what would be my ideal whistle?

Whistle
1

Dear Collective Wisdom,

Let’s say that I somehow find enough money to buy ONE high-end whistle.

Until now I have been a believer in using the cheapies, but I have been playing for a while now and have complaints about all the cheapies I have. Perhaps I am now making it harder on myself by trying to stick with the cheapies and find a Really Good One, instead of just sucking it in and buying an expensive whistle.

Let’s face it, I am PICKY.

However, from my experience with cheapies I also know what I am looking for. PLEASE READ before you make your suggestions (!!)

This is what I want:

-chiff (Clare GOOD)

-authority (nickel Generation GOOD, although I would like it to be quieter in the 2nd octave)

-not excessive volume (Susato BAD)

-whistle sound, not recorder (Susato BAD)

-not too breathy (Clarke Original BAD)

-not too much breath needed (Feadog Mark II BAD)

-good intonation (Walton BAD, although I should hope that any $300 whistle would be in tune)

-tuneable

-smooth and consistent octave transitions (my Clares BAD in this respect, even after tweaking, although I don’t think they are all like this)

Currently, I usually play:

a nickel Generation. However, it’s squeaky and makes my head explode starting around high G, which is messy, and it offends my cats beyond belief.

Based on what I have read, I am leaning towards a nickel Copeland.

Please let me know what you think!

Sarah

P.S. Will consider aluminum but am a little concerned about it dinging it up. I could scan a picture of my fiddle and you would see why…

[ This Message was edited by: aremnius on 2002-03-17 10:22 ]

2

If you prefer a conical whistle, I agree with you that a nickel Copeland would be an excellent choice to meet the requirements you listed.
If you prefer a cylindrical whistle though, I would highly recommend an old-style Burke WBB.
My old-style Burke WBB has just the right amount of chiff for my personal taste.
E-mail me if you’d like a sound sample.

3

I own a nickle Copeland D and IMO it doesn’t meet your requirement for ‘not excessive volume’. This whistle is LOUD, especially in the second octave, and extra-double-especially in the upper end of the second octave.

My recommendation would be a Sindt, better still, pony up the extra scratch and get a D/C combo set.

4

On 2002-03-17 12:08, Raymond wrote:
I own a nickle Copeland D and IMO it doesn’t meet your requirement for ‘not excessive volume’. This whistle is LOUD, especially in the second octave, and extra-double-especially in the upper end of the second octave.

My recommendation would be a Sindt, better still, pony up the extra scratch and get a D/C combo set.

I wondered about the “excessive volume” in regards to Copelands as I’ve heard that the second octave is quite loud.
I don’t have one myself… I was basing my opinion strictly on the recordings I have heard.
I do have a Sindt though, and it has absolutely no chiff… it’s the sweetest, purest sounding whistle I own.
Looks like my suggestion of the old-style Burke WBB is the closest match anybody has mentioned yet.

5

Hmm, interesting.

I thought about this and went back and played my old whistles some more.

When I look at the volume question, I think my real annoyance with the Generation is more its raspiness on those high notes, and I would probably find them more tolerable if they were at the same volume but did not buzz, honk, squeak, etc.

Also I went back and played my Susato again after having shelved it for a long time and I feel differently about it than I had before. It doesn’t seem too loud anymore, so either I’m a little farther down the road to being deaf, or I’m a significantly better player than I was before. Maybe both.
It’s a nice whistle, but it sounds a little too much like plastic to me. It doesn’t have the nice ring to it that I can get out of a metal whistle.

I don’t know what I would think of an all-wood whistle, I have never tried one.
Likewise, my only conical whistles are the Clarkes, which I am not crazy about, but don’t know if I should stick with the cylindrical bore or assume the conical would be okay in a good whistle.

So how loud is loud for a Copeland? Can you compare it to a Susato Kildare? That’s really my only reference point for “loud,” unfortunately.

In reference to the Burkes, I have to admit that I have seriously considered them, but there are so many variations on soprano D that I really had no idea what to go for. Can anyone describe the differences between the various models (although the old-style WBB seems to be a favorite)?

Thanks,

Sarah


[ This Message was edited by: aremnius on 2002-03-17 13:47 ]

6

I would concur with the Burke WBB, although I haven’t tried a Sindt, which has been mentioned in this thread, and is one of the most widely mentioned in similar threads.

Oh, and wrt Burke and different materials. I have an Al PRO and WBB both in D. They sound pretty similar, the brass has a tad more character to my ears, plus it’s heavier, which is a plus in my book.

I noticed you’re in DC. Have you been to the House of Musical Traditions? They don’t have a huge selection in stock, but they will have some that you probably haven’t played. They often have Water Weasels, which I would highly recommend, especially since you’ve backed away somewhat on the volume issue. They’re chiffier than the Burke, and, even if you have to order one from Glenn, they have the shortest lead time of any handmade whistle I’ve ever ordered (I’ve never found him without one in stock). They always have Dixons. Last time I was there, they had a wide selection of Chieftains and Kerry Pros. Even if you don’t buy something there, it will give you some idea of what’s out there.

Charlie

7

Yeah, I’ve been to HMT, although the last few times I’ve visited I have been disappointed. Perhaps I’ve been catching them at a bad time as far as stock is concerned, but it makes me less keen to go through the effort of getting into Takoma.

You’re right, though, I could go look and maybe try at least one or two things.

Sarah

8

Did you check out the clips and snips page? By and large for each clip, the type of whistle is refernced and you can check out the sound.

My view of the Clare is spot on to yours.
I recently got my hands on an old Burke brass. Although I love my AlPro D, the old brass Burke does have a more traditional (and chiffy IMO)sound.

9

Duh… yeah, I can look in the Clips and Snips archive!

I sort of forgot it was there. Don’t be too hard on me, most of my internet time has been at work for quite a while, and I am not allowed to listen to MP3s or RealAudio there. (My employer, which shall remain nameless, blocked me from a prominent music site that really has very little in the way of music clips, and then took me to a message page that made it sound like I had been surfing porn or something)

At any rate, it sounds like I would really like a brass Burke.

Sarah

10

Dear Aremnius:
Please let us know what you end up getting. I am pretty much in the same boat but with some differences. I have yet to find any whistle that is as easy to play up and down the scale as about three Feadogs (old ones) that I play all the time.
I have gone to Lark in the Morning n SF and played most of the ultra-expensive whistles and they all do one of several things (at least the WAY I play them):

  1. Jump down to lower octave unexpectedly
  2. Have intonation problems on second octave (they go flat unless you blow harder).
  3. Require tighter lips or steep angle to get good sound.

I did purchase on a Sweet Maple from Lark(when I first began whistling) but its great in the first octave for airs but the second octave is almost useless because you have to blow so hard and the notes disintegrate to lower octave. I was gifted one of those non-tunable chieftain low A whistles and once again you have to blow it like a bagpipe to get second octave sound. Its a $115 white elephant, like the Sweet . It may be that I am not patient enough to learn to play them differently for maximum effect but its hard to justify when a $7 whistle will do something that I am comfortable with…

I trial-purchased a Water Weasel from Glenn Shultz (a great guy and businessman). I returned it mostly because I had to hold it steep, hold my lips real tight and just could not rely on the upper octave. I also had to pull it way out to achieve concert pitch and the two pieces kind of rocked against each other. (It so happens that my fiddler likes to play at concert, not sharp like everybody else) Glenn was very gracious about accepting it back and I wish I would have liked it or have had the economic freedom to keep it.

I really like to play fast reels and cran-type ornaments and I can’t figure out how to achieve these while diverting effort into uneven blowing or different physical postures on the premium whistles.
BTW, I have purchased a bunch of other brand of cheap whistles just cause I could TRY THEM FIRST and I selected ones that play easy. Feadogs were best, generations next then everything else.

I am sure that this has been covered exhaustively over the years at this forum but I would like to know how it comes out for you.

Best wishes,
Lance

11

I play an abell whistle and an overton (both soprano ds)

They are both absolutely lovely, but very different from each other. The abell’s got a very sweet sound, it’s not too loud and easy to play. The overton takes a lot more work, but is totally worth it for that amazingly powerful reedy tone.

Although the abell hasn’t exactly got the chiff you want and may not be in your price range, it fits everything else you want in your whistle, so maybe it’s worth thinking about.

12

Can anybody give a good description in the difference in sound (volume, timbre, etc) between the brass and nickle Copelands? I’ve got a brass D and low D and I’ve considered adding a few more (C, A, G).

13

Let me add to what is listed above concerning the Burke wide-bore brass (WBB) soprano D. I own several high-end whistles, but the Burke is the only one I consistently take with me to gigs. Not too much nor too little chiff, easy on the wind requirements, non-piercing 2nd octave, tunable, never clogging. I like this whistle because I can trust that it won’t break up on me while playing. I can hit 3rd octave D and C withouth causing ear damage. At $100, I think it was a bargain.