The New Kerry Busker High D is Quite Impressive

[Cyberknight]

I'd tried a few high D models of the Kerrywhistle "Busker" (or "Thunderbird," or "Chieftain," depending on when it was made), and I never liked it. For one thing, the intonation always seemed very off to me. On the previous models I tried, certain notes in the first octave were egregiously sharp, while notes in the second octave were flat. Also, I always found that the second octave was so piercingly loud that I felt like I was blasting people's ears if I ever played it.

After watching a recent Nathaniel Dowell video reviewing the 2024 Busker, I decided to buy one myself to see if it was improved. And...wow. I really, really like this whistle. Phil really seems to have fixed a lot of the issues with it. The intonation is vastly improved. There's still no undercutting, and a couple of notes are still slightly off (with F# being the main culprit), but it's not enough to be a huge problem. The second octave overall isn't any flatter than the first. Most importantly, it also seems that the second octave is nowhere near as overpowering as it was before - but the first octave is still very strong. And to top it all, it seems to be easier to play and take less air.

This is a very good whistle for busking or for extremely large sessions, in my opinion. It's loud throughout both octaves but isn't too loud in either. I'd say the second octave is just about as loud as a Susato Oriole - which is to say that it's very loud, but not egregiously so. And the first octave is louder than any other whistle I've played. The bell note in particular is astoundingly loud and clear, while still staying in tune.

I don't think it will become my go-to session whistle - Goldie and McManus are better for that, because their second octaves are much quieter and they don't generally overpower other instruments. But I think it could be useful in one of those massive sessions with a bunch of pipes and boxes.

[AngelicBeaver]

It's nice to hear someone shares my impression of the Busker! I had expected it to be very similar to the Thunderbird, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's still a bit of a beast to play, but I think Phil really delivered the final form of the design: huge tone, but with enough refinement that it isn't obnoxious. It really fits its name.

[pancelticpiper]

What's the bore on that?

Sounds big, maybe like the Burke "session"?

[AngelicBeaver]

What's the bore on that?

Sounds big, maybe like the Burke "session"?

I don't know what the current Burke session bore looks like, but my 2006 Burke session bore fits inside the Busker with room to spare.

Burke Session Bore ID:
13 mm (OD: 14.25mm)

Busker ID:
16 mm

[Cyberknight]

What's the bore on that?

Sounds big, maybe like the Burke "session"?

I don't know what the current Burke session bore looks like, but my 2006 Burke session bore fits inside the Busker with room to spare.

Burke Session Bore ID:
13 mm (OD: 14.25mm)

Busker ID:
16 mm

Yeah, what impresses me is that it stays even approximately in tune with a bore that big. It’s way bigger than any other whistle I’ve played. But it has none of the typical tuning issues that “big” whistles normally have.

Weirdly, its main issues are a slightly flat low F# and a slightly sharp high G and high A (the latter two seem to lessen as you warm up). None of these are common issues, in my experience.

[RoberTunes]

CyberKnight, would you say the current high D Busker is highly expressive, as in can convert a lot of wind dynamics into many variations of tone, volume and effects? Phil Hardy has mentioned that a few times, but he doesn't do video reviews comparing Busker/Thunderbird with specific other whistle models. A lot of whistles have very limited range of expression. I'm just guessing that a whistle that has higher volume, high efficiency and larger bore would be able to generate that much more range of expression. What's your impression, vs, say, the cheap whistles or a Burke or Alba, Humphrey, Tony Dixon, Shearwater, Goldie, Reyburn, etc.? Does the Busker handle lower air pressure well and produce quieter notes well, or does it tend to have notes fail or drop the octave if you ease off very much? Anything out of the ordinary or frustrating there?

I once used a Walton's Guinness black whistle (a very inexpensive whistle) in a recording and liked the way the raspy tone started to break up in the higher register, but that was with higher pressure on high notes, and on a particular song with particular needs. Overall, it's an adequate whistle only if you want that type of tone and a limited range of approach. I'd like to find a whistle that offers the most range of expression.

[Cyberknight]

CyberKnight, would you say the current high D Busker is highly expressive, as in can convert a lot of wind dynamics into many variations of tone, volume and effects? Phil Hardy has mentioned that a few times, but he doesn't do video reviews comparing Busker/Thunderbird with specific other whistle models. A lot of whistles have very limited range of expression. I'm just guessing that a whistle that has higher volume, high efficiency and larger bore would be able to generate that much more range of expression. What's your impression, vs, say, the cheap whistles or a Burke or Alba, Humphrey, Tony Dixon, Shearwater, Goldie, Reyburn, etc.? Does the Busker handle lower air pressure well and produce quieter notes well, or does it tend to have notes fail or drop the octave if you ease off very much? Anything out of the ordinary or frustrating there?

I once used a Walton's Guinness black whistle (a very inexpensive whistle) in a recording and liked the way the raspy tone started to break up in the higher register, but that was with higher pressure on high notes, and on a particular song with particular needs. Overall, it's an adequate whistle only if you want that type of tone and a limited range of approach. I'd like to find a whistle that offers the most range of expression.

I'm probably not the best person to answer that question, because to me, expressive whistle playing has always been about ornamentation/vibrato/articulation, not about breath variance. Maybe this is because I mainly play jigs and reels, not slow airs.

I usually avoid varying my breath while playing, because breath variance affects pitch in addition to volume, and my whistles seem to go out of tune very quickly if I do that. But some people apparently make it work.

At any rate, one thing I can tell you that may be useful is that the whistle has a tapered head, which means that the upper octave is "sharp" naturally. You have to blow it very precisely, so that the octave just barely switches, if you want to play in tune. Blow too hard, and it will go very sharp...too sharp for my taste (but not necessarily for everyone's). So, at least in the second octave (especially the higher end of the second octave), I don't personally think varying your breath very much on it would be a good idea. But the first octave has much more wiggle room. I'd say you can vary your breath on the first octave without affecting the pitch too much, so I guess that would allow you to be more expressive down there.

But again, I'm probably the wrong person to ask about this, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

[Roland of Gilead]

I'm a little confused about the concept of the 'New Buskers'. I saw that phil had posted a little while back that he had new Low D buskers that play very differently and how proud of them he was, then I saw he posted that he was selling off the 'last of the busker low D's'. Now I see you folks talking about new High D's.

Was there an indication on the site that these models in question were new? When I go to his store they just look like the old buskers listings still. I never really liked the breath curve of the older buskers, but hearing all this stuff about how the new ones play is intriguing. However I wouldn't want to just order from the site and be sent an old one either.

And is he no longer getting in busker low Ds in general, right after that announcement of how good the newer low Ds were?
Man, so confusing

[Cyberknight]

I'm a little confused about the concept of the 'New Buskers'. I saw that phil had posted a little while back that he had new Low D buskers that play very differently and how proud of them he was, then I saw he posted that he was selling off the 'last of the busker low D's'. Now I see you folks talking about new High D's.

Was there an indication on the site that these models in question were new? When I go to his store they just look like the old buskers listings still. I never really liked the breath curve of the older buskers, but hearing all this stuff about how the new ones play is intriguing. However I wouldn't want to just order from the site and be sent an old one either.

And is he no longer getting in busker low Ds in general, right after that announcement of how good the newer low Ds were?
Man, so confusing

I'm not really sure. Angelic Beaver probably knows more about this than I do. This is the first time I'd tried a whistle that was just called plain old "Busker." I tried a whistle that was branded "Chieftain Busker" once, and I also tried one that I believe was simply branded "Chieftain"; I didn't like either of them. This one definitely feels different, and unless I'm much mistaken, it's got way better intonation than those other models I tried.

Whether it's better than Buskers have been over the last few years is something I can't answer.

[AngelicBeaver]

I'm a little confused about the concept of the 'New Buskers'. I saw that phil had posted a little while back that he had new Low D buskers that play very differently and how proud of them he was, then I saw he posted that he was selling off the 'last of the busker low D's'. Now I see you folks talking about new High D's.

Was there an indication on the site that these models in question were new? When I go to his store they just look like the old buskers listings still. I never really liked the breath curve of the older buskers, but hearing all this stuff about how the new ones play is intriguing. However I wouldn't want to just order from the site and be sent an old one either.

And is he no longer getting in busker low Ds in general, right after that announcement of how good the newer low Ds were?
Man, so confusing

I'm unaware of a recent major design change in the Busker soprano D, but Phil has been known to tweak his models without changing the model number. The 'Busker' soprano D replaced the 'Thunderbird' a number of years ago, so there might be some slight design changes. Mine is relatively recent, ordered at the same time as the new Busker low D was announced.

Regarding the new Busker low D, I'm not quite sure what's going on with it. I ordered one after his announcement and was not impressed, and I have a friend who had a similar experience. Shortly after, Phil made his announcement he was winding down production, and he mentioned that some of the equipment was wearing out, and rather than replace it, he was opting to end production. My guess is that a high number of duds from the factory prompted him to re-evaluate.