Good Whistles

[Finnian01]

I recently picked up playing the tin whistle about 6 months ago and am completely hooked. I was hoping for some suggestions on everyone thinks is considered a "good" whistle. I have an Oak D Whistle, but am looking for something with a nicer tone

[Whistlin' Will]

I've never heard bad about Jerry Freeman Tweaked whistles. (Other online music stores stock them, but all the ones I've looked at were either the same price as his eBay page, or higher.) FWIW, I have a Freeman Tweaked Sweetone C, and I enjoy it.

There's also Tony Dixon and Feadog.

If you're looking for something in a particular price range, you should probably say that, too, so people know what to suggest. Also try looking here for reviews of plenty of different whistles.

[PhilO]

Several quick statements here:

1 - I don't think there's any whistle that "everyone" thinks is a "good" whistle - lots of subjectivity round here.

2 - I've heard some terrific players playing Generation whistles, Susatos, etc. and boy do those whistles sound not only good but great.

3 - If you want to spend a bit more than on the so-called cheapies and go to whistles that reflect more craftsmanship and perhaps a bit more easily attained richness of tone, I'd suggest without reservation a Sindt or a Burke.

Philo

[walrii]

Actually, for starting out, I would recommend the Oak. It has nice tone, is in tune and is generally a forgiving whistle. The Feadog is more difficult to tame than the Oak but has a nice "trad" sound. Jerry's whistles are all good (I have several that are my main players). I've not tried the Dixon Trad but it seems well recieved by most folks around here. And there are other nice whistles for a reasonable price; others will list them shortly. However, the Oak should be fine for now - keep practicing and welcome to C&F.

[AvienMael]

- exactly what Philo just said

Having only been playing for 6 months, what you are looking for in a whistle is likely to change... many times, as your skill develops. Buying and trying whistles can be fun, but it can also be really really expensive, and it is no substitute for practice. Still, getting a different whistle is not a bad idea at all - especially if it keeps you playing. It's also neat to pick up that first whistle once in a while, as you progress, and see how much different it sounds.

[Arch_Angel]

I'd suggest you either visit a music store with a selection of whistles to find the sound you'ld prefer first. If that isn't posible then find clips with people playing different styles of music on a variety of whistles. I second that "Good" is purely objectional. Don't let the price influence your opinion. If a $ whistle sounds better to you than a $$$ whistle, don't waste your money. For example, I don't care for the sound of the new impende (don't be offended if I mispelled it), however others love the sound. I consider impende in the $$ price range.

Once you find the initial sound you prefer, we will be glad to help you take care of it and really make it sing. We can help you build talent, but we can't ell you what you like.

-Mike

[wyodeb]

I'm fairly new at this as well. I really like the ease of playing the Dixon Trad D. It has a sweet, uncomplicated sound, and plays easily in both octaves. I think it is the most in tune of my whistles, requiring the least adjustment, once it is warm.

I also have a Susato non-tunable D (V-series). It is quite a bit louder than the Dixon. Takes a bit more air, but still pretty easy to play. Sometimes I like the sound. Sometimes it really annoys me.

I'm recently developing an appreciation for the tone of an Original Clarke. It is much harder to play in the second octave. Its sound is much more woody-airy-complex than either of the others. I like that they're all quite different. If I had to play in public, I'd probably take the Dixon. It is somewhat tunable, and easier for me to play without concentrating so hard. I'm a long way from playing the Clarke in front of anyone else.

Deb

[Dave McWhistle]

Hi,

Everyone is going to have their own whistle that they will like so its always good to hear what various whistles sound like, but bear in mind to experienced, quite good players to take the exact same whistle and play the same tune and they would both sound different to a degree as everyone has their own styles and as you learn and get more experienced, you'll get your own style too, took me a while but I now notice I have one.

As for a good whistle, IMO plastic whistles (susato and Tony Dixon) are good ones to go on if you find one in the right key for you (I lalways thought plastic would seem tacky as its not usually as strong as wood, brass or aluminium etc... but after playing some, not so). They are bright sounding, have a nice tone and are fairly easy to play in that the don't take a lot of breath compared to aluminium whistles like cheiftans or overtons etc...

When I started playing 3 years ago, I had a Waltons high D brass whistle and it was good to start. I then got a high C non tunable cheiftan and found you need more breath especially with the higher notes (I still can't hit the higher notes properly with it and been playing for 3 years) but the strong tone is good. Got the cheiftan low d non tuneable next and took me a while to learn the breathing but a good whistle. Have other whistles too

Then decided to get to grips with the various keys of whistle so bought a whole set of generation whistles in nickel (c and g where sold out so have other keys d, eb, bb and f) - BTW, you may hear about good and bad generation whistles and this comes down to the fipple design. I am not sure when it was (1970s or 80s I think) the design of the fipple changed on generations and some who have played the older ones before the change, seem to prefer the original tone of the whistles over the current sound. The first I wanted was the Nickel Bb as I thought it sounded good and its not bad, but soon didn't like the flattish sound of it anymore.

Another factor I find important to what whistle you get (a range of types, low, brass, aluminium, plastic etc...) is that although you could play the same tune with any whistle, not every whistle will make the tune sound right as some tunes won't sound so good using a breathy sounding whistle like a Cheiftan low D that has a pipe like sound but may sound good with a susato Mezzo A that has a sweet, clear sound, but tunes such as slow airs would sound good on the Low D, still good on the Susato but better on the low D because of the breathy sound.

If you want to hear different people playing different whistles, go to http://www.whistlethis.com and this has peoples recordings for various tunes and this can give you an idea of what some whistles may sound like but again, the sound of the whistle comes down to the style of the player, how good they are at playing the tune and the whistle involved.

Once you find the initial sound you prefer, we will be glad to help you take care of it and really make it sing. We can help you build talent, but we can't ell you what you like.

I agree with you here. I find is that, play a range of keys on whistles (as I said above I started with generations to find the key I liked or not and a set was cheap enough and at this stage you won't want to splash out until you know what you want) and once you find the key of whistle you like, then think about the tone. If you want a warm tone, a brass whistle might do that, a bright tone ether a plastic or nickel may do that better. Havn't heard many wood whistles to understand what they sound like so can't comment on those.

Then think about if you want a high or low whistle. It may take a while not to breathe to hard when you first play the low whistles. Newbies have problems playing low whistles in that they try to blow to hard and feel slightly light headed afterwards as they don't know how to breathe when playing, but after a while you'll get it, happened to me with my Cheiftan Low D. Couldn't get good breath control for ages, but it slowly came to me. Not only this the grip will take a little time to get used to, when you start playing a low whistle (low Ds mainly) you'll find the wider finger holes take a little time to get used to, and for me, changing between the Low D and high whistles during my first few months with my Low D, found it hard to play a high whistle when I played the low D a lot more as my hands where used to the fingering of the low D and couldn't easily go back to the holes of the higher whistle and play it easily as i kept putting one finger where a hole wasn't as I was too used to the holes being more spaced apart as in the Low D, but you'll get it in the end.

Well good luck

David

[Pipe Bender]

Here are some soprano favourites in each of the price categories:
$ - Feadog or an Oak. For a complete beginner the Clarke Sweetone.
$$ - Dixon Trad or a Freeman Mellow Dog. (Also the quiet Freeman Blackbird or the very loud Susato, but both of these require some breath control.)
$$$ - Parks Every or a Dixon Aluminum DX006.
$$$$ - Sindt
$$$$$ - Burke

[zen]

I've been playing for over a year now. I play a Tony Dixon as my main go-to whistle. I love the quality of the sound, it is easy to play, the breath requirements are not particularly demanding and it's generally loud enough in a session. I have a Burke D, which I find harder to manage. I need to pay extra careful attention to breath control and fingering with this whistle, especially in the upper octave which needs a bit of push. If I don't get it exactly right the upper octave B and C screech. This is a problem of technique rather than any problem with the whistle itself.

The Jerry Freeman tweaked Mellow Dog is also becoming a favourite - it sounds much brighter than the Dixon, a quality which will be great in a big session but I find it can be a bit taxing on the ears when practising at home for long periods. I swap between the JF and the Dixon.

I rushed out and bought a couple of high end whistles just after I started playing. I've learned so much since then about what to look for in a whistle and about my own preferences - I would buy different whistles now!

[Kypfer]

As another relative newbie, with just a few months whistling experience, I'd suggest at least trying a Clarkes original for a "nicer" tone.

I've got a Clarke "original", a Waltons in aluminium and a Generation in brass, they're all different and I enjoy playing them all, but to my ear the Clarke sounds "sweeter", "smoother" or "less raspy", not that the others are bad, else I wouldn't play them, but the Clarke is definitely "diifferent".

I've not yet tried a Clarke Sweetone (it's just occurred to me, is that "sweet tone" shortened or should it actually be pronounced "sweet one"), but I think that'll be my next shop-bought whistle.

[bogman]

I like Pipe Benders money/quality thing so here's mine but in Scottish money

£ - Doesn't matter
££ - Dixon Trad D
£££ - Sindt
££££ - Goldie (Overton)

[Thomaston]

My personal opinion is that this is the best use of $41.50 you'll get as a beginning whistler.
http://shop.irishflutestore.com/Jerry-F ... ow-D-C.htm

[pancelticpiper]

I've always liked the traditional sound of Generations and Feadogs. The trick is finding a good one! You might have to try dozens of them to find a really good one.

Jerry Freeman removes that process. Every whistle he "tweaks" will play well.

If you want to spend the money you can go high-end and get a Sindt or Burke (a clean sweet tone like some of the best Generations in a way) or Goldie (which have their own special sound).

I spent a couple hours yesterday hacking on some old Generation heads and I really like the result. There's just something about a really good Generation that's "old school" and special.

About getting a whistle with "a nicer tone", ask ten players and you'll probably get ten different answers!

[Indie]

I happened to revisit my Oak whistle just yesterday (after playing a potpourri of more expensive fare) and thought, "Wow! I don't remember the Oak sounding so good! And it's really responsive!"

So what you have may sound better and better as you get more experience. On the other hand, I just love getting a new whistle to play. So you'll probably be fine if you don't buy another whistle, or if you buy a dozen ! ;^)