I’ve been playing the flute for a few months and decided a whistle wouldn’t go astray since the fingerings are the same, etc.
So I buy a Generation in D at the local music shop (denied the chance to playtest them of course ) and it played quite poorly. Out of tune, with a yucky fuzzy tone.
Since music shops here in Oz seem to only stock Generations I ordered online a Feadog.
In the meantime I tweak the Generation with some blu-tack (aka poster putty?), moving the plastic fipple into tune, and gently trimmed off offending burrs inside and around the windway. A marked improvement but the second octave above F# still stinks.
Still waiting for the Feadog to arrive I decide to visit a “Celtic shoppe” in a Sydney tourist attraction (makes sense ) and find they have a stack of Walton’s for sale. After (not play testing but) visually scanning each one for nasty burrs and moulding errors in the fipples I buy one. Not a ‘Mello’ just a standard Walton’s in D.
This one plays better than the Generation. Much better, so I get playing happily.
Meanwhile a few days go by and the Feadog arrives. Instantly it plays 20 times better than the Walton’s and a 100 times better than the Generation.
And then yesterday I bought a Clarke (‘The Original’ with wood fipple) I accidentally spotted in another store. I shouldn’t have because I have the Feadog and the other two soup stirrers, but it’s conical bore and I was curious! It plays softer and sweeter than the Feadog and also in good tuning. A very good whistle.
So my question is: when is enough whistles enough? I haven’t even been down the road of whistles in other keys yet!!!
On my native saxophone forums we regularly discuss the fiscal and emotional dangers of GAS or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. With saxes it’s usually mostly accessories or mouthpieces but these whistles seem to breed on their own!
At work now with the Walton and the Clarke (the Feadog is my home whistle)
Are you kidding?.. there are brass, nickel, aluminum, copper, pvcp, delrin, ABS… and then the woods, different assorted woods for tone, touchey feely, and beauty… moreover, all the colors of the rainbow for whistles, yet still, each of the keys!
You didn’t even mention the Oak or Acorn whistles.
It is endless… eternal bliss acquiring another whistle just to say you have one. Burn that candle from both ends and buy high and low and high and low.
Wanna buy a Dixon with heavy brass barrel? How about a lovely Killarney? Maybe a tweaked Clarke from the Whistle Shop? Hmmm…what else do I plan on selling shortly.
Yes, happened to me for sure. And one of the two is a Bluebird. The only itch I have is that I didn’t succeed in finding a C whistle I like. On the other hand I don’t need a C very often. It’s either D, or the alto G or A (both Freeman) occasionally.
I’ll post it soon with a host of other whistles. Time for my annual whistle purge. I’m bad…I just like to try whistles. I tend to fall in and out of whistle love rather easily.
I have to say I think you were very lucky with the Feadog, as the one I bought a few years ago is without question the worst whistle I have. It’s been consigned to a box in the garage somewhere!
Max
I have always found Feadogs to be consistently good right out of the box (much like Oaks are always good).
That wasn’t always the case with Oaks at all. However, the fact that Feadóg Teo makes them nowadays may go some way explaining why you feel they’re as consistent as Feadógs are.
I think they are quite consitent out of the box, but I don’t like their sound anymore.
Recently I found a Feadog MK.I, and that immediately ended my search for my perfect whistle…it is amazing, far superior to the new ones, and no need to look further for a nice D.
I have an Oak D that is fine right off of the shelf, no adjustments necessary. And I recently found an old Soodlum whistle that is rather nice. I can’t find any decent wooden whistles cheaply though.
I picked up a Feadog C whistle today in London and was quite surprised by the very good tone of it (by comparison, the Generation Cs I tried were dire, reminds me why I haven’t touched them in years). Hardly enough to make me retire my Overton C, but…I’m impressed with it.
) and it played quite poorly. Out of tune, with a yucky fuzzy tone.
) and find they have a stack of Walton’s for sale. After (not play testing but) visually scanning each one for nasty burrs and moulding errors in the fipples I buy one. Not a ‘Mello’ just a standard Walton’s in D.
It plays softer and sweeter than the Feadog and also in good tuning. A very good whistle.
