Looking for the ultimate whistle!

jan flowing · Post by **jan flowing** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 3:45 pm

Hi everyone, I'm new here.

I've had a brass high D tinwhistle for years but never played it much and had never even realised you could go an octave higher by blowing harder!!!

But all that has changed in the past 2 or 3 weeks, I'm a whistlemaniac!!! Been through Ryan Dun's lessons, and learning tunes from tradlessons on youtube and loving it

I bought a Clarke's original and find it has a good tone, but wanted different keys so i could play along with other musucuans/cds. So, i just got a set of 6 generations. My first impresssion is that they are fine for practising, but sound a bit too school-recordery if you know what I mean.

I am looking for a tinwhistle that has a really smooth, 'haunting', beautiful tone, and would be interested to hear from any of you what your favourites are or any particularly good high whistles that you know of... thanks

Also, whats all this about tweaking? what fo they do to the whistle to make it worth about 6 times as much? is it worth it? does it make a big difference to the sound?

West · Post by **West** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 4:47 pm

Yes, tweaking is definitely worth it. You should try that before dismissing your Generation whistles

I dunno about "worth 6 times as much" but yeah, they do sound a whole lot better with some TLC.

Killaloe · Post by **Killaloe** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:45 pm

Oh Boy

Can

Worms

A-Musing · Post by **A-Musing** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:24 pm

She may have been tweaked...I don't personally know...but at one time, Mariah Carey was the Ultimate Whistle...

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:27 pm

Killaloe wrote:Oh Boy ... Can ... Worms

You're getting the hang of this, I see.

MandoMark · Post by **MandoMark** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:31 pm

It ain't cheap (compared to the Clarkes and PVC specials I have), but I LOVE my Burke DBSBT. It's really hard to not have good intonation with this thing (I've been playing for about 4 months, so blowing correct intonation is an issue) and it just sounds great. The second octave is clean and pure.

Considering what I could spend on a `zouk or a mando, spending $190 on a professional-level instrument is a rock-solid bargain.

Guinness · Post by **Guinness** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:15 pm

Some fish can't resist the allure of worms.

walrii · Post by **walrii** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:45 am

Fraternities have pledge week.
The military has basic training.
The church as baptism and confirmation.
Chiff and Fipple has the "best whistle in the world search" and "why does everyone say Gens and Feadogs are so good when mine sounds so crappy?"

MagicSailor · Post by **MagicSailor** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:43 am

Killaloe wrote:Oh Boy

Can

Worms

Once you open a can of worms, the only way to re-can them is a bigger can.

Owen

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:38 am

My vote for the perfect whistle goes to Overton.

Here is a web page where you hear various whistle makes which will perhaps give you an idea of the tone you would like from your ideal whistle.
http://www.micksvirtualwhistle.net/whistle/index.html

Clips & Snips is another place to listen to whistles.
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/

whistleman922 · Post by **whistleman922** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:26 am

it really depends on the type of player you are. I would recommend a Sindt if you have a very light blowing and ornamentation style. My sindt is about 9 years old now so i don't know if he's maybe changed them a bit but my one negative comment is that, personally, the tone was a too one-dimentional. it was sweet, but at the same time a little thin. you couldn't express any range of dynamics with it. they don't handle heavy breathing or aggressive tongueing very well. (while some may find that enjoyable...

If you have a stronger approach then I'd say 100% overton. If you like a bold clean tone with beautiful personality you can't beat 'em. I've found that they tend to record with a better tone than any other whistle I've tries as well. they react very well with a microphone.

Cheers
~Nolan

charlie_butterworth · Post by **charlie_butterworth** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:42 am

You shouldn't dismiss the Generations - they can be really good whistles especially in the hands of s whistler more skilled than me.

You may consider sticking to a single key right now and investing in one of the "so-called" high end whistles. Burkes can be real smooth sounding for example.

Some of the most heated topics on this forum involve "cheapie" versus "high-end." Having read a few, they seem futile as there is really not a single solution that will please everyone's musical tastes or talents (or lack of in my case). I have a Generation D that was sent to me by another user. The recording that he made of it beats anything that I can (or ever) play in terms of skill and emotion, yet he also reckons that it is only an "average" quality Generation.

There is one thing that I didn't do when beginning and looking for a whistle - visit a local session (if there are any) and see what folk are playing. I expect that you'd be welcome to simply sit-in and listen, kick back with a beer (if it is in a pub). I don't know about session etiquette, but maybe during a break you could ask players about their preferences and thoughts on their whistles. Just an idea.

Charlie

violinmyster · Post by **violinmyster** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:28 pm

Check out tonyhinnigan.com. This site has great reviews on whistles and you can get to hear several different sounds.

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:39 pm

what is your price range?

jan flowing · Post by **jan flowing** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 1:34 pm

Thanks everyone for your replies to this topic, plenty of worms in the can

Whistle collector, my price range is flexible as my next bday is my 30th so i could get a decent whistle for my pressie

I have watched someone playing a Burke on youtube and like the sound of that, but i'll check that link to the virtual whistle page to hear some more ...