Mack Hoover sent me a box of sunshine!! :D

Whistle
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Yesterday when I got home from seminary, I had a triangular box in my mailbox!! :smiley: It was full of sunshine!!

These are lovely, elegant, sweet-voiced whistles! AND they are quiet.

I got a high D, a high C, and a mid G. The D and C are made of brass and the G is PVC.

The Hoover C is a lovely, elegant, warm sounding whistle. I was afraid the brass would be too loud since I’ve been playing my wooden one. Actually, I think the Hoover C isn’t as loud as the wooden one. I was afraid the metal would be harsh sounding, but it isn’t. It has a very sweet voice. I really like this C whistle!

The Hoover D is a sweet whistle, too. This is actually one of Mack’s Whitecap mouthpieces on a Feadog whistle body. This one needs a mite more breath control. I now realize that playing a whistle like this is going to be harder than playing one that needs more air. That was a surprise. This D will be a great whistle to help me to do a better job with breath control. It will really make me be intentional and that is very important. I like this little whistle! It will challenge me to do better!

The Hoover G - It is a little harder for me to play because of the wider bore, for one thing. This one also seems to need regular breath (for a Hoover) on the first octave but more breath on the second octave to play in tune. Of course, it is a larger bore and that is going to require more air. I like the sound of it - kind of a woodsy sound.

As to Ellie, my cat, she at least doesn’t hate them! When I play my wooden whistle, no matter where she is, she comes running and complains until I stop. So far, when I’ve played the Hoovers, this hasn’t happened! YAY! :thumbsup: I was really surprised at that because I was playing them for a good while!

She does have sensitive ears and doesn’t like high pitches but she doesn’t like my NAFs either and they aren’t high pitched. Hm . . . maybe it’s my stinky playing . . . Thankfully, these whistles are so sweet that they don’t sound harsh and shrill.

ANYWAY, it looks like she can tolerate the Hoovers! I won’t go so far as to say she likes them - at least not yet. Maybe as I improve! At least with the Hoovers, I will be able to practice in peace!!

I really do like these whistles! They are going to get a lot of play time!! They are very well tuned and have sweet voices. They seem very responsive (as far as a newbie can tell). I think they will like playing some fast jigs once I learn them.

Mack’s telescoping whistle is next on my list!

Mack is a great guy to work with! I highly recommend his whistles and whitecap mouthpieces!

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Sounds like awesome whistles! :slight_smile:

However, the only thing that really stuck in my mind was the phrase ‘wooden whistle’.

You have a wooden whistle?! I love those! :smiley: :smiley:
If you don’t mind my asking, what sort? :poke:

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Hey! Stop poking me, you! :laughing: :laughing:

It is a High D prototype made by Geoffrey Ellis. It is African Blackwood with a cedar plug. Don’t know if he will be making more. He does, however, make Low D whistles from different woods.

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Mack makes some great whistles.
I’ve got five.

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I’m closing in on you! I’ve got three and another one on order! :smiley: You’d better buy some more before I pass you! :stuck_out_tongue:

So, what do you have from Mack and which is your fav?

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Two White heads on Feadog tubes, one Narrow Bore Brass, one Wide Bore Brass Telescopic, and Black Head C.

As much as I like them, I don’t play any of them much any more since I got my Sindt high D, and my Overton/Goldie low D. Same is true for my Freemans.

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I have 6 myself. The Whitecap I have on a Generation Eb tube is just exquisite.

Mack’s whistles don’t get as much mention as when I started posting here. A shame because – if you like a cleaner, sweeter sounding whistle – you will be hard pressed to find a better whistle than one of his Whitecaps.

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Yep, they really are sweet sounding - not harsh and shrill. :heart:

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I haven’t been keeping up with the forum for the last week or so, but I received my own box of sunshine from Mack last week. I must say he is an extraordinary gentleman and his whistles are wonderful. Of the whistles I got from him, the one that surprised me the most was a high E. I never thought that anything above D could have a second octave that wouldn’t make my ears bleed, but now I know the truth. Mack made a whistle that not only is NOT shrill, It plays at a nearly constant volume and tone from the bell note up through the entire second octave. And it does all of that very easily. It has low breath requirements and a very pure tone. There’s little to no chiff, but I wouldn’t list that as a negative because it sounds lovely. It does tend to fall victim to condensation in the windway after a bit of playing. I have yet to try any of the fixes I’ve seen suggested for that so hopefully I’ll be able to do something about that because I could really play that whistle all day.
The G whistle I got from him was very even through the octaves as well. It has a very mellow tone that I love. It sounds great with slow transitions between the notes. I’m not sure if that tone is from the head being made of a plastic that seems a bit soft or just as a result of the key but I love it. The low E I got from him does have a bit of a gap between the octaves that throws me off if I’m transitioning from another Hoover whistle. If I’m coming from any other whistle I expect it.
So overall, count me as another proponent of Mack’s whistles. He’s amazing at what he does.

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:smiley: :party: :smiley: