Well, I’ve been kind of hemming and hawing about whether or not I should put a commercial post here.
Mahan Woodwinds opened its doors about a month ago, and I’ve been content to not really talk about it much. I was running a grand opening special for $65.00 for the month of October until I’d sold the few whistle I’d made, and gotten feedback on improving them before “going commercial” to so speak.. I sold the last one last week, and so I busted my buns to get some more whistles made before grand opening special was over.
I currently have some whistles in bubinga, cocobolo, and bocote completed and ready.
Cocoblo wood
Bocote wood
Bubinga wood
Because C&F has been such a great place for me to hang out all these years, and learn more about playing whistles, and because, quite frankly, I would never have learned what I needed to know to get started making whistles without the good people here, I wanted to make a special invitation to C&F members.
From now until Nov 7th (that’s my birthday! whee!), C&F members can take advantage of the October grand opening special price of $65.00 for a little while longer. Just drop me a line before Nov 8th, and let me know you’re a C&Fer and want the special price. This price is good for whistles in stock only.
When I first started playing the whistle a little over a decade ago, I would have never thought in a million years I’d play in a band or make my own whistles…and I don’t think I’d have ever done those things if it weren’t for C&F. Thanks guys and gals!
Good idea, I think. Gets the whistle out there and people can make a more informed decision on it. Of course, I have my own selfish reasons on wanting to get my hands on one! Always in the market to try another whistle!
Well I’m not exactly a reviewer of any sort but, I’ve had one of Greg’s new whistles in Cocobola for about three weeks now. I too have been laying low and didn’t want to say much until Greg was sure he wanted to make an official announcement.
However, now that he has made it official, I feel free to add my meager thoughts.
It is a very nice whistle. Well finished and lovely to look at. It has a full, open and rather traditional sound (if I correctly understand the term). It has good volume (think Earl Bartlett’s Al Syns) and is spot on (including the C natural with regular fingering) in tuning according to my Korg. The transition between octaves is very good and the second octave A and B are easily accessible without being overly loud. The A and B at the top of the second octave also sing out nicely rather than shriek. It responds very quickly. Nothing I can’t play at top speed (at least my top speed that is). It requires very little warm up and clogging has not been a problem. It requires a moderate amount of air and has a bit of back pressure (more noticeable in the second octave) so you can play fairly long phrases and lean into it quite well.
All and all, I am very happy with this whistle. Up to now I’ve been mostly an Aluminum and Brass type of guy (with the exception of some Susatos). As my first foray into wood whistles, I am very pleased. I think Greg has made something of a convert. In sum, a heck of a whistle, especially as a first effort from a new whistle smith.
I don’t really want to run afoul of the commercial posting rules, so I’m going to make one update and try to answer as much as I can, and then I’ll have to ask anyone to contact me via PM to discuss anything further
Thanks…my ISP changed permissions on me.
I was writing my own referrer log cause I like to keep track of where hits to my website come from…so I was using ASP and the FileSystemObject to write a text file in my root directory. Evidently I don’t have permission to do that any more.
This only affected the standard free music site, and not the store.
Lol, knowing C&F, I’m sure a few folks will step up to the plate
As busy as I’ve been learning how to do this, I really haven’t missed reviewing whistles…much. But I think the few years I spent doing it has really helped me try to listen to my work objectively. Of course, the trick of playing a generation back to back with your own whistle really helps highlights the differences
I want to do a tour. I think they’re great fun, and have benefitted me as much as anyone But, I didn’t want to tour the first generation of whistles, because, lets face it…as soon as your first product hits the market, there are bound to be some improvements and suggestions. I wanted to make sure I was somewhat secure in my processes rather than putting something out and then going “But wait..I’ve made a few big changes since then…here’s the new one”. So, I decided that no tour for October. Honestly, since I’m going out of town next week, and I have to hope that the whistles I’ve made can cover any interest through then, I’m expecting that I probably won’t be ready to do a tour until the end of November. Since that runs afoul of crazy Christmas postal madness, it’s probably more realistic to expect something to happen in January.
Thanks for the very nice words Peter! You’ve touched on a lot of the characterstics I hope to achieve when I make a whistle. One of my favorite whistles is the Abell…and while my whistle is no Abell, I am trying my best to capture some of that same feel in my whistles, while easing up a bit on the breath requirements and volume.
Are you aware that bubinga (particularly sawdust) is toxic? Although when finished and sealed it isn’t usually a problem, it is problematic for whistles/recorders because many people will have a reaction on their lips/mouths. (I once had a bubinga recorder that made my mouth numb, which is how I come to know this.)
Every hardwood used for woodwinds can cause allergic reaction in some people who may be sensitive to that wood. At least all the woods I can think of. Cocobolo is an example. So is african blackwood and also mahogany, or even maple, for that matter. Some people are also allergic to peanuts. Since the sawdust of many woods are toxic, I wear a mask when working the wood.
I don’t know about “many” people having a reaction to playing. I know at least a dozen people have handled, and played the bubinga whistle I’m keeping for myself, without any issues at all. Paul Busman has made whistles from bubinga, and a google search for “bubinga flute” produces a number of makers. Ralph Sweet mentions using it on his page as well. http://www.sweetheartflute.com/faqs.html
And, as you say, it’s used for recorders.
I hope that if someone has a reaction to any of my whistles they let me know so that I can exchange their whistle for a different type of wood.
The level of commitment to the great joy we share never ceases to amaze me. People around me sometimes look askance at some old guy who just has to play everyday, listens to “weird” music and even has to take whistles on trips and if not playing is talking about playing. Add to that actually MAKING the instruments…hats off to ye Wanderer and best of luck.
If you haven’t already done so, post more, longer and higher quality soundclips on your website of your whistles, please.
Have you thought of doing whistles in olivewood? Personally, as far as wooden whistles are concerned, I think they have the best look and sound. For my third whistle, I plan on purchasing a whistle from Paul Busman - his olivewood whistles are, in my opinion, incredible (I’ll probably have enough money saved up by next summer, Paul ).
I think as long as the wood is sealed it is not much of a problem. The particular difficulty with whistles and recorders is that it is hard to seal the mouthway, and the mouth is very sensitive to allergens. That’s not as much of an issue on a flute, for example.
Also, I wanted you to know so that you can take care when you’re working the wood. You don’t want to be breathing bubinga sawdust.
Oh believe me, it’s just as serious a problem with flutes, since the lower lip contacts the flute, as does the face, which is very nearly as sensitive as the mouth - particulary for men who shave, since you’ve essntially got thousands of microscopic cuts on your face after every time you shave, and you’re putting the flute right up agaist those, basically open, wounds.
Still, you’re not as likely to have your tongue blister (or perhaps even swell) as mine blisted once when I forgot about my Grenadilla sensitivity and stuck a Blackwood recorder in my mouth for a few moments to test out an instrument I was working on… Not fun having blisters on the tongue, let me tell you
For those who have whistles with metal banded mouthpieces, it’s easy enough to insulate oneself fairly well from direct contact with the wooden endgrain by simply applying a thin coating of superglue around the the back edge of mouthpiece, just don’t get any of that glue into the windway. Putting a couple of drops of super glue on a pipe cleaner is a good way to apply it.
