kind of round off or taper down the exterior of mouthpiece toward the sides, more like a Generation, for a little bit more natural sealing of the lips. I guess that would be the negative thing I would have to say about it.. That basically rectangular shape interferes with that sealing slightly, but not to where it's any great big deal.

* fits inside the barrel of the Dixon brass Trad D also we just slightly tighter tolerances.
Last edited by MichaelRS on Mon Mar 11, 2019 1:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Mr.Gumby
Posts: 6603
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: the Back of Beyond

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by Mr.Gumby »

Really the only Improvement I would suggest for Timothy Potter to make is to kind of round off or taper down the exterior of mouthpiece toward the sides, more like a Generation, for a little bit more natural sealing of the lips. I guess that would be the negative thing I would have to say about it.. That basically rectangular shape interferes with that sealing slightly, but not to where it's any great big deal.
I initially had misgivings about this too, after a week or two of playing it you no longer notice it and it stops being a (minor) problem.
My brain hurts

Image
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by Peter Duggan »

MichaelRS wrote:what gives it its slightly deeper tone
No, not deeper when that's an adjective most would associate with pitch.
If it playing at a different Hz is the actual reason, for whatever reason, then so be it.
It's not. Mr.Gumby's point was that they play at the same pitch.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
MichaelRS
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:07 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm interested in the tin whistle as a hobby. I'm here mainly to get information on the playing qualities of various types of whistles.
Location: Orange County, California

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by MichaelRS »

Peter Duggan wrote:
MichaelRS wrote:what gives it its slightly deeper tone
No, not deeper when that's an adjective most would associate with pitch.
If it playing at a different Hz is the actual reason, for whatever reason, then so be it.
It's not. Mr.Gumby's point was that they play at the same pitch.
Ok. That's cool. Thanks for the lesson. I just wish somebody who has one and more of the technical music chops could come in and explain it better than I can.

Otherwise I'm kind of stuck by saying that, to me, it sounds "sweeter" or "purer" and it "plays easier" and all that kind of thing than does my Mellow Dog or Trad D. YMMV <shrug>
User avatar
ytliek
Posts: 2739
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 3:51 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: Seashore

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by ytliek »

Maybe you're trying too much on too many whistles in comparisons.

I have the Potter whistle and the beak's squareness never bothered me, nor any of the variances in mouthpiece design on any other whistle makes.
PB+J
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:40 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm a historian and the author of "The Beat Cop:Chicago's Chief O'Neill and the Creation of Irish Music," published by the University of Chicago in 2022. I live in Arlington VA and play the flute sincerely but not well

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by PB+J »

So you probably know this, but every note has a fundamental pitch and always a series of overtones, which are multiples of the fundamental pitch. There will usually be an octave, and a fifth, and a fourth and a bunch of other multiples of the fundamental tone in different degrees of prominence. That's why different instruments sound different--a different overtone series is being produced. This is also referred to as "timbre." When I play note on the flute and then tighten my embouchure, the overtone series changes, and even though it's still a low D, it has more of the higher overtones in it, so it might sound "higher" even though it's the same note

At any rate, its possible the potter whistle emphasizes more of the high overtones, making it sound "higher." My apologies if this is remedial
MichaelRS
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:07 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm interested in the tin whistle as a hobby. I'm here mainly to get information on the playing qualities of various types of whistles.
Location: Orange County, California

Re: Received my POTTER whistle (#2)

Post by MichaelRS »

@PB+J
From some of the other comments here it probably is very remedial for a lot of people, but not for me.
For me it was a very useful lesson and a plausible and helpful explanation.
Thank you for taking the time to drill it down.

To another subject; Yes, I am looking through several whistles with the goal of having just two or three that I really like to practice and play with.
Before, about the time I first joined this group, I ended up with 18 that were just High Ds. I really did not like the vast majority of them. I ended up only keeping three. Two as nostalgia pieces and one I really like.

This time I am more circumspect in my selections and don't plan being as willy-nilly in my acquisitions to find the three that work best for me. The others I will sell at a loss, which is better than gathering dust in a drawer. It's a system that works for me.
Post Reply