Recommendations vs. Sweetheart?
- CapnDistracto
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 3:50 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Connecticut
Recommendations vs. Sweetheart?
First time posting, though I've lurked on the C&F forums for a while now. I'm a college student that's been fiddling with whistles for some time now, and I've acquired a number of low end whistles, all soprano D or C. So far the most expensive whistle I've picked up is my dixon non-tunable PVC.
I was looking around to make the leap to a higher end whistle, and the Sweetheart Flute Co's pro birch laminate was recommended by an acquaintance. Fortunately, I live about a 35 minute drive away from the Sweet family workshop, so I'd be able to arrange a trial before deciding to buy. I was also looking at the Burke aluminum pro.
Can anyone recommend anything else which is comparable in this ~$140 price range? Opinions on the Sweetheart vs. the Burke would also be much appreciated.
Thanks!
-Matt
I was looking around to make the leap to a higher end whistle, and the Sweetheart Flute Co's pro birch laminate was recommended by an acquaintance. Fortunately, I live about a 35 minute drive away from the Sweet family workshop, so I'd be able to arrange a trial before deciding to buy. I was also looking at the Burke aluminum pro.
Can anyone recommend anything else which is comparable in this ~$140 price range? Opinions on the Sweetheart vs. the Burke would also be much appreciated.
Thanks!
-Matt
- brewerpaul
- Posts: 7300
- Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2001 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: Clifton Park, NY
- Contact:
By all means visit the Sweet shop.Walt is a really great guy, and you'll find the shop fascinating. You'll also get to hand pick a whistle for yourself. I've played those pro whistles several times and REALLY liked them. Matter of fact, I have one of their low D brothers. If I wasn't up to my eyeballs in wooden whistles, this one I would most certainly buy.
Last edited by brewerpaul on Fri Oct 07, 2005 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- chas
- Posts: 7703
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2001 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: East Coast US
I second Paul's recommendation to visit Ralph and Walt. Their shop is incredible -- if you're at all interested in local history, have Ralph take you on a tour of the barn, too. Play some of the whistles and if you like one, buy it; if it doesn't live up to what you feel a $140 whistle should be, then don't.
Charlie
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
- CapnDistracto
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 3:50 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Connecticut
Hey, thanks for all the great responses. It's nice to know that the Sweets carry other makes to check out, though I'm fairly sure at this point that I have my heart set on the birch pro. I'm definitely going to give them a visit in the very near future.
As for the earlier inquiry of what I'm looking for, some volume would be nice, and I've heard that these don't dissappoint. I've only attempted a couple sessions with people and both were outdoors. My Dixon, though untunable, was spot on with the other instruments there, but I found the volume getting lost in the outdoors, so something that would hold up both in a private area and outside would be great.
Personal opinions on the Burke aluminum pro would still be helpful for future possibilities.
Thanks again for all the help!
- Matt
As for the earlier inquiry of what I'm looking for, some volume would be nice, and I've heard that these don't dissappoint. I've only attempted a couple sessions with people and both were outdoors. My Dixon, though untunable, was spot on with the other instruments there, but I found the volume getting lost in the outdoors, so something that would hold up both in a private area and outside would be great.
Personal opinions on the Burke aluminum pro would still be helpful for future possibilities.
Thanks again for all the help!
- Matt
- Screeeech!!!
- Posts: 415
- Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2005 2:15 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Out on the patio, sunbathing... ...i wish!
- Unseen122
- Posts: 3542
- Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 7:21 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Of course I'm not a bot; I've been here for years... Apparently that isn't enough to pass muster though!
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Contact:
The Sweets are great whistles and sound like what you are looking for. I used to have a Burke DASBT but I traded it for a Sindt C after I fell in love with a Sindt D, it is a pure toned whistle with no chiff volume was decent but I have played louder it was a very easy blowing whistle took too much air and did not have enough back pressure in my opinion. What ar eyou looking for playability wise?
- chas
- Posts: 7703
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2001 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: East Coast US
I find the Burke aluminum in D a little lacking in character. It's got a very clear sound and won't disappoint you when playing with others -- the sound really cuts through. I much prefer brass in Mike's high whistles. It has a warmth that's lacking in the Al, and the old-style wide-bore brass has a very traditional sound. It's the only metal whistle that I'm taking to the grave with me.
Charlie
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
- Redwolf
- Posts: 6051
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: Somewhere in the Western Hemisphere
I have both a Sweetheart Pro and a Burke blac-tip brass, and, while I love them both, they are very different whistles. Both have rich and rather complex tones, but the Sweetheart is much more assertive. I tend to favor the Sweetheart for outdoor venues and the Burke for sessions.
Redwolf
Redwolf
...agus déanfaidh mé do mholadh ar an gcruit a Dhia, a Dhia liom!
- Unseen122
- Posts: 3542
- Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 7:21 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Of course I'm not a bot; I've been here for years... Apparently that isn't enough to pass muster though!
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Contact:
I totally agree with you on that chas one of the reasons I traded away my Burke was because the sound was too bland. I played PhilO's Brass one at the last gathering an I liked it more than my DASBT.chas wrote:I find the Burke aluminum in D a little lacking in character. It's got a very clear sound and won't disappoint you when playing with others -- the sound really cuts through. I much prefer brass in Mike's high whistles. It has a warmth that's lacking in the Al, and the old-style wide-bore brass has a very traditional sound. It's the only metal whistle that I'm taking to the grave with me.