Greatings all,
I am a new whistle player and have a Walton D. I am looking to get another whistle and am seeking advice on which way to go. Would I be better off looking at a Freeman tweeked Sweetone or Original or something more like Susato? Basically, I am most interested in finding a “consistant” whistle. My Walton can be very unpredictable (which may be just my low experience level). Thanks.
Mike
Yes, any of the Jerry Freeman whistles, probably the Sweetone, maybe also a Shaw if you want to try something different.
Get a Generation D and tweak it yourself. It’s fun and cheap and you end up with a great whistle. You can make 95% of Gens into good whistles simply by dropping a small ball of sticky tack down into the hole in the fipple and tamping it gently down. The instructions are elsewhere here on C&F. It’s fun and easy and you get a world class whistle.
I second Blackhawk.
Yeah. Just what he said. I got lucky the first time I tried tweaking my gen. Don’t use super glue . You want to be able to move the plastic shim around, and even take it off and try it again if you have to.
Or order one ready tweaked.
I’d try an Oak.
Lovely clean sound, good chiff, responsive, and it seems they rarely if ever need tweaking.
For something a bit higher-end, try a Syn. It’s a wonderful whistle.
–James
Yes a syn would be a good investment for the money. At least I think it would. I don’t own anything more expensive than that, except for the low kerry.
Don’t rule out hoovers. 20$ whitecap is a steal. Breath is very touchy though. Man they sound good…
I search out mid priced whistles. I don’t have the nerve to plop down 130 bucks for a single high d yet. Of course, I’ve spent more than that on a bunch of cheap and mid priced ones though.
One more mid priced one. (maybe the serpent sweet polly). THEN I’ll move up.
Go with the Blackhawk and Bloomfields advice. Usually the sticky tack tweak is all you need. I have a couple of Generation Ds that have been sticky tacked. They were very difficult to play when I first started. Now I wonder why I had trouble with them. I have a Gen C that needed no tweaking at all and it plays great now that I know how to play it. Search on Generation on this forum and you will find threads on tweaking and selecting a Generation whistle. I like my Gens and especially my Clare D one piece. I don’t especially like my Oak. I haven’t tried a stick tack tweak to clear up the bell tone. It is a little buzzy.
Keep whistling and welcome to C&F,
Ron
Gens vary from very good to fhorrible. It seems the newer ones are coming out good again, which is nice. When i was starting, 6 years ago, they were pretty bad, and a Generation whistle almost ended my whistling career before it started. 
That’s why i think for a beginner it may be better to stay with a Freeman or some other certain-thing whistle until you know enough to be able to tell if the problem is you or the whistle.
I didn’t have much luck tweaking my 3 Generation D’s. So I bought a Freeman Tweaked Gen D. It’s just the greatest whistle. Also for a bit more money a Gary Humphrey Retro-fit Head are superb. They’re a lot like a Sindt only in PVC and Delrin.
I’ve bought several Clares, and they’ve all been good without any tweaking. Every Oak I’ve had has been good, but they do require the sticky-tack treatment and a little Jet-dri for the windway.
If you’re interested in Susatos, check the current thread on them. If you’re after a pure robust sound in a whistle that will be playable right out of the box, for a lot less than $50, it may be the whistle for you.
Even though I have been known bash Susatos a bit now and then, I think that they are great whistles for certain purposes, and very good value for the money. There are of course caveats: I don’t think the volume and sound characteristics are good for sessions (or even ITM generally), and I think the SB D model is touchy when it comes to certain fingerings. Also, the lower Susatos are not as good as the higher ones in my experience, the low D being very difficult and in my opinion unrewarding to play. The C and Bb are probably the best in the range.
Anyway, whether one likes Susatos or not, I think it’s safe to say that they are difficult whistles for the beginner to play. They take force, conviction, and breath control to play well, and some of the beginner short-cuts on fingerings don’t work. So I’d hesitate to recommend them for a beginner, even though I can see why some more experienced players like them.
Buy a Generation D…take off the head…send the barrel to Mack Hoover to have his whitecap head installed. Best sounding $20 whistle around.
Thanks for the great advice. I think that I am going to go with the Freeman Sweetone and in the mean time try tweaking my Walton with sticky tack. I have removed as much of the extraneous plastic as possible but not tried sticky tack. So I guess I am off to Walmart.
Try a Clarke original. Mine’s a beaut. Looks good too.
brian
I think that the Dixon Soprano D is a good whistle to move up to. You can get a tunable model for $29 or a non-tunable for $19 (plus shipping) from The Whistle Shop. I have the non-tunable version. I find that it’s very easy to play and has a nice tone.
http://www.thewhistleshop.com/catalog/whistles/inexpensive/dixon/sop.html
The Dixon non-tunable D is my default travelling whistle. Sounds good, not too loud (which is why I don’t carry my Serpent Pollys), tough, and passes through airport security checks with ease.
I have other whistles I like a bit more for specific things, but I’m still very fond of the Dixon. And it’s less fussy than the Oak D, my other favorite in the same rough price category. (I like my Oak a lot - but it needs to be warmed up to sound its best, as well as much more careful breath control. The Dixon you just play.)
No one mentioned a plain ole sweetone? Mine was really good right out of the box. The D was, that is. The C has been sort of beastly. I believe I need to cut a quarter inch or so off the end. The tone wasnt as good as the D either.
Someone mentioned a clare. I don’t have one. Supposidly consistant? Good as an Oak out of the box?
Thanks for the continued posts on different whistles. I think that I am still leaning towards the Freeman Sweetone. And look at maybe a Dixon for my third whistle. As I am learning no one can have too many whistles and I think that half of the enjoyment of the instrument is always being on the look out for my next one.
Nice avatar Lawrence!
I second the opinions on jerry freemans whistles.
get a jerrytone (sweetone).
I received mine two weeks ago and I love it…very easy to play.
Am a newbie also 
greetings
berti