I’m looking for a higher end high D whistle that has that same airy, breathy, flutey tone as the high D Clarke Original (is this the “chiff” that I read about or is that a different whistle characteristic other than what I am describing?). I like the tone of the Clarke but I would like a more consistant play in the entire range (some of the notes on my Clarkes are not as full as others). As we all know the cheapies are a hit and miss. I am looking to find this tone with a budget of about $125. Any recommendations please? Thanks.
Well, Shaw whistles seem to be better-crafted copies of Clarke Original. Alas, here “better” does not mean “perfect”.
I don’t have any particular whistle recommendation but would like to point out that much of an instrument’s distinctive “tone” is in fact determined by the sound of its “attack”-- those transient frequencies at the onset of a note. Case in point, it can be challenging to immediately identify which instruments are playing in an orchestra when a passage contains long sustained notes and initiated with soft/smooth attacks. Another example: low D whistle vs Irish flute.
Have you looked at the Wandering Whistler Whistle Reviews?
ofloyd, check your PM’s.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
You might be looking for a Sindt. It’s a very traditional sounding whistle, with the somewhat airy tone, but VERY stable and endlessly more professional sounding. It’s the favorite of Joannie Madden at this moment I read, and it’s not that expensive, $90,-.
Thanks, but I think I read somwhere that there is a several month waiting list for Sindt’s? No?
Not that it matters much; maybe Joanie Madden jettisoned her O’Riordans for Sindt, but I believe it’s Mary Bergin that switched from Generation to Sindt.
I ordered a Sindt two months ago (four month wait) and the present cost is $105 USD.
I agree, the Sindt would be a huge improvement over the Clarke.
Cheers, Cyril
I don’t think the sound of a Sindt compares at all with that of an original Clark, at least not “out of the box”.
Sindt whistles have a narrow bore and have quite a crisp sound, with a bit of that chirp noise at the beginning of a note (chiff). Clarkes are breathy and have a lot less backpressure than a Sindt. You can get that sort of wailing, bendy sound out of a Sindt that may come close to that of Clarke, but you’d be leaning into it to do so, so the overall sound will still be more aggressive. Hope that makes sense.
I’ve played a Copeland Soprano D that had similar backpressure to a Clarke and available breathy tone, but that’s beyond your stated budget.
Copelands are also nice in that you can play them sweet with lots of breath, or you can lean into them and they still play nice!
Walton’s Mellow D’s are cheap and that wide bore imparts a hollow breathy quality. Might be worth a try. Bell note was sharp on mine, so I broke the seal and made it tuneable right away.
Mike
This is exactly what I’m looking for, too. Anyone have any other suggestions? When I play the whistle for people I’ll play on a few different whistles. When I pick up the original Clarke people just sigh and say stuff like, “that whiste is $140 cheaper than the other (my Burke)? I like the sound better.” I try to justify my purchase of the Burke and most people will agree that it sounds better for faster tunes, but they like the Clarke for airs. I would love to get a whistle that requires less air but has the same haunting, breathy quality as the Clarke. I would also like it to be quieter. I can’t play my narrow-bore Burke after the kids go to bed without waking up the whole house. I never play with anyone else and have other whistles that would work if I did so I’d like a quieter whistle. Please, any more suggestions?
Hello Bigwig - have you visited the Parks Whistles web site yet? I just recently heard a sound sample of his Every whistle, and to my ear it has that breathy sound quality that we are looking for. Mind you, I haven’t played one (yet) so I can’t comment on the back pressure or the volume.
No I haven’t. And, a search for Park Whistles and the Every Whistle didn’t help. Do you have a link?
Oh, Parks, with an s at the end worked better. Thanks! I’ll look into it.
In case you didn’t find it, try this:
It is funny somone mentioned how you can play alot of whistles, but many people will say they just like the tone of a clarke… I find when playing slower songs people really love the it though.
Huh? My Clarke has zero back pressure. My Copeland soprano D has moderate back pressure and if it is played in tune is not at all breathy and is quite loud and sounds exacttly like a Copeland. Cheers, Cyril.
Cranberry Dog,
I should have said that my sample size of Copelands is limited to only one instrument. I’ve only played a few higher end whistles and many various cheapies. But when I played a Copeland (Phosphor Bronze?, maybe 8 years old) I was really struck that it had considerably less backpressure than any other whistle that I’ve played except a Clark original. More than a Clark, I agree, but considerably less than a Sindt, Burke, Lambe.
The Copelands I’ve heard played in sessions have this growly, edgy sound and are played hard. Sounds great and if this is what you refer to as the Copeland sound, then I’ve heard it too. But I have played and have heard these things played in that slow air celtic soundtrack kind of way, hopelessly flat but pretty nonetheless, and it sounds more “flutey” than the tone I can easily get from my Sindt.
Mike
Well, there ya go.