Feadog Pro vs feadog standard vs the good old Gen

[Jayhawk]

I've decided that I'm not a huge fan of high end whistles. I've owned several, but I always end up longing for the traditional whistle sound I grew up listening to.

It's been years since I owned either (as in mid-90s), but I think I want a generation or a feadog. I see they now have a feadog pro, too, which I've never seen nor played.

So...anyone care to comment on the merits of a generation (I like brass FWIW), the standard feadog and the newer feadog pro?

Thanks,

Eric

[Mr.Nate]

Feadog pro has a heavyier barrel but I think it is the same head. Maybe the tone is a tad brighter.

[Christophe]

Yes, the tube walls of the pro version is thicker. I haven't noticed any difference between my Feadog pro and the ordinary ones I own. FWIW, I own a nickel Oak in D and it's absolutely identical to the Feadog pro, with the same thick walls, but it's cheaper....
I haven't been lucky with Feadogs in D until now, and had a hard time finding one good sounding Gen in D ( I had to buy 6 before ). In the key of D, my best sounding cheap whistle is a Walton top whose tube I replaced with a Feadog one, which is much better. As for the other keys, i've been lucky with C Feadogs ( have 4 of them, all good sounding and loud ), and am partial on Bb Gens ( own 3 ).
If you're interested in a trad sounding whistle you might also try a Dixon trad which is unexpensive and sounds like the trad, with less chiff though. You can hear samples of these whistles on my soundcloud :
https://soundcloud.com/christophe17

[Mr.Nate]

I could also recommend a Hoover white cap on a Feadog body. The price is 30$ for the head.

http://praisewhistlers.org/mackhooverwhistles/

I haven't tried a Dixon but the price seems reasonable.

[stanton135]

My go-to high D right now is a Gen head on a Feadóg pro tube. The Feadóg tube wins hands down, IMO. Much better tuning than the Gen. The Feadóg head that came with the tube had a raspy, harsh tone that I didn't care for, so I swapped it for the Gen head.

I haven't tried an Oak D, but I expect I'd like it very much. I love the tone and response of my Oak C head, and the Oak D tube looks like it has identical hole placement to the Feadóg tube.

Can't comment on the Feadóg pro versus the original, but I doubt a blindfolded listener would tell them apart.

[Jayhawk]

Hi Christophe! I had an oak in the past, and the tuning was great but I just don't like those nickel bodies...they're slippery in hot weather compared to a nice, tarnished brass body.

Is the standard feadog brass? I can't recall. I could go with a Cillian O'Briain tweaked feadog...had one once which I still regret selling.

I also had a Dixon trad, which was a really good whistle, too.

Eric

[Jayhawk]

OK...I went crazy and just bought a brass original feadog and a brass gen via Whistle and Drum. Hard to go wrong when the total, with shipping, is about $25.

Viva la generic whistles!

Eric

[Mr.Gumby]

Oak and Feadóg tubes are not identical. Close enough but not identical. They're both based on the Generation tube with the same hole placement but each of the three has a very slight difference in the bottom two holes.

I don't feel the Gen tube is inferior to the Feadóg design. I have two Feadóg heads on Gen tubes and they're nicer for it. Other configurations work well too.

[Christophe]

Stanton, Oak C and Oak D are different animals : my Oak C sounds great, and my Oak D sounds raspy, exactly like my Feadog Cs and Ds.
MrG, I still can't tele anydifference between my feadogs and my Oaks.
In fact, I assume that the Oak whistles ( C and D ) I have are rebranded Feadogs, which doesn't mean it has always been the case.

Here's a pic of them all :

http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/11/02/tubes

The holes seem similar in size and spacing on both Feadogs and on the Oak, don't they ?

[Mr.Gumby]

Similar, yes. As I said:

each of the three has a very slight difference in the bottom two holes.

L to R:

Feadóg, Oak, Generation

Bottom hole on the F is smallest, Oak largest and Gen in between. Second hole on the Gen smallest, Oak in between, Feadóg largest.

[Christophe]

MrG, it's clear that we don't have the same model of Oak D, for I can absolutely see no difference at all, even " with the eyes of faith " as we say here, between my Ok and my Feadogs, whereas I can clearly see one in yours. Mine is branded Oak Classic, maybe it's a different design than yours ?
Anyway I still assume mine is a Feadog pro rebranded. In addition to the similarity in tubes, I removed both tops, and am unable to tell now which top was on which tube ....

BTW, I can't make my pics appear directly in the text as you do. Maybe they're being blocked by the NSA .

Another trial ....
petit fichier tubes.jpg

[pancelticpiper]

I've decided that I'm not a huge fan of high end whistles. I've owned several, but I always end up longing for the traditional whistle sound I grew up listening to.

Amen, Brother!

To me there's nothing like the tone and performance of a really good old Generation or Feadog. When I started playing, actually, the only D whistle that seemed to exist was the Generation, and that's what everybody played. "Want to play whistle? Well, friend, you need to start searching for the best Generation D you can find!" And it's a quest that never ends, because you know deep inside that somewhere out there there's one better than the one you're playing.

For whatever reason back around 1980 I picked up a Feadog D that's simply superb, and I've yet to play its equal. (Feadogs were only made in D at that time.)

Now the Generation C I got around the same time is a bit better, in fact the best whistle in any key I've ever tried, but I've never found a Generation D that's better than that Feadog D.

It's a bummer though because I've tried other people's Generation D's and Generation Bb's that were spectacular but I've never come across one... TO HAVE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgFfY7ko1ME

About tonehole size/placement, all of my Generations and Feadogs have been carved, so who knows?

[Mr.Gumby]

MrG, it's clear that we don't have the same model of Oak D, for I can absolutely see no difference at all, even " with the eyes of faith " as we say here, between my Ok and my Feadogs, whereas I can clearly see one in yours. Mine is branded Oak Classic, maybe it's a different design than yours ?

Possibly, I do remember someone suggesting here the Oaks had gone into a licensing deal with Feadóg teo. Mine probably IS a classic Oak from before that time, I bought it maybe 14 or 15 years ago. The Generation is an old (1970s) one too but I don't think either Generation or Feadóg have changed their tube layout.

[free-feet]

Now the Generation C I got around the same time is a bit better, in fact the best whistle in any key I've ever tried, but I've never found a Generation D that's better than that Feadog D.

I have a nice Gen C, never found a Gen D anywhere near it though. I have a Feadog MK1 that is really nice, it has an Eb Gen tube on it.

[Christophe]

My late 70's Gen in C is also my sweetest sounding whistle, very quiet though. Certainly due to me chewing the tip and thus narrowing the windway, as a young teen...