Silver Copeland D?

[jim stone]

As to the top of the copeland D, one strategy is to staccato (sp?) the top notes. This is the sort of beastie you get if you are prepared to adapt to it--learn how to play it on its terms, it isn't going
to adapt to you.

Do you mean pop 'em out with a tongue articulation?

Right. Short bursts of sound, not long enough to be painful
to the ear. Cathal McConnell teaches this in his instruction
book/tape.

[JessieK]

And Reyburns

I disagree.

[dfernandez77]

As to the top of the copeland D, one strategy is to staccato (sp?) the top notes. This is the sort of beastie you get if you are prepared to adapt to it--learn how to play it on its terms, it isn't going
to adapt to you.

Do you mean pop 'em out with a tongue articulation?

Right. Short bursts of sound, not long enough to be painful
to the ear. Cathal McConnell teaches this in his instruction
book/tape.

That's one of the things I like best about playing my Copeland. It's very energetic.

[dfernandez77]

And Reyburns

I disagree.

You know - thinking about it - you've got a point there.

My Reyburns are loud for sure, and solid. But the tone does have complexity - not complexity like a Shaw or O'Brien - but I wouldn't say it's on the high end of pure.

Of those you recommend, I've played the Sweetheart Pros and the Thin Weasels. Both very nice and meet the criteria you present, "a loud whistle with a solid, pure tone."

Copeland and Rayburn are both less than pure - Reyburns being complex and Copelands being breathy. But I prefer a less pure tone.

Cheers,

[Bretton]

Here's a pretty accurate recording of a brass D Copeland (if you haven't had a chance to hear one in person):

http://www.greylarsen.com/extras/toolbo ... dbrass.mp3

and, Susatos actually fit the description of what you're looking for pretty well, and are cheap enough to try out:

http://www.greylarsen.com/extras/toolbo ... _s_hid.mp3

-Brett

[King Friday]

You guys were on the topic of silver Sindts earlier. I would love to see one of those, could someone please post a picture?

[sponge]

HOPEFULLY MY ONE WILL ARRIVE NEXT WEEK, WHEN IT DOES I'LL GET SOME PICS UP


SPONGE

[jim stone]

I have one but no ability to take or post pictures, I'm afraid.

These are very simple, a silver tube and a black delrin head.
They look a good deal like Gary Humphrey's whistles,
head-wise, but the tube is silver. Actually very lovely
in their simplicity.

[Wanderer]

but it's not possible that the material is immaterial since it is the instrument itself. If that were true, you should be able to get a nice tone out of cardboard.

Cardboard really isn't dense enough to work, I don't think.

But in all honesty, before I decided to spend money on lathes and stuff (big expenditures), and because it was late at night and home depot was closed, I *did* make a whistle out of construction paper and brass that didn't play great but made enough noise to prove up the concept of my build theory to me. It lived about 7 minutes before it wasn't playable due to moisture and stuff, but that was enough to leave me hopeful.

I think as thin-walled as a whistle is, any sufficiently dense material will be similar to any other sufficiently dense material. I've played brass and nickel-plated feadogs, brass and nickel copelands, Busmans of various materials (wood and delrin), brass nickel and composite burkes, and several woods of thin weasels. I'm pretty sure that the window and labium voicing had 99.999% to do with any changes in sound. When I lived in Houston, my brass copeland sounded identical to the nickel copleand that would also get played by another guy in session.

I've made whistles out of zebrawood, cherry, birdseye maple, purpleheart, pvc, and bubinga (in addition to that construction paper test whistle), and I think my voicing of the whistle is primarily what gives it the sound it has.

Really, get whatever material turns you on, and you can choose to believe the material makes a big difference, but I don't.

[jim stone]

Well, this is an old discussion, as we all know.
I observe only, FWIW, that the makers of
copeland whistles disagree with you,
as the website makes plain. They do feel
that the materials have characteristic sounds
that the buyer might wish to consider.

However Michael has also said to me that he thinks
differences in voicing between whistles makes as
much difference, or more, than metals.

Still they say that brass is warmer and softer.

Nickel is brighter and louder.

And Jim R says that silver has its own sound.

My experience is consistent with this, FWIW.

But, you know, we've been here before...

[Dave Parkhurst]

Doc Jones has one up for sale...

Dave

[eskin]

I just horsetraded for the silver Copeland offered at the Irish flute store, it arrived today. From just a few minutes playing it in the car on the way to work from the post office, its clear its a completely different beast than my older brass Copeland, which is my primary session instrument.

My brass has a clear flutelike tone, nearly devoid of chiff, the silver sounds very breathy and more complex to me. The pressure requirements are very different. Of course this is in the acoustic environment of my car, will see how it sounds at home and when recorded.

I'll post some comparisons this weekend.

Cheers,

Michael

[Jim McGuire]

That Copeland's whistles can sound different is not in question. Could he make the same whistle at the same time, using say brass for the first and silver for the second, and have them sound close? I think the answer is 'yes'.

Do whistles sound different from makers, especially when they are made several years apart with a new 'design' and even using the same material? 'Yes' to that, too.

[Gaaslaj]

I have a silver D Copeland too. I had a nickel model and sold it. A friend of mine has one that isn't as good, so voicing is important. I usually play my Burke at sessions, it seems to carry in the high range better. Sometimes I play the Copeland if someone else is playing whistle too. If the two whistles are not exactly in tune together, it sounds better with the Copland, it has a broader and fuller sound spectrum I think, and doesn't clash as much. I have kind of a unique whistle with a white delrin plug. Only two were made like that, the rest are black. I may not play it much, but it's such a beauty that I don't want to sell it! J.

[Gaaslaj]

I sold my Sindt high D brass and got a Burke instead. I found that the Sindt was just too piercing, like a knife! The Burk sounds mellower to me. There's someone I know who plays a Sindt and uses a whole lot of cuts, torture! All my opinion of course, J.