Chiff and Fipple Forums

Twil. Quality is only partially related to price. Price is certainly related to being hand-made.

You do want good intonation and easy playing, especially as a beginner. Aside from that, quality is the wrong way to think of it.

What tone do you like? What volume do you need? Until you can answer those questions you can happily play a Jerry Freeman tweak at $40, a Killarney or Syn around $80.

Or a Timothy Potter at 24-28 dollars, which, personally, I think is up there with the Killarney in quality, and above the other aforementioned whistles, by my standards. YMMV. It is all subjective though, people will just name off whistles they like, which might not match what you like at all... Better to just try a few.

To reiterate what was above said- Don't be too overly concerned with price range. I've played mind-blowing whistles that are $5, and superb ones that go for $900. I've played crap whistles that are $5, and I've played equally (if not moreso) crap whistles that are a few hundred dollars. With really expensive whistles you could be paying for the work that goes into them, and perhaps unique qualities that they may have that aren't found in cheaper ones, or maybe even a reputation they may have (whether "deserved" or not). None of these things guarantees they are a better instrument.. maybe they will be, maybe they won't be.. And, again, the subjective bit comes into play.

A lot of people say they want a whistle in such and such price range i.e. "between 50 and 200 dollars", etc.. In my opinion it would be better to search for whistles that have the particular playing qualities and sound you like, rather than searching for ones that fit within a certain price range, as qualities of sound and playability are not restricted to any price range. You might spend a few hundred dollars and end up with a whistle that you don't like more than your 15 dollar one. You might pay a few dollars and end up with something you like exponentially more.. or vice-versa. Price, whether it be expensive or inexpensive, isn't really a determining factor.

Thanks for the responses. I got a lot of listening to do.

What's everyone's opinions on brass v nickel/al?

Brass is more breathy and nickel/al is more sharp?

twil wrote: Brass is more breathy and nickel/al is more sharp?

No, that has nothing to do with it. Other aspects of the construction are the key determining factors when it comes to these qualities, and material is not a highly relevant factor (I would argue not a factor at all, but some will disagree with that). You can have 5 brass whistles that are all completely and totally different (even opposite) from each other, and the same goes for any other material. Material should only be taken into consideration as far as look, feel, and maintenance is concerned. The dimensions and other aspects of the construction are what really gives each whistle its own unique sound. A breathy sound is not caused by the material at all, but by the dimensions of various parts of the head (window, ramp, blade, windway, etc.).

So the only reason to pay the extra for a Killarney Brass over the regular is for looks?

Why would one pay the extra for brass body?

http://www.killarneywhistle.com/purchase1.php

twil wrote:So the only reason to pay the extra for a Killarney Brass over the regular is for looks?

Why would one pay the extra for brass body?

http://www.killarneywhistle.com/purchase1.php

Have a look again. They're exactly the same price.

DERP

My bad!

twil wrote:What's everyone's opinions on brass v nickel/al?

Nickel is more slippery.

Peter Duggan wrote:

twil wrote:What's everyone's opinions on brass v nickel/al?

Nickel is more slippery.

Bingo.

I have been thinking of going with a brass Killarney. I like the sound of them from the clips I have heard.
Any comments on the breath requirements?

custer wrote:I have been thinking of going with a brass Killarney. I like the sound of them from the clips I have heard.
Any comments on the breath requirements?

Low breath requirements, regarding both air consumption, as well as the amount of push required.

custer wrote:I have been thinking of going with a brass Killarney. I like the sound of them from the clips I have heard.
Any comments on the breath requirements?

Really quite small. You can play the things with hardly any breath. You can push a little bit more, but it's still a very efficient instrument in terms of breath requirements.

[cross-post with Sirchronique]

I play a Goldie Overton,and I`m very pleased with it.It has a great tone and it isn`t too difficult to play.