I’ve had a burke Al-Pro D for a couple of weeks now, so I wanted to give my impressions of the whistle, now that the newness is starting to wear off. As usual, I will at times compare this whistle with my current favorites: the Silkstone.
A bit of background: A year ago or so, I met up with Lee Marsh when he came to Houston, and we did the whistle shuffle and tried out each other’s whistles. The one he had that really caught my eye was the Burke composite D. He had some others, but most of them slip my mind..it was the Burke that I really thought was sweet (likewise, he developed whistle envy over my Thin Weasel). His Burke was easy playing and sweet sounding.
I pretty much let the whistle slip my mind, as I’d gone through two bouts of joblessness (1 due to post-tech-bubble-bursting and 1 due to post-9/11-layoffs) and was in a sell-whistle mode, rather than a buy-whistle mode. Later, I met up with NancyF at SAMfest in Houston, and really dug her Burke Al-Pro. It required a lot less breath than my Silkstone alloy D, and slightly less than my PVC D, and the sound was as I remembered it from Lee’s Burke.
In September, I determined that I had a couple hundred bucks in the budget to put some more high-end whistles into the whistle drawer (with my birthday coming up, I usually try to treat myself with a nice whistle around Oct/Nov). I wrote Paul Busman about his whistles, but never got a reply. Then I remembered my trip to SAMfest, and how I was impressed with NancyF’s Burke (and also intrigued by a Maple Sweetheart, but that’s a different story). About that time, Blackhawk’s thread about his Burkes came up, and I saw you could get one without a wait from Song of the Sea.
That cinched it. The only whistle I’ve ever waited for was my Laughing Whistle, and that was a test in patience! I’ve otherwise always gotten high-end whistles at a store or second-hand. So I called Song of the Sea, and they had Al-Pros in stock. A few days later, one was in my hands. It’s relatively new, made in 6/2002 according to the engraving.
This whistle is a beauty. It’s got clean lines, and looks very professional. I’ve seen reports of some folks having trouble hitting some of the notes (high B, for instance), but I have none of those issues. The whistle takes considerably less push than my silkstone, and it plays cleanly and consistantly all the way to high B. If I knew any cross-fingering for 3rd octave, I’m pretty convinced that it’d play up there, btu I’ve never had that need. That perturbed bore must do something, because the whistle has a great tone to my ears. If you’re looking for a Generation sound, this isn’t it…The sound is fat and round. Even my Silkstone alloy has more of that metallic ‘thinness’ I associate with Generations or Sindts.
Unfortunately, it’s not loud. It’s quieter than a Susato, Copeland, and Silkstone (both alloy and PVC). At session, it starts becoming invisible if we have more than 4 or 5 musicians in attendance. It can be heard fine alongside a fiddle, accordian, guitar, and bodhran, though. It likewise doesn’t stand up to breezes or wind very well. I find it cutting out (due to wind) while playing at stoplights, which has never happened with my Silkstones. It has superb moisture control..I have yet to have it gurgle out on me (which my Silkstone alloy will do quickly if I’m under A/C). It’s a lightweight whistle.
All in all, it’s a sweet little whistle. Even my non-whistling buddy Dan couldn’t put it down Saturday, eventaully saying “This whistle makes me want to learn how to play.” Because of it’s nice tone, ease of playing and lack of moisture buildup, I’ll be playing the Al-Pro at our next band performance on the 28th, with my Silkstone PVC as backup. I’ll let you know if it lasts the entire 4 hours.
Greg
) is a pretty loud whistle. Not as loud as, say, Overtons, Chieftans or Susatos, but on level with my Copeland and Water Weasel. It does take some air (pressure) to keep it going in the second octave. I find it excellent for playing in very noisy places.