Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hello all;

I'm in search of an Low (Alto, Mezzo, whatever) G, Preferably tunable unless tuning is spot on. I'm in the USA so that would be helpful. Anyone want to thin their heard and part with a decent low G?
Under $160, preferably well under. Any recommendations, brands to avoid? Anyone with experience with Chris Wall non tunable low G? Al thought I know wait time would be huge. It looks like he is a year behind.

Tony Dixon Trad brass, or ABS, (if you can find one), those are my two - however, in low F, I have Shearwater non tunable aluminium, & an MK.

I have both a Goldie and Chieftain Low G. The Goldie has a better tone (in my opinion) and the Chieftain is loud enough to hold it’s own with any group of musicians. I have often thought about ordering an MK Low G as well. I have an MK Low D and Mezzo A now and love the way they play and sound.

I'm on the lookout for a mezzo/alto G too.

I sold my Burke G, a very nice whistle, but I decided to go with a more "trad" G.

My intention is to buy a narrow-bore Colin Goldie, but I need to contact him to find out if he has done a run of them.

I'm becoming one of those Goldie loyalists. This was reinforced around a year ago when I bought a mezzo/alto F from him. It's stellar. and in my opinion an upgrade in every way from the Burke F which I'd been playing for many years.

From what I understand Colin makes G's either from the tubing he uses for his A, or the tubing he uses for his F. Since I'm a narrower-is-better person I'm going with the A-tubing one. In fact I've never played a Goldie G so I'm only guessing how it will play.

I have an early Susato G, their first style with wood block, machined out of PVC stock, before they began injection-moulding. It has that distinctive yet hard-to-explain Susato-ness which I don't care for.

I've heard some bad things about dixon G being way too soft blowing and touchy. If you like soft blowers you may like it. This seems to be a recurring theme for a couple of makers G's that are just Bb heads with lower bodies.

A safe option would be to wait until your Humphrey F comes in and if you really like it go with a Humphrey G.

I found a good deal on a Susato G on ebay that I picked up to try out, but shipping ranges from 5-37 days so it could be a while before I can say if I like it or not.

pancelticpiper wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 8:26 am I'm on the lookout for a mezzo/alto G too.

I sold my Burke G, a very nice whistle, but I decided to go with a more "trad" G.

I'm becoming one of those Goldie loyalists. This was reinforced around a year ago when I bought a mezzo/alto F from him. It's stellar. and in my opinion an upgrade in every way from the Burke F which I'd been playing for many years.

I got a couple Burkes and now I feel like a Burke loyalist (A and F). But I feel like I need to try some other top makers in case I would actually like them more. While the F plays well, it uses way too much air so I'm not even considering going lower with Burkes haha. I'd like to try a Mk Goldie and Reyburn but I always miss them when they come up used. And I really don't want to buy new. I got my burke F new and I really like it but if I went to sell it there would be a noticeable loss. But its just so much easier to buy a maker you know you like. Especially when the burkes do well at what I want (strong low end, I hate when the lowest couple notes are significantly quieter than the high notes, and tuning).

I like my Shearwater. I asked for the narrow bore version which is the same bore as the A. The standard G is a little wider.

I had a Chris Wall polymer G and it was "ok" so I sold it on. I liked the A a lot better and kept it. I also had a Sweetbrass D that many folks rave about and it was also just "ok" for me so I let it go. I kept the polymer C/D combo though. So I guess it's really personal which of his you go for,

jimhanks wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:50 pm I like my Shearwater. I asked for the narrow bore version which is the same bore as the A. The standard G is a little wider.

I had a Chris Wall polymer G and it was "ok" so I sold it on. I liked the A a lot better and kept it. I also had a Sweetbrass D that many folks rave about and it was also just "ok" for me so I let it go. I kept the polymer C/D combo though. So I guess it's really personal which of his you go for,

Reason for choosing narrow bore? One better than another or easier to play? Narrow bore have higher back pressure, different sound qualities? Is your Shearwater tunable? If so would the head from a narrow bore G fit on one of his A's or my Dixon Trad. A? Does the Shearwater have a lot of Chiff or is more clear?

This explains my thinking for the narrow bore easier than I can explain here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtRyY2lVR-g

It is not tuneable as I've had no problem with them like that and it saved money. But he does make them tuneable if that's your preference.

I will second the Colin Goldie nomination. For a long time my Goldie A was my favorite, then I got a new Bb from him, along with a C. The Bb is one of the finest instruments I've ever played, period. The octave balance, air requirements, tone, and general ease of playing make it an absolute natural. For saxophone players the Selmer Mark VI is like this: practically perfect in every way. The Bb uses the same bore as the A so I assume Ab would work as well. Going down a full step to G, the F bore may handle a little better but I'd leave that up to Colin. I've yet to try a G but may hit the sweet spot between lower tone and not too much reach to be nimble.

If you're ordering from Colin it helps to really know what you want in terms of playing style. It took me a couple of years to identify how I played and what I wanted before I could really specify it with Colin. He will spend time with you on the phone playing multiple whistles and trying to match your requirements to what he has on hand. All his whistles have little varieties so it's definitely not for the beginner to shoot in the dark. If you have doubts, go with a cheaper off-the-rack whistle to start honing your preferences.

-Peter

For a budget option, I may recommend Nightingale by Alexander Karavaev. They arent overly popular on this forum but among new players on reddit and Youtube I see his whistles quite a lot. They are extremely good for the money, due to world economics (100$ USD is worth a lot more in Russia than it is in the UK). So he can just charge straight up less than all the other makers. If you buy from the Russian store its around $80 for the semi tunable (you can pull the mouthpiece out), and like $10 more for fully tunable, both prices including shipping. For me it only took like 2 weeks to come in, but shipping times could vary.

I have a Nightingale A. Its tuning is excellent, with a good oxx xox. The tone is decently trad, similar to a gen or dixon. Doesnt use too much air, low back pressure. Its a very soft blower.

So the G should be a extra soft blower, because I believe its the same tube diameter and mouthpiece as the A. So if you like soft blowers it will be good, if you don't like soft blowers you wont like it. My only other con is the holes aren't overly smooth. But they arent so sharp they hurt or anything. just one of the few things where the low price shows. Not a big deal though.

Heres both links, much cheaper than using his ebay store if you wanted to get one. Use google translate, or scroll down to the bottom and you can pick english. If you have google chrome browser it should automatically ask if you want to translate.
https://shamanic.ru/muzykalnye-instrume ... -karavaev/
https://shamanic.ru/muzykalnye-instrume ... avaev-non/

Narzog wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 9:56 pm .......... Nightingale by Alexander Karavaev.

So the G should be a extra soft blower, because I believe its the same tube diameter and mouthpiece as the A.
..........

I have both the A and G Karavaev Tunable. Mine are different tube diameters. I don't know if he has made different versions of the G but the one I have is a wider tube then the A. It's late here so I will try to post some pictures of my two tomorrow.

I have six of his whistles (C,B,A,G,E and D). For the price I think they are a good value. No they are not in the league of the Goldies or the Burkes but for less than a hundred US $'s they are mighty good in my opinion.

TxWhistler wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 10:16 pm I have both the A and G Karavaev Tunable. Mine are different tube diameters. I don't know if he has made different versions of the G but the one I have is a wider tube then the A. It's late here so I will try to post some pictures of my two tomorrow.

I have six of his whistles (C,B,A,G,E and D). For the price I think they are a good value. No they are not in the league of the Goldies or the Burkes but for less than a hundred US $'s they are mighty good in my opinion.

OH I didnt realize that, I thought a while ago I looked at his ebay store and thought it said the A and G were same tube. But I'm probobly wrong. And I just looked now and it definitely says the G is a bigger tube. What's interesting, is it says the low F through low C are the same size (which is what I thought), which is bigger than the G. But then it seems like my A is the same size tube as the high whistles, which is whats really weird. Which would also explain why its so soft blowing. So its just very strange that its only the G at that size. I thought it would be like Susato, where Bb-G are the same middle size. I feel like he used to use the G tube for the A, which could explain why I thought they were the same size. But he doesnt have any A's on ebay for me to look.

Also this means its not a super soft blower like I thought and probobly uses more air. So be warned to anyone who liked what I described.