That’s the spirit. Red top brass is the way to go. And don’t mind me. 
I have found that Waltons and Generations are very consistent, with a green fipple and a red one.
So Bloomfield, are you going to come out of the shadows, and get around to telling us about the Overton Low C that you beat me out of (fairly) by 15 minnuets. 
I only asked three times because no one answered. I’m like my kids that way.
Please don’t.
Mighty. Absolutely stunningly marvelous (as are the low low Bb and low low A I picked up at the same time… ). And after you play them a low D feels like a little bitsy stick of a whistle. Brilliant.
And “everyone” talking about the inconsistency of Generations… I don’t know. I think perhaps I used to talk that way, too, until I started buying Generations by the tens and really working with them. Most of the stuff you read are people just regurgitating what they’ve read on c&f and I shouldn’t wonder that most who complain about the inconsistency of chapos don’t own more then 2 Generations.
I don’t know about inconsistencty, but during the last five years I have bought about 10 Generations. I have several D-ones that are all simply bad whistles (and all brass bodied). Then I have a B-flat (brass), C-nat (nickel), both nice ones, and an excellent E-flat (nickel). So in my experience, the problem is with NEW D-Generations. I have one older Generation D (now broken) which differs in appearance and that was a very good whistle.
So I think they are not so inconsistent, but the quality of their instruments (at least the D-ones) has gone worse during the years. So they are now consistently worse. I don’t also see point in buying a bunch of Generations (have done that once) and then try to find a good one. I think they don’t make so good D:s anymore than they used to.
I’ve also heard and bit experienced that the high end whistles are certainly not always consistent, but differ much in quality. That is perhaps that the makers do consistently little changes to their desing, trying to make the instrument better or simply experiment with those. Opinions? Experiences?
OT? Absolutely!
This is a great thread for me - a newbie - about inexpensive whistle consistency, since I’m not ready to spend more money on higher-end whistles.
Shame it’s buried in a review thread. 
Nice review though. 
It is nice to hear the different whistles playing the same tune.
Thanks,
Jason
Holy mother! I just watched a video of Tony Hinnigan playing a Low A.
It’s like the Bass Sax of whistles. He appears to have just given up on
ring fingers entirely! I imagine that he had to go for a lie down after
recording the Titanic end theme on that thing…
It’s not. It’s scattered throughout the Whistle forum. It’s a very old,
discussion fueled by rumor and inuendo.
The breath requirements are not that bad. Not much more than an Overton low D (and less on the low low A than on an Alba low D). You do have to push a bit, but it’s not that hard.
I don’t use the pinkies, I use the ring fingers. The challenge is not so much the stretch as covering the holes. They are pretty big. But I found the hole grasp thing not so hard. What’s harder is the stretch: The low low A is about 3 feet long and it makes you feel like your arms are very short.
Disclaimer: I am not suggesting these things are easy to play or for everyone. The stubby-fingered need not apply.
That’s a bit screwed up.
Hehehehe. Just like me. 
What I mean is first the stretch between your fingers: splaying your hands enough to cover the holes. Then I am talking about the arms: Getting your hands far enough away from your shoulders that the whistle fits…
Funny.
I guess my ear is still not very good because I don’t hear any difference in the sound of the regular Feadog and the Feadog pro. There must be something else that is desirable about the whistle. Don’t get me wrong I will be buying one. I can’t stand for there to be a cheapie that I don’t have. Maybe someone will give me one for Christmas.
Very nice comparison. That Susato sounds nice. In a whistle listening test it would be hard to identify it as a Susato. I can hear the sound that many don’t like when I am playing it myself but not when someone else is playing it or on a recording.
Ron
It’s subtle, they’re both Feadogs. But you can hear by listening back to back that the Pro is rounder, stronger, and a bit huskier on the low end. peeplj of course avoids the bottom end and brings the last note up, but in the first couple of bars you can get a sense after that slide into the first note and then the descending phrase. The Pro has a bit more body and solidity. Mind you that it is very easy to make any Feadog sound harsh and unlovely.
I actually don’t share peeplj’s impression that the Feadog Pro is more forgiving of breath differences, but I do agree that playing characteristics differ from Pro to regular. Part of why I prefer the Pro over the regular Feadog is the way it plays (and not just the way it sounds).
Thanks Bloomfield. I knew I was missing something. I think some of my favorite whistles are not very forgiving. I do like the Feadog a lot. It is one of my favorite cheapies. I will definitely be getting the pro.
Ron
I started to post yesterday, but I wanted to wait until I could play both whistles again first.
This is all in my own experience: your mileage may differ.
My original Feadog seems to have a stronger low octave but be harder to control. The Feadog Pro seems to have slightly less oomph in the low octave but is much easier to control in both octaves.
Is the difference in the whistles (Bloomfield’s Pro and my own), or in the players? I don’t know, but I do know that I like and enjoy the Feadog Pro a lot and that right now it’s getting a lot of play compared to some of my other inexpensive whistles.
As to whether or not bad Generations exist…I’ve bought twelve high D Generations over the last maybe six years or so. Four have been wonderful, four have been just ok, and four have been unplayably bad (two bluetops and two redtops to be specific).
The bad Generations all have similar problems: they won’t take a lot of air before the note just goes away; if you blow softly enough that the notes will sound, they have a very unpleasant rasp; and the low end of the first octave either won’t play at all or will just very barely. My theory is that something happens, either in the molding of the fipple or in the assembly of the whistle, that makes the blade get out of alignment with the windway.
But I will grant you this: I haven’t had to go through “boxes” of Generations to find really good ones. In my experience, if you order several at once, you’ve got a really good chance getting one or two gems, particularly if you order some of each “color”–get a couple of redtops, a couple of bluetops, and a couple of greentops.
Best wishes to all,
–James
So I am guessing your going to keep it?
Happy Holidays
You can always tempt me, right?
So they are inconsistent. The ones that I bought were from same shop all, so maybe I got unlucky, cause they all had similar problems you described and I got the impression that the new Generations are bad and the older ones are good.
Actually, what a marvellous business plan. First we have this legendary reputation because of Mary Bergin and others. Then make the instrument vary in quality so that people will buy tens of them, when they would normally settle to one or two whistles.
BTW, great comparisons in the beginning of this thread!
You could probably buy a Burke with the money you’d spend buying up a bunch of Gen’s to find a decent one. 
True, but then you wouldn’t have something that sounds like a decent Generation… which some would choose over a Burke any day.