Review of Dr. Guido Gonzato’s new PVC whistles on Canada/US tour, 2008.
IMHO, it’s amazing what whistlers had to put up with before modern, low cost whistles.
This new generation of whistles has a different musical, engineering, academic, and intellectual content.
Consequently, whistles are now made of PVC and composites, are ultra light, mostly indestructible, impervious to climate change, need little warming up, don’t clog, are in tune, need much less breath, make effortless transitions between octaves, play high notes fluidly, deliver beautiful tones with a dynamic range of emotion, sensitivity and umph, can play loudly or softly, incorporate all the tweaks that had to be added before, and are largely (though not in every case) well crafted, carefully manufactured and meticulously finished.
Their tones are either bright, precise, reliable, but somehow cold like the Burkes, or precise, accurate, reliable, but warm and chiffy like the Gonzato’s or Becker’s (and others I know about but haven’t had the privilege of reviewing so can’t comment on yet).
Only one thing’s missing. Good looks. Beauty. When that’s included, the new whistles will be unbeatable. They will be better or as good as the exquisite, hand made, very expensive whistles we all lust after …
Dr Gonzato has sent four of his new hand made PVC whistles on tour to the US/Canada, and Europe – his Low D, Bb, A and High D, all non tunable. Overall, I am astounded by the
immediately noticeable quality of voice they produce so easily. They’re inspirational. They’re going to
be hard to beat, at any price. For what my first impressions are worth, here they are:
Bb, non tuneable.
Dr Gonzato said he wanted to produce a Bb right out of the box that’s better and more reliable than the Generation Bb. He’s succeeded. The Generation Bb is quite simply outclassed. Dr G’s Bb has all the characteristics noted above. I own two Generation Bbs, only one of which comes anywhere near the effortless playability, dynamic range and tone of Dr Gonzato’s, and I had to tweak it. Dr G’s is louder, its tone is cleaner, sweeter, with clear, immediate, vibrant notes throughout, especially at the bottom. It’s resonant, loud or soft, instantly playable, very responsive. What with the whistle’s ultralight PVCness, playing seems effortless, even inspirational. I suspect a lot of people just won’t want to stop playing it.
The craftsmanship and finish is meticulous, the tone holes subtly beveled, the windway cap neatly contoured, the white delrin fipple an attractive contrast to the grey tube. I wish it was an elegant, shiny black, with silver or chrome gee-gaws but I know this jackdaw glitter has nothing to do with real whistle playing and would make it more expensive than the $39 Dr Gonzato is asking for it. But bling is the only thing that separates this Bb from the very expensive whistles, judging by the samples I’ve heard over the years.
The Low D.
I already own a Dr Gonzato Low D and admire it for the reasons above. People with hand pains are going to welcome its ultra light weight. Its in tune, the deep, beautiful sound is awesome, hugely commanding, clear and precise, with a sonorous tone reached effortlessly throughout the range, including the high octave C’s and B’s. The C Nat is no problem with OXX OOO. The new whistle is four tenths of an inch longer than the old one and the windway hood is longer. This produces more back pressure. The fipple now intrudes into the windway somewhat and is nicely beveled to produce the strong low D and what Dr. G calls the “airy” tone. The B, A and G holes are bigger and the E slightly smaller too. The whistle is much louder than two other hand made Low Ds I own in copper and aluminum. Dr G’s holes are not offset to accommodate finger reach, not even the G or D, as with my metal Low Ds, so Dr G’s is not as “handy” to play. Dr G also puts his lower D tune hole a lot further away from the E (by a significant four tenths of an inch) than my metal Low Ds, so his requires extra effort at first. But the changes have produced a newer, lovely sound. He tells me he has large hands, but is willing to provide any configuration called for. Finally, Dr G’s has some chiff but not the leaky, husky kind of my other metal Low Ds. For my needs, the Dr G Low D is a perfect replacement for the beautifully toned but mechanical, machine-made silver flute I sold to buy whistles (18 so far).
The beautiful sound of this whistle, the perfectionist craftsmanship, finish and overall playability, sets a standard that’s going to be hard to beat at any price. It costs $75.
The A:
This whistle has all the positive attributes of the above. But personally, I find it has the most beautifully evocative, inspirational sound of them all. Because of the very low breath requirement (Dr. G says 25% less in his whistles), I can play whole phrases in one breath and still end with a controlled (?) morendo. This whistle (and the Bb) have the Irish in them, pulsing, racing, weeping, lulling and demanding, asd sweet oir as rough as you like. It probably has the Scots, English folk, Cajun and Breton and even kwela in it … Is it the whistle for all reasons and seasons? Maybe for me anyway. I’m going to order one (and the Bb). I think they’ll become my whistles of preference.
The High D:
I’ve owned one of these for a year and play it every day, as I do my Burke Composite Session, and the new D whistle in CPVC by newcomer James Becker from Missouri. Becker has an academic background in music and is an instrument maker and teacher. He sells whistles made to Dr Gonzato’s free plans. Performance wise, the Becker is as loud as the others. It needs more air than the Burke, which itself needs just a little more air than Dr Guido’s. Becker’s whistles are just as in tune as the others, with perfectly balanced octaves. The octave transitions are totally unnoticeable and the high notes easily delivered. No screeching or squawking with any of these whistles, no clogging, and little warm up. It has slightly larger holes, except for the B, than my older one. The results are sharper throughout the range. As all these whistles are notably easy to play, so focus can be on playing, not mastering whistle foibles.
So far as tone goes, while the Burke has a cold, clear, bright accuracy and the Gonzato D has a much sweeter, clean, rich, warm accuracy with some chiff, the Becker is noticeably quieter, and though sweet in the higher octave has a generally more complex, huskier sound, with chiff galore. All three whistles have strong, unfaltering bell tones. The Burke and Gonzato have subtle back pressure. The Becker’s back pressure is much stronger so needs greater push. Despite the Becker showing evidence of hasty construction and “finish”, (that has no effect whatsoever on its voice), the Becker’s musical quality and price make it an outstanding starter whistle, one that will still be played by experienced session, concert players and soloists even if, years later, they get to perform at Carnegie Hall. Exactly the same can be said of the Burke and the Gonzato Ds. The Burke costs $190, the Guido Gonzato $28, and the Becker $5.
The only thing is, none of them can be called beautiful, though the Gonzato’s are noticeably handsome. Becker says he is going to pay more attention to detail and he’s already experimenting with brilliant colours. But watch Michael Burke. He is an established, engineering, organisational and management genius. My marketing background prompts me to wonder if he has already come to the conclusion I have, that the only Unique Selling Proposition that whistles costing hundreds more than whistles like those discussed here have, is looks. Makers like him are already meeting and beating high-end whistles on musical quality - and eviscerating them on price. But they can’t match the best of the high enders for the looks that make people proud to own them. So, I’d bet the farm someone is already working on producing musically high quality, low cost whistles with really stunning good looks. What an upset that’s going to be …
Bring on the bling.
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and whistles as well. I sent Guido a couple of my DIY whistles (like those I had at Augusta last year) and he sent me a couple of his creations. The two high D’s that Guido made for me are voiced a little differently - one is louder than the other. These were made prior to the lager and stout designations but I am assuming they represent those concepts. The louder of the two whistles, which I would call the stout, has a slightly larger window and a marginally higher windway height due to a very slight difference between the pipes used to make them. They are both tuned well and play well. The tone is pleasant and response is good on both. The tuning slides work well and and stay put where you tune them. There might be a very little bit more air in the sound of the louder of the two whistles. The top end may be a just a bit sweeter (balanced) on the quieter/lager whistle. The quieter whistle is no wall flower and the louder whistle is not at all strident. These are just my observations. PM me if want to know more.