Thoughts on A Whistles...

[fatmac]

I have 3 'A' whistles, & would be interested in how people think they compare to whistles such as the MK, Alba, Susato, etc - as I am trying to comprehend why these types of whistles are considered to be the best.

Mine are :-
Tony Dixon Trad brass
Tony Dixon tuneable aluminium
Thunderbird aluminium non tuneable

Would you consider these to be loud whistles?

[AngelicBeaver]

I have 3 'A' whistles, & would be interested in how people think they compare to whistles such as the MK, Alba, Susato, etc - as I am trying to comprehend why these types of whistles are considered to be the best.

Mine are :-
Tony Dixon Trad brass
Tony Dixon tuneable aluminium
Thunderbird aluminium non tuneable

Would you consider these to be loud whistles?

My Thunderbird A is a very quiet, delicate whistle (especially in the bottom of the first octave) when compared to Reviol, Goldie, and MK. I haven't played the Dixons you mention.

By contrast, the Thunderbird G is much more powerful. Even the Bb is a stronger whistle.

[Adrian W.]

I only have one A whistle, but maybe there is something about that key? I have a Sindt Bb and A, both bought at the same time, same size tube (each has their own head). I like them both, but they are different, and the A is quieter. I don't have one of his A's, but if someone was interested in loud whistles, the loudest one I have is a Humphrey.

I'd like to hear an MK A, but haven't found any videos. Side question, I wonder why MK doesn't make an E or Eb... .would have thought the pipers would be asking? They do make an F#.

[AngelicBeaver]

I only have one A whistle, but maybe there is something about that key? I have a Sindt Bb and A, both bought at the same time, same size tube (each has their own head). I like them both, but they are different, and the A is quieter. I don't have one of his A's, but if someone was interested in loud whistles, the loudest one I have is a Humphrey.

I'd like to hear an MK A, but haven't found any videos. Side question, I wonder why MK doesn't make an E or Eb... .would have thought the pipers would be asking? They do make an F#.

See the video I posted above. I've got the MK Alto A in there with the Goldie and Reviol. I think it's hard to search for A whistle videos because the search easily becomes "a whistle", which won't give you good results. I try to say "alto A whistle" or some other modifier to make them searchable.

[Tyler DelGregg]

Thanks for the good review. I like the MK best. How is the OXX OOO on those whistles? I mostly play the Freeman A which I really like, but I am thinking about getting a Susato A because I enjoy the Oriole D, C, and Bb very much. However, the Susato G I used to have was shouty at the top end which I never warmed up to. Does anyone have the Susato A?

[pancelticpiper]

For some reason this photo, which I posted earlier, doesn't seem to be showing up now.

My home-made "A" is on the left.



You can see it's slightly larger tubing, soldered onto a short section of Generation Bb tubing so as to fit into the head.

That "A" got a load of playing over my St Patricks Day gigs- for me it's the perfect whistle: spot on intonation, incredibly sweet nimble 2nd octave, and having enough presence in the low octave.

[Adrian W.]

@Nathaniel... thanks for the videos. When I saw the first one, though we were talking about A whistles, I assumed the video was comparing low D's. Should have looked closer. To my ears, in both videos the Goldies and MK's sound best.

Two questions: I hadn't realized the tuning slide on some MK's was plastic.... how does it hold up?

Could you compare the nature of the Goldie medium blowers to the hard blower? None around here that I know of to try, and I'm eventually going to have to choose.

Thanks,

Adrian

[AngelicBeaver]

The plastic slide has been fine for me, but I seldom play that whistle, so I'm not a good stress test.

I chose a hard blowing Goldie A because that's what Brian Finnegan was playing. The rest of my Goldies are medium. For ME, the hard blower is too hard. I feel tense while playing it, and I feel like the tone is restricted and thin in a few spots. If I had to do it again, I'd go for a soft blower. I've heard they aren't that much different, but I'd rather have to push a little less, and get a fuller tone. Part of me wonders if Brian just managed to pick a Wonder Whistle that happened to be hard blowing but avoiding the tonal pitfalls. Although, lots of people tell me they prefer my Goldie tone, so maybe it sounds fantastic from a distance, but the experience is different when playing. It's a great whistle, it just doesn't resonate with me as much as I'd like.

[Adrian W.]

Thanks Nathaniel. That's the most useful comparison I have come across on the Goldie characteristics. Ruling out hard blowers for me.

Adrian

[Tyler DelGregg]

My Susato Kildare A arrived on Saturday. I like the way it plays very much, but I have to use the O ring fix on the head to lessen the volume. Oddly, I like it very much with the O ring, but don't care for it without the O ring. Maybe it's because I play indoors in smallish rooms or medium size halls. I have a feeling I'll remove the O ring if I have to belt out a tune outdoors.

[TonyHiggins]

I've had an A whistle (blackwood) by Chris Abell for years. Have no further need for anything else. (Just checked the current prices on his web site. Ouch! Glad I bought it way back when.) Other than the cost, I can't think of a single negative thing to say about it. Same with the D.