The Brass Clare that I ordered has a very “brassy” smell that makes my hands smell like brass for hours after playing it. Not sure if it due to the amount of sweat that I produce through my hands. But this bothered me, so I gave my Clare away.
I LOVE the sound of the Brass Burke. And I am assuming this is a higher quality brass than the Clare. Does the Brass Burke have the same overbearing brass smell? Does the Burke have a finish of any kind?
Eric
The Burke doesn’t have a finish. It does have a bit of a brassy smell, but it’s not enough to bother me. In fact, I had to check to see if it did, because I’d never noticed it.
I do polish mine occasionally (no matter how many people may laugh at me), but only on the outside and the main part of the bore. (I use Wright’s All Purpose Brass Polish [no relation 
], which is ammonia-based.)
I’m not sure what the composition of “higher quality” brass might be, in contrast to “lower quality”. More copper? More zinc? Tin or no tin? Lead or no lead?
http://www.anchorbronze.com/alloydatabase.htm lists the characteristics of various alloys, but I don’t get much out of it.
If brass bothers you, the Burke will be just as bothersome as any other whistle.
What era Burke did you play? If it’s recent, then the aluminum version will have EXTREMELY similar sound. The windway and blade are Delrin in both; pretty much the only difference is in the tube. The older Burkes were of a different design, and I find the old-style WBB different from the newer Burkes.
I have two brass Burkes and haven’t noticed a brassy smell on either. I also have a brass Hoover that doesn’t smell. Maybe my nose isn’t as sensitive as others’.
Like Darwin, I polish mine with Wrights Brass Polish. After a month or so it begins to look tarnished and feel cruddy. I like to keep it looking nice and figured that most did the same.
I have a brass delrin tipped Burke as well as an aluminum one and neither one has a strong smell to me, and I have a pretty sensitive nose. (Or so I’ve been told.) :roll:
Both of my burkes are relatively new so that may be why, however, I also have a brass wide bore Humphrey I just received this past week and no smell there either. (The reason I mention it is because it’s usurped the Burke as my favorite whistle!)
I shine my brass whistles all the time. Doesn’t everyone? 
You mean there are people that like them when they get…well…cruddy looking? 
Rod
It’s possible that your experiences with brass are the result of your individual body chemistry more than a universal characteristic of brass or of a particular type of brass.
Different people’s natural skin oils and/or perspiration will react in different ways with brass, making it shine or tarnish or whatever it does. The only way to know for sure (if others don’t report the same thing with Burkes that you’ve found with Clares) will be to try the whistle yourself and see what happens.
Best wishes,
Jerry
I never polish my Burke. I like it to look like I’ve played it.
It sure looked great when I got it new though.
I never polish anything. Everything I own looked great when it was new!! 
Robin
My Burke has a distinct brassy smell. I don’t find it unattractive at all (I actually kind of like the smell), but if you don’t like the smell of brass, you won’t like it.
I never used to polish my whistles, but I must admit, I’ve started to. It all began when I got something sticky on the Burke that wouldn’t just wipe off. I finally took some brass polish to it, which took care of the problem, and was so taken all over again with how pretty it was, I’ve become something of a polishing demon. On the upside, they love me in the altar guild! 
Redwolf
You should smell a 90 year old euphonium…
My Burke has a brassy smell when I’ve been playing it, and I have no doubt it’s from a chemical reaction with oil and sweat from my hands. I flossed my teeth a couple of times after playing for a while, and I could taste the brass on my hands. Not good. I wash my hands before flossing now.
I don’t polish mine, and I wonder if polishing it would help keep the chemical reaction down by removing some of the tarnish residue.
Try a little Beano in the fipple
Hi Eric,
I don’t have a Burke, but I do have some brass whistles, and a sensitive nose too. But mine don’t bother me much. I do wash my hands fairly often, so what smell there is, it doesn’t stay on them long.
I’m sure polish does help, as I do mine, but you may want to take it one step further. Try some wax after the polish. It may make it more slippery, but it’s worth a try. There are many kinds you might try, but maybe someone might have a good idea which might be the better one.
I will say my Hoover has a brassy smell and taste. This is why I oredered the black tipped Burke, which has no smell or taste to me at all.
My Burke is black-tipped, too, which may help reduce the amount of corrosion.