I started a thread a week or so ago about Hi end or good Gen. As a result I decided to buy something more Hi end.
When I got home from taking a friend to the hospital for a small procedure I found a small triangular package in my mail box from Alba. I don’t know why I have waited so long to order this whistle. I have wanted one since I first saw the announcement. I now have my own Q1.
It literally played right out of the box. It has an absolutely wonderful sound. Exactly the kind of sound I like. It plays so easily. No big learning curve on this whistle. It is also a very good looking whistle with clean simple lines. But I don’t have to tell everyone here that. You all probably have one already.
This is a whistle that could end my WhOA. I don’t need another whistle. However, if this one is this good I’ll bet the SE is real nice. Of course I might want to buy an Alba low D and that low C maybe------
I have been cured of WhOA as many times as some people I know have “quit” smoking. Something about green grass being on the other side of the fence.
I am not sure what it was about spending hundreds of dollars on r#$*!&ers that turned me off, but I seem to find it VERY easy to spend money on whistles, several $100 plus ones so far.
A bit of a little club forming…
The Q1 is really a brilliant design, with a stunning simplicity.
It fills really well the gap between expensive high-enders and the plastic-heads, but may be the only D whistle one will ever need, beginners and pro whistlers alike.
Plus it’s about undestructible, so you can really carry and play it anywhere. Play it as a whistle, I mean. As a bodhrán beater, it works but may be rough on the goatskin. And as bones I never dared, though it would probably survive…
I don’t think WhOA ever ends. I have and do sincerely love every last one of my whistles, and each time I get one I think “This is it! My WhOA is ended! Between this beauty and all my other beauties, surely I now have every wonderful feature known to whistledom!” Then someone posts “I got a new whistle” and I start thinking "you know, I don’t have an Alba…yet.
Quick question(s): I was just at the Alba site, and didn’t see the designation “Q1”…is that the aluminum whistle? Pretty! Is yours tuneable? Also, has anyone tried the all-Tufnol “Highlander” whistle?
Before you go not buying any more whistles I urge to atleast try a Dixon whistle I said the same thing when I got my Dixon and the whoa for me hasen’t ended. I would offer you a deal of if you try this I’ll try that but I don’t have the money to spend on an Alba . I still love my dixon…
I’ve seen alba’s at the gaelic crossings site, but I can’t find anywhere where is says Q1. Can anyone enlighten me? I’m just starting to move up on my whistle purchases. My first high end whistle came the other day and I was so impressed I had to order another. (uh, I have to have something to compare the first whistle with, yeah, that’s it)
No the Q1 does not show up on Stacy’s site. There are two ways you can buy a Q1. You can order from BigwhistleUK but they were out of stock. I emailed Stacy directly and asked her how I could get a Q1. She gave the directions and I immediately followed up on it.
I have not stopped playing this whistle since it came in today. It is exactly what I have been looking for. No it is not tuneable. I don’t play with anyone else so it doesn’t matter. but when I want a tuneable I will probably spring for the Alba SE. I am definitely going to start putting aside money for a Low D.
BTW I still love my Gens, my Feadan, my Clare, my Susato, my Feadog, my Oak and my Waltons but this is way beyond them. I also have the Dixon on my must have list. Just so I can compare it to the others.
Yeah the Q1 Club. Zoob, I agree, it would work well as a bodhrán beater. I used mine as a striker for my Mountain dulcimer one day. It made a really kool sound on the strings. I made sure that I didn’t miss the strings and hit the wood. It would have made a dent I’m sure. It’s the sweetest little whistle around. Mine is spot on in tune and I don’t go to sessions either so I don’t care that it isn’t tuneable. Stacey has made a great little whistle!
The Q1 Albas are easy to spot from any other: a single straight tube, with a separate insert for the balde, usually tinted blue. Here’s from the BigWhistle site:
Q1 high D:
Q1 low C:
The “standard” or “Parlours” Albas have a thicker, “sleeved” head (as recorders, in a way) and a curved blade, a bit like the window on a flute head, which give them their distinctive sound.
The SE has its head pressed square, as Overtons if you wish, and a straight wide blade. As on the Parlour, this blade is machined in the tube itself.
I don’t think these pictures do the Q1 justice. They don’t show the rounded mouthpiece very well, kind of like a fine, shiny cigar. I was quite surprised at the beauty of it. No one is lying about its durability. This is one sturdy whistle. One of these days before long a Low C will be paying me a visit I hope. That might really stir the old WhOA. I am aware that the other Alba models are different. But I think I will like them too.
I think I have a Highlander. Let me rephrase that: My WIFE has a Highlander. It is one of her favorite whistles. She has sensitive ears and the slight complexity of the sound is just enough to not fight with the ringing that is already going on in there…
I mean… :roll:
Oh, nevermind
Anyway, it is one of her favorite whistles. Her, how does she say it, mellow player.
For purity and concert type play she recently picked our Bleazey in a blind play test.
. I still love my dixon… 
It’s the sweetest little whistle around. Mine is spot on in tune and I don’t go to sessions either so I don’t care that it isn’t tuneable. Stacey has made a great little whistle!
