The Airgead is a nice quality whistle and a lot of bang for the buck. Plunk, his session mates, Pennycat, Oleoresonator, and myself all had good impressions of Curtis’s whistles and he is an awesome individual. He will in fact work with clients in customization requests specific to imparting individually imparted playing characteristics.
Send him a PM or email with what you are looking for. Remember he makes whistles in a variety of keys and is now working toward development of low whistles in his line.
Not that it matters but this is the kind of second octave stuff I would like to play. Lovely playing by Paul Brady. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bITTGo4_glY. It takes a while for the whistle to appear and the few minutes are the best. Anyone want to hazard a guess at what sort of whistle he’s playing? Probably not . . .
Hate to jump in here, but I have a question. I only have one whistle right now - Ellis wooden high D. (My one whistleness is about to change as I am expecting a package from Mack Hoover! )
How is the generation or feadog sound different from the other whistles? What makes them trad sounding?
In my beginner opinion, its the chiff. Lots of chiff.
That and they are difficult to make sound good without a lot of practice and ablity.
Still, as a whistler, you should own and expericene both to have a benchmark.
You could pick up both for less than $20.
I believe you will love your Hoover, btw, I own almost as many Hoovers as Freemans.
I think the possibly more likely reply to the question would be that up until, say, the mid 1990s, the Generation-type (which includes Oak/Feadóg etc) was the only type of whistle available. It was the type of whistle that defined the sound of traditional (Irish) whistling.
I don’t think ‘chiff’ is quite the right criterium but YMMV. And FWIW I don’t think one type of whistle is particularly better or worse sounding in a beginner’s hands than another. At best they will show the player’s inexperience in different ways.
No, it’s perfectly normal and acceptable for a beginner to sound like a beginner.
I am saying the choice of whistle doesn’t make a large difference one way or the other. I think as a beginner you’re better served by playing one (decent) whistle and sticking with it until you acquire a degree of experience and skill rather than go on a buying spree and end up with a whole lot of different whistles that have different technical demands for you to cope with.
I’m just teasing you, Mr Gumby! I agree with what you are saying. I really appreciate your comment about playing one decent whistle to start with. I think it is important not only so that a beginner doesn’t have to deal with a lot of different technical demands, but also because as a beginner, I don’t really know what sounds I like or don’t like. I need to learn the instrument first and then experiment with different whistles with different sounds.
I learned this the hard way when I was buying Native American style flutes. I bought a bunch before I knew what I was looking for. Ended up with a bunch I didn’t really like and sold one that I later loved and should have kept.
Would you say I should stick with one whistle (as you said) or would it be ok to get a couple from the same maker to try out different keys, loudness, etc?
Would you say I should stick with one whistle (as you said) or would it be ok to get a couple from the same maker to try out different keys, loudness, etc?
By all means try what you like, just do the majority of your practice on one whistle you’re comfortable with.
)
So what I hear you saying is I’m gonna sound bad no matter which one I play! 
I agree with what you are saying. I really appreciate your comment about playing one decent whistle to start with. I think it is important not only so that a beginner doesn’t have to deal with a lot of different technical demands, but also because as a beginner, I don’t really know what sounds I like or don’t like. I need to learn the instrument first and then experiment with different whistles with different sounds.