How do they sound?? Do they sound just like the Clarke Origs? Cleaner? Chiffier? Breathier??
I love my Clarke origs, but I would love to have a smidgen louder whistle, with a *slightly* cleaner tone, and one that wouldn't be sensitive to "barometric pressure changes..." (my Clarke origs. get quite tempermental in nasty, wet weather)
And one that I wouldn't have to worry about what-did-I-eat/drink-that-could-ruin-the-wood-block-if-I-play-it....
Thanks all!
Light spills into the hidden valley,
Illuminating the falls, paths, and
The breathtaking Elvish dwelling
Set back among great trees.
Lilting strains of Elven songs fill my heart;
I am finally home. ~Isilwen Elanessë
I have a Meg (and used to have a Clarke original). I would say it has a slightly "cleaner" tone than the original...still a bit breathy, but not as raspy. It's a very quiet whistle...good for playing at night when the kid's asleep...but I can't remember enough about my old Clarke to tell you how they compare volume-wise.
How about the Sweetone?? Know anything about how they compare?
Light spills into the hidden valley,
Illuminating the falls, paths, and
The breathtaking Elvish dwelling
Set back among great trees.
Lilting strains of Elven songs fill my heart;
I am finally home. ~Isilwen Elanessë
Nope...I've been meaning to pick one up, just to try it, but no one seems to have them locally. I've heard some say they're similar to the Megs, but more consistent, but that's just hearsay on my part.
The Sweetone sounds nothing like the Clarke original, nor is it significantly louder. It doesn't sound like a Generation-type whistle either. In my opinion, the tone is somewhere in between the Clarke and the Gen, but it is by no means the best of both worlds. Rather, it is the least common denominator of the two. It has neither the haunting sweetness of the Clarke, nor the bright, sparkling quality of the Gen. In its favor, I must say that the responsiveness of the Sweetone is remarkable for about 1-1/2 octaves, which, I think, accounts for its popularity. However, the tone is dull and uninteresting. I've played four of these, and they are all very similar, so at least there is evidence of some consistency, but who wants a consistently mediocre whistle? Of course, you may like it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I have 4 Sweetones, one Meg (thanks Doc Jones!) and one Clarke orig. The Sweetone is louder than the Clarke, but the sound is similar, IMHO. I like them quite a bit for their consistency and quality to price ratio. Megs sound almost the same as Sweetones, again IMHO.
Tell us something.: I'm a New York native who gradually slid west and landed in the Phoenix area. I like riding on the back seat of a tandem bicycle. I like dogs and have three of them. I am a sometime actor and an all the time teacher, husband, and dad.
My experience is that the Megs are quieter. I can push my Clarke original a little bit, but can't push the Meg at all. It seems like you practically have to stop blowing to hit the two lowest notes!
This isn't an isolated Meg, either. I've bought 40 of them so far, and have tried them all. I haven't noticed any inconsistencies (though others whose opinions I value have).
The Meg, by the way, is quiet enough that I can have a class of 19 students, plus myself, all playing together in one room without it being uncomfortably loud. Then again, I'm a fifer, so my idea of uncomfortably loud may differ from yours.
When I ordered my clarke, I also ordered a sweetone too. The sweet sounds very different from the clarke org, less breathy, but mine has a very slight buzz, I don't know if this is normal or just the one I got. Very nice on the upper octive, and the mouthpiece is great.
Hmm. The Whistle Shop is out of the Silver Megs, so I'm seriously considering a Silver D-C Sweetone Set...
Light spills into the hidden valley,
Illuminating the falls, paths, and
The breathtaking Elvish dwelling
Set back among great trees.
Lilting strains of Elven songs fill my heart;
I am finally home. ~Isilwen Elanessë
Okay, I got out my Sweetone silver D and have been tooting on it. In the first octave, both F# and B are flat. (The F# can be brought up to pitch by blowing harder.) The second octave is better in that respect. It's fairly effortless to take it all the way up to the second octave C#, and a little more push will get an acceptable third octave D. The breath requirement is about the same as that of a Gen or Feadog. It is extremely easy to play and very forgiving. I'm just not fond of the lackluster tone.
Risard, could you describe lacluster tone?
Compaired to my generation, i think the tone is much better, except for a very slight buzz. It seems to come from the fipple head, although there doesn't seem to be anything in there that should'nt be. Is this a normal thing, or is this (hopefully) just a defect with mine. I guess I'll have to order another one to see. Any other buzzing sweetones out there? aside from that I really like the whistle.
Tell us something.: I used to be a regular then I took up the bassoon. Bassoons don't have a lot of chiff. Not really, I have always been a drummer, and my C&F years were when I was a little tired of the drums. Now I'm back playing drums. I mist the C&F years, though.
For me, it just sounds too breathy and "mushy" (but without the mellowness of the Clarke original). It's just an opinion. I don't expect others to agree.
And, for those of you that have them, how easy are they to make tuneable??
Thanks
Light spills into the hidden valley,
Illuminating the falls, paths, and
The breathtaking Elvish dwelling
Set back among great trees.
Lilting strains of Elven songs fill my heart;
I am finally home. ~Isilwen Elanessë
Elf, if the mouthpiece doesn't come off easily, running hot tap water over it causes it to expand a little, which makes it easier to twist off. Twist it so that the overlap in the body seam doesn't dig into the plastic. (If you are holding it with the head toward you, twist the head clockwise.)
When you get the mouthpiece positioned so that it's in tune, there's a tiny ridge on the underside of the mouthpiece (at least there is on mine), which can be lined up with the seam so that the holes are properly aligned.
Hmmm... I just played The Blackthorn Stick (almost up to tempo), and the whistle's responsiveness is almost as good as my Gen. Even the rolls came out clean. It seems to sound fine on fast tunes. The tone deficiencies only stick out on slow airs and such, IMHO. (Maybe I'll post an MP3 of Blackthorn later today if I get around to it.)
