Happy Feadog Owner

[saintninian]

Many thanks to all the people who have posted in praise of the Feadog Mk I whistle! I recently saw one advertised on the internet, and decided to purchase it based on what I've read concerning it here on Chiff & Fipple. I love it! Easy to play, smooth transition into the second octave, just the right amount of chiff I was looking for. I own a number of higher-end whistles, and I prefer this Feadog D over many of them. I can't understand why Feadog ever decided to change things. Thanks again for all your helpful reviews!

[Feadoggie]

Enjoy!

[E = Fb]

Hmmm. I've purchased a couple of new Feadog's over the internet and found them pretty good, after a little bit of tweaking. Were they better in the past.

(I can tell you that several decades ago, Generation whistles were far superior to the trash they are churning out now.)

[ScotsJim]

Would someone be kind enough to post a nice photo of Feadog Mk I ? How many types of Feadog are on the market ? What's a Mk I ? ?

P.S. Pardon my ignorance.

[Jerry Freeman]

Left to right: Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV (current)

[Feadoggie]

And the whole Feadog. Mark I at the top and the Mark II below that. There are some differences between the tubes.

Feadoggie

[pancelticpiper]

The Feadog MK1 which I bought new around 1980 has been for thirty years my go-to D whistle, indeed the finest D by any maker at any price I've ever played.

When it was new I packed the head with wax and did some carving on the holes to get the whole scale right in tune, and it's been the perfect whistle ever since, the veteran of countless gigs: orchestra pit gigs, church gigs, session work for albums, TV, films, spots, you name it.

It takes amazingly little air and anyone who picks it up wildly overblows it. The 2nd octave is supremely easy, light, sweet, and pure, yet the low octave is solid.

I did buy, at a rather high price, a Sindt D recently and it perhaps is as good as that Feadog. The Sindt's low range is a bit louder and more solid, but the Sindt's high range isn't as sweet.

The closest whistle I've ever tried to that old Feadog MK1 is a tweaked newer Feadog that Jerry loaned me a while back. It was my favourite of all the Freeman whistles I've played, and if Jerry still makes those they would be my recommendation for any new whistleplayer. I know I'm in the minority with that preference!

There it is! (My roll looks different now, with Sindts for A, Bb, and B, occupied by a Burke, a Freeman, and a self-modified Generation in this old pic. I still have old Susatos for Ab and Gb.)

[ScotsJim]

Many thanks for the pics and info guys. I had two Feadogs ( only have the one now, as I gave the other away ) and both of them screeched when playing the high notes. I'll have a look see which one I still have and give it another whirl

Edit Just checked, and going by the pictures posted by Feadoggie, it's a Mark II I've got. Pretty sure the one I gave away was the same.

[Dog Whistler]

I've been wondering which whistle I have... but even after all the pictures am still not sure! Mine is going on ten years old (it spent a long time forgotten after it was purchased in Cork) but looks most like the Mk IV pictured above. Has the IV been in production that long?

[Feadoggie]

Mine is going on ten years old (it spent a long time forgotten after it was purchased in Cork) but looks most like the Mk IV pictured above.

"It's all relative". Ten years is not a long time to some whistles or whistlers. My Mark I's go back to the mid 1980's AFAICR. Mark II's maybe early-mid 90's.

Has the IV been in production that long?

Uuuummmm? Yeah.

[scottie]

Hmmm. I've purchased a couple of new Feadog's over the internet and found them pretty good, after a little bit of tweaking. Were they better in the past.

(I can tell you that several decades ago, Generation whistles were far superior to the trash they are churning out now.)

Are you saying in your opinion that the generation whistles of today are trash compared to the Feadog's of today?

Thanks,

[Jerry Freeman]

Feadogs are more consistent. They use just one mold cavity for D and one for C so there are no variations because of which cavity a whistlehead came out of. Generation's tooling has four cavities for each key. And there's no indication Feadog's tooling has any wear issues. You used to see D, C and Bb Generations with marks indicating all four cavities were being used. Now it appears they've retired all but two cavities for each key.

I have examples of earlier Generations that came from the same molds they're using now. The earlier ones are cleaner and tend to be better players overall. And, of course, there's the difference between the current version Generations that came out in the early 80's and the vintage ones made starting in the early 50's, which came from completely different molds.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[dutchfluteplayer]

Very recently i bought a Feadog on internet for €4,0, second hand ( about $5,0) and it's so nice to play.
Nice clear ( not to clear) ,solid ( not to loud) easy second octave . The high a and b far to flat . But for that money i'm happy.
New they are not high end whistles so little faults are acceptable i guess;).
When i compare it to the pictures above it must be a Mk II.

[pancelticpiper]

The high a and b far to flat.

Do you mean A and B only in the 2nd octave?

If A and B are flat in both octaves you can carve them out with a sharp hobby knife. Takes five minutes. Carve the side of the holes nearest the mouthpiece.

Few are my whistles that haven't had a hole carved here or there.

Sometimes, when the bell-note is sharper than everything else, I carve all the holes, to bring the whole scale into line.

Or are you saying that ONLY A and B are flat in the 2nd octave, but the rest of the 2nd octave is fine? That would be strange. If the whole low octave was bang-on but High A and High B were flat, I'd just "blow them out".

[de Salier]

A quick question.
I am the the happy owner of 3 Feadogs, one of them a Pro D, which is remarkebly good and my main instrument. (The others are the standard C and D)

Now I am looking for a 4th, as a travel instrument for in my flight bag.
I want it to be a Pro D again, but might want to go for the Black version.

Does anybody know how it was made black? If it is painted then it could probably damage easely, in which case a nickel one would be better. Or did they use another technique?