I was playing my brand-new MK III Feadog today, when I had an epiphany.
Maybe the reason why so many people before us have gotten so attached to their old cheapies, with the dents and the electrical tape, ect. rather than to expensive, high-quality instruments is because you “grow into” the whistle itself. Kind of. Like, you get to know all it’s idiosyncracies and little imperfections, and that’s what makes it unique, and therefore, very dear to you.
Maybe, that’s the true “perfect” whistle.
You might be on to something there. I know the more I play a whistle, the more attached I grow to it, and the more I find I can get out of it.
Redwolf
An interesting idea – and one with a lot of truth in it I think.
A friend of mine used to play badminton for the county. He had a sponsorship deal with Yonex, where they gave him free raquets. Instead of getting one or two expensive ones, he got a whole bunch of cheap ones. He would always randomly select one for a game, and if one got marked in a way that made it recognizable he would discard it. He did this because he didn’t want his playing to ‘grow into’ a particular raquet, and thus become dependent on it. He prided himself with being able to pick up any old raquet and thrash someone.
Not sure what to conclude from that but I thought it was interesting :roll:
I definately grow attached to my whistles. Not to the point where I give them names (wink), but I grow attached.
I agree, you also get used to compensating for it’s idiosyncracies. Like when I get a new whistle, I have to “get to know it” before I can make it sound right. I “know” my old Clarke the best, so I play it better, and it’s the sound I’m used to, so I like how it sounds better than any other whistle.
I’m a trombonist deep down inside. And i can say for sure that as you switch between those instruments there are differences you have to learn and adjust too, I would imagine this is true of all instruments.
Lemme get this straight. Your county has a badminton team? A U.S. county? And they play other…counties?
Isilwen, after all the past questions and debates around here about the “perfect” whistle it appears that you have nailed down, IMHO, the one true definitive answer. As with so many things in life, the answer has been right in front of us all along, as obvious as the noses on our faces! Good on you!! 
~Larry
Also, there didn’t really used to be such a thing as a high end whistle.
Point taken, Walden!
Now, I wonder how someone first came up with the idea to satrt making high end whistles? I suppose it was because some very accomplished players desired a better quality (?) instrument?
~Larry
One reason I have loads of cheap whistles is because like the badminton guy, I don’t want to get “locked in” to only being able to play one particular whistle. My theory is that the more you switch around, the quicker you can adjust to a new one. Plus I just like playing different whistles.
The flipside is that I spend too much time switching whistles and playing the same tune, and not enough learning new tunes.
I think having just one whistle that you carry everywhere means you will progress faster, at least as long as you’re playing that whistle. It also helps the whistle grow seedy-looking quicker…
I don’t think this is true. Don’t forget that injection molding is a fairly recent technology (1940’s or 50’s?). The nicest whistle I ever played was over 100 years old and was made of heavy silver. One of my music books talks about whistlers coming through town in around 1840. This was before the Clarke company was founded. Then there’s the Tim and Maddy song “Who will play the silver whistle?” The plethora of high-end companies is a recent phenomenon, but expensive whistles definitely predate cheapies.
Of course bone flutes & whistles predate everything by tens of thousands of years, but were they were priceless…
Agree with Lilymaid on the Clark it is such an easy whistle to play, and the soft sound is comfortable to be with. my Sindt is still my all-time favorite because I know what to do with it to get the sound I’m looking for.
The Susato (Dublin D) is growing on me, especially if I just feel like playing loud. Today is the 12th anniversary of my first wife’s death, and it is usually a very depressing day for me; I think I will quietly play some tunes for her on the Clark.
curtsies Why, thank you Larry! 
I feel so honored to possibly have solved the predicament/debate.
I agree, too. Most of my instruments end up with names sooner or later (but then, I’ve always been a little odd), and to me part of the joy of a new instrument is getting to know its strengths and weaknesses.
For the record, yes, I do have actual human friends. 
I also agree on Clarkes–hard to beat 'em for cheapies. Free advice: Never, EVER slam your favorite, venerable Clarke D in the door of a pickup truck.
Tom
How do you play the whistle and think at the same time?
I know how that is. I gave away my old sweetone, but I wouldn’t part with my Oak D for all the tea in china…
You make a convincing enough case that there were whistles made of expensive materials in the 19th Century, but not sure where you draw the conclusion that expensive ones definitely predate cheap ones.
WyoBadger, don’t feel odd; I name my whistles too, but it’s only my favorites (ex. Out of the 12 whistles I own, only three have names, and they are my favorites). Besides, who said you couldn’t be normal if you were eccentric?