Today I officially hate my Susato D.
Oh its in tune “well enough” and I have little problem controling it.
Loud as all heck… I suppose usefull if you need to be loud. You could signal bats 50 miles away.
I just don’t like the sound. I’ve tried but I just can’t warm up to it.
Its as if there is a giant bumble bee living inside that get angry when you toot on it.
Has anyone ever tweeked a susato to get rid of that?
Aaaah! Perhaps you would like to join with me in the “I Hate Plastic Whistles Because They Remind Me of the Recorder that Melted My Brains in Fifth Grade” club. We here at IHPWBTRMRMMBFG will welcome you with open arms (and metal or wooden whistles, of course) 
I don’t like them either, I sold my D to a fellow chiffer after it sat around unplayed for over a year and my low A and G I got rid of after only a few months. I don’t know if it was the thick walls or just the fipple design but they sound so boring to me. I play Irish tunes and my personal preference is a whistle with character. The Susatos just sound too pure and bland to me. One of the things I did like about it though was how responsive it was. Ornaments were crisp and clear beyond most other whistles I’ve played, it almost had a piping sound to it; I could easily see how a piper would enjoy it as a practice chanter.
Sure it is the whistle and not the player?
Sounds ok to me 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9DLP4PobwY
/MarcusR
When I see bats flying north from San Diego, now I’ll know where they’re going. 
Seriously, we need to talk. Susatos have a large windway, which accounts for the volume if you blow them full tilt straight ahead like, say, a Generation or a Burke. But the large windway also allows room for finessing the embouchure by narrowing the lips and/or blowing at an angle with the whistle “sideways”. They also allow for considerable underblowing while still keeping control. Both techniques can tame the volume, especially in the second octave, and add a lot of complexity to the tone. There’s also an O-ring tweak that can help.
So check your PMs … if you dare!
Most things would with that much reverb. In situations like that a Susato would perform well and, as I said, they are very responsive. For me as a player, and as a listener, I don’t much care for the sound of them.
The truth is that it sounded even better live and unplugged, but I guess that in the right hands so would any whistle 
/MarcusR
“O-Ring tweak”
Whassat?
“O-Ring tweak”
Whassat?
There have been many a time a susato has saved me…like playing for a wedding on a Santa Cruz beach with major gusts of wind…only a susato can cut through something like that. There are some tweaks you can do…just do a little hunting…I’ve seen them around.
I thought I didn’t like susatos when I first started playing either, but they definately have a certain part of the market cornered and I’ve joined there ranks on a few occassions.
I knew someone’s eagle eye would catch that.
I’ll try to write up a separate thread on it, as soon as I have a chance.
Smarta*se 
I love Lunasa, but I’ve never really liked that song because of the whistle he uses. It’s too harsh for my ears, grating almost. I’m with the IHPWBTRMRMMBFG as far as Susatos are concerned.
believe it or not, i have never played one 
i plan on getting one in the near future though
Look at that guy’s fingers flying all over the place. He’ll never get good moving that much!
Kevin Crawford is my hero. I like his playing even more than Joannie’s
There’s just no doubt in my mind that the Susato is the ultimate love-it-or-hate-it whistle. I love them but completely understand how someone would hate 'em.
Dale
Aanvil,
Your Susato angst (SA) is treatable! However, you must want to be SA-free, and the process requires several steps. Step one: Send me the offending whistle. Step two: I lodge the wild whistle beast in a special Susato stable with my two more docile Susatos (a VSB D and a B). Step three: I play my well-behaved Susatos to provide examples of acceptable behavior for the wild Susato. Step four: I work with the whistle (maybe whispering to it like that horse guy does) until it is broken (you know, like a horse, not as in “damaged”) — this step can take quite a lot of time. Step five: You forget the whistle ever existed and I keep it. —— Result: You are SA-free!
Cheers.
Wander on back a few years for a Susato tweak
Oh noes1111!!11
I just had a nice long chat with MTGuru. (A very pleasant fellow to boot!!!)
Marcus will be happy to know some of that envolved my aproach to playing it. We’ll see how well I listened.
I did get a non-envasive tweek from him that I will try as well.
I’m afraid that thread fruladog linked to appeals to my extreme tinkering nature.
It may go under the knife yet!
Oh, and those that PMd me to take it off my hands… thanx but the Susato was gift from a close member of the family.
I’m stuck with it.
Since I have finally got the hang of really playing the thing, my Susato isn’t really any louder than my Feadog.
It’s all in how you play it…and that’s all about how you control your air.
–James