Wooden Whistles VERSUS Tin Recorders

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 4:36 am

I wanted to initiate the most popular topic in this forum. After a random survey of topic titles and readership/contribution nexi I figured that my topic title here would attract the most success.

All invited including noobs and vets .....

Buckeye67 · Post by **Buckeye67** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 5:13 am

Meh... they're all just tubes with holes in 'em.

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 5:34 am

Some with more holes than others.

cutterpup · Post by **cutterpup** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 5:38 am

Okay..I have played recorders made out of hardwoods, softwoods, plastic, ABS (still plastic but somehow different) and bakelite. I have also played recorders made for reel to reel, cassette, mini and digital. I have played whistles made out of tin, PVC and natural canes.
Now..since I have never played a turned, hardwood whistle nor a tin recorder I can't weigh in. So please send me at least four of both so I can judge them accurately. To keep things fair I will require the recorders to be a tenor, an alto, a soprano and a sopranino. The whistles need to be of equvialent keys.
When I am finished I'll happily send the tin recorders to someone else while I keep the wood whistles just to be sure they are playable.
Oh, I may be a noob when it comes to whistles I'm not when it comes to recorders and I have played clarinets made out of wood, plastic and metal..trust me the wood sounded the best, the metal the worst. The plastics were in between and varied depending on the maker and the type of plastic used.
BTW, I'm still in search of a bakelite whistle from the late 1930's to the early 1940's to add to my collection

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 5:53 am

Hi Jooty

There certainly are metal recorders and I have seen both sopranos and altos but I have yet to play one.

Metal clarinets - I love them! I regret swapping mine for a sax but fortunately they are easy to find in this part of the world.

cutterpup · Post by **cutterpup** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 5:56 am

Adrian wrote:Hi Jooty

There certainly are metal recorders and I have seen both sopranos and altos but I have yet to play one.

Ah, but I didn't doubt there existence..just said that I have never played one. Ditto for the hardwood whistles, I know they exist but my husband would faint if I paid $150 and up for a whistle (yet he doesn't blink at hundreds for a recorder)

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 6:04 am

cutterpup wrote: I know they exist but my husband would faint if I paid $150 and up for a whistle (yet he doesn't blink at hundreds for a recorder)

How about an Adler-Heinrich whistle? I've not tried the new model, but I have one of their older model ones. I reckon you can get one for about the same cost as a wooden soprano rec***er of the same maker. I think they can be had at a discount from some online music dealers.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 6:28 am

Buckeye67 wrote:Meh... they're all just tubes with holes in 'em.

So is my GI tract...

C age ing · Post by **C age ing** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 10:41 am

Blatant bias. Just wood and tin?
What's wrong with carbon composites or pastry for either?

dfernandez77 · Post by **dfernandez77** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 11:02 am

C age ing wrote:What's wrong with ...pastry?

Ooh!

Now that sounds interesting - a cannoli/whistle. And the key would change as you consume it.

dDave · Post by **dDave** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 11:17 am

Howdy,

What I want is the best of both worlds - a metal tubed whistle with wooden holes.

Best,

Dave

pjuuldk · Post by **pjuuldk** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:05 pm

I'm in for the Adler Heinrich, I've just bought one, and I love it.
If you like to play the Susato you're gonna love this whistle it's got duble backpressure and breath control and louder than the Susato, but the sound of it. OOOhh. RITCH; FAT; LOUD

Peter

Yuri · Post by **Yuri** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 10:07 pm

The thing with tin recorders is that by definition one of those just cannot be good. Before you shout me down let me explain why not. A recorder is expected to play cromatically across a range of 2 octaves+ . The + can be as much as another octave in exceptional cases. It is also expected to have a more uniform sound quality than the whistle. That is the low and high notes are , in theory more similar in strength than they are on whistles. All of this is engineered by having a very intricate inner bore. The school recorders are just conical-bore. This is merely a rather poor approximation of what a good recorder is like inside. And this whole thing is something that any recorder player over a certain level will perceive very clearly. And I haven't even touched on the tuning, which is a far more complex subject, once again because of the cromatic cross-fingering. In short. A tin recorder is something that is better avoided.
Now, a wistle is just not a recorder. The music, technique, and all requirements are completely different. Which is why tin whistles are so succesful. My personal opinion is that wooden whistles can be and are at least every bit as good as tin ones, but metal ones are truly musical instruments, unlike metal recorders.
I'm probably in deep trouble now from some players. Well, you can't win them all.[/i]

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:22 am

Yuri wrote:The thing with tin recorders is that by definition one of those just cannot be good.
......

So you have seen or played a tin recorder then?

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:27 am

Yuri wrote:The thing with tin recorders is that by definition one of those just cannot be good. Before you shout me down let me explain why not. A recorder is expected to play cromatically across a range of 2 octaves+ . The + can be as much as another octave in exceptional cases. It is also expected to have a more uniform sound quality than the whistle. That is the low and high notes are , in theory more similar in strength than they are on whistles. All of this is engineered by having a very intricate inner bore. The school recorders are just conical-bore. This is merely a rather poor approximation of what a good recorder is like inside. And this whole thing is something that any recorder player over a certain level will perceive very clearly. And I haven't even touched on the tuning, which is a far more complex subject, once again because of the cromatic cross-fingering. In short. A tin recorder is something that is better avoided.
Now, a wistle is just not a recorder. The music, technique, and all requirements are completely different. Which is why tin whistles are so succesful. My personal opinion is that wooden whistles can be and are at least every bit as good as tin ones, but metal ones are truly musical instruments, unlike metal recorders.
I'm probably in deep trouble now from some players. Well, you can't win them all.[/i]

Whistles made of tin (or, to be more specific, tinplate) are conical. One could conceivably make a recorder of similar bore to a typical school recorder, if one put the seam on the side, rather than on the back, so that there can be a thumb hole.

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Wooden Whistles VERSUS Tin Recorders

Wooden Whistles VERSUS Tin Recorders

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