Jerry Freeman: Bluebirds?

[karen627]

I put in an order for my new Blackbird a week ago exactly, and got a shipping notice today.

Next step: tracking the Blackbird's flight across the continent.
http://xkcd.com/281/

HA! From one middle-aged XKCD-reading ex-smoker to another, enjoy!

[benhall.1]

I put in an order for my new Blackbird a week ago exactly, and got a shipping notice today.

Next step: tracking the Blackbird's flight across the continent.
http://xkcd.com/281/

HA! From one middle-aged XKCD-reading ex-smoker to another, enjoy!

And another hand goes up.

[Peewit]

Another vote for the Bluebird. I like its consistency in both octaves, its sweetness, and smoothness in the upper range. It's a pleasure to play. Having said that, I've never tried any of Jerry's other whistles - because I never felt the need. Also I'm primarily a flute player, and take up the whistle when my hands or arms are bothering me on the flute

[Poohze]

Either whistle will be great, so no worries either way. However, here's my take on the two (having owned both): The Bluebird has a very balanced range, solid low D, and a lovely, sweet tone. The Mellowdog, because it's wide-bored, gets a bit more strident in the second octave and takes a bit more push. As a flute player, I switched from a Bluebird to a Mellowdog precisely so I could push a bit harder (play it more like a flute, essentially), but in terms of sound and volume (for a small to medium session), I preferred the Bluebird.

This is exactly right, and it's why I much prefer the Bluebird. I like tunes that dance around high in the upper octave, and my Mellowdog was always too strident for me up there, and being a middle-aged female ex-smoker, I don't have as much push to give as, say, a strapping young man might.
So it all very much depends on personal taste. And one can only develop that by trying various things and seeing what clicks.

Hmmmm, thanks for that. The air requirements were one of the things that had me leaning towards the Bluebird, being also middle-aged and breath-deficient. I'm not going to be playing in sessions anytime in the foreseeable future, so a quieter whistle is fine.

Ok, now I'm conflicted! The whistle-aquisition-monkey keeps hissing in my ear that I need to order the Mellowdog now-Now-NOW, while the "better-angel-of-my-nature" soothingly whispers that it'd be better to wait till I hear from J.F. and order a Bluebird. I guess the only "sensible" thing to do (for WhOA values of "sensible") is to buy the Mellowdog D/C set on ebay now, and order a Bluebird when I hear from J.F.... Then explain it to my wife. Mind you, she's a knitter and spinner, and suffers from chronic Fiber Obsessive Acquisition Disorder, so she'll understand. She'll point and laugh, but she will understand!

[MTGuru]

I've just emailed Mr Freeman (assuming I got his address right), about ordering either a Bluebird or a Mellow Dog. I've seen both described as good for beginners, so which do y'all think is better for a noob like me?

For what it's worth ... I have a whistle student who showed up with both a Mellow Dog and Bluebird. And after some diagnostics, I have him sticking with the Bluebird for now. Like many beginners, he has a problem of breath control, tending to overblow. With its narrower bore, the Bluebird enforces better breath discipline, which will pay off for him later (scaling down your breath habits is harder than scaling up). Especially for handling other classic 1/2-inch whistles - Gen, Feadóg, Oak, Clare, Waltons, Dixon Trad, etc.

So of the two, I think the Bluebird is better for a noob like you.

[ytliek]

I've got a couple Bluebirds ordered as backups for my original one. I hope they are still available just in case they become "collectors" item in the future with outrageous eThingy value saleability.

Love the Bluebird.

Well, my two Bluebird backup whistles arrived today and that made my day, well almost... I had a really great day.

I might start hoarding Bluebird whistles and I think that would make Jerry Freeman's day.

BTW, to all the mother's here on the forums_catcall_Happy Mother's Day (tomorrow) and Happy Whistling! Keep tooting, and if you can't toot then give the kid(s) the whistle.

[Peter Duggan]

With its narrower bore, the Bluebird enforces better breath discipline, which will pay off for him later (scaling down your breath habits is harder than scaling up). Especially for handling other classic 1/2-inch whistles - Gen, Feadóg, Oak, Clare, Waltons, Dixon Trad, etc.

For all the difference in bore sizes, I've found the Mellow Dog and Dixon Trad to respond with almost identical pressure profiles. But then the Dixon clearly takes/asks for more than most of the others...

[Mr.Gumby]

to all the mother's here on the forums_catcall_Happy Mother's Day (tomorrow)

There is a geographic element to this, for some reason. Irish mammies had their day several weeks ago.

[ytliek]

to all the mother's here on the forums_catcall_Happy Mother's Day (tomorrow)

There is a geographic element to this, for some reason. Irish mammies had their day several weeks ago.

Or perhaps mothers are still celebrating. It's 5 O'clock somewhere... and it's mother's day too.

[tin tin]

Ok, now I'm conflicted! The whistle-aquisition-monkey keeps hissing in my ear that I need to order the Mellowdog now-Now-NOW, while the "better-angel-of-my-nature" soothingly whispers that it'd be better to wait till I hear from J.F. and order a Bluebird. I guess the only "sensible" thing to do (for WhOA values of "sensible") is to buy the Mellowdog D/C set on ebay now, and order a Bluebird when I hear from J.F.... Then explain it to my wife. Mind you, she's a knitter and spinner, and suffers from chronic Fiber Obsessive Acquisition Disorder, so she'll understand. She'll point and laugh, but she will understand!

As a beginner, I'd recommend you stick with one whistle (in this case, the Bluebird). You can order it from Big Whistle in the UK and Whistle and Drum in the US.
http://www.bigwhistle.co.uk/freeman/Bluebird (in stock!)
http://www.whistleanddrum.com/jerry-fre ... n-whistles

[O'Briant]

Jerry also has an ebay page if you don't order directly from him. He's generally fairly active on these boards -- I'm guessing he's on vacation or sick or he would have weighed in on this thread by now. Regardless, I've never heard of anyone having a bad customer service experience with Jerry, and my own several experiences have been entirely pleasant.

Briant

[Poohze]

Jerry also has an ebay page if you don't order directly from him. He's generally fairly active on these boards -- I'm guessing he's on vacation or sick or he would have weighed in on this thread by now. Regardless, I've never heard of anyone having a bad customer service experience with Jerry, and my own several experiences have been entirely pleasant.

As a beginner, I'd recommend you stick with one whistle (in this case, the Bluebird). You can order it from Big Whistle in the UK and Whistle and Drum in the US.

Thanks! I saw a comment of Jerry's on a recent thread that he'd prefer people to buy direct from him, as he sees a better profit that way, and it helps him feed his children. Gotta support that! Anyway, I ordered the Mellowdog D/C set from his ebay store a day or two ago - I assume ebay doesn't take too big a bite out of that? -, and I've PM-d him here (now my PM-ing is authorised ) , and I'll order a Bluebird when I hear back from him.

Tintin - re. sticking with one whistle... Oh yes, that's my intention! I think at this stage I'm just trying to find the whistle I want to stick with At the moment I'm playing a Carke MEG my inlaws gave me, and it plays very nicely now that I've filled the gap under the wind-way with blu-tac (and thanks to everyone for that great tip!). But I want to try some other types/styles/sounds, to get a feel for what's possible. Also, I'm kinda thinking that with a tweaked whistle anything that sounds "wrong" has pretty much got to be me, not the instrument!

Again, thanks all for the great advice!

Cheers

Marc E

[Poohze]

An update...

I got an email from Jerry this morning (Australian time), and I've added a Bluebird to my Mellow Dog D/C order. Can't wait to try them out!

BTW - Jerry himself recommended the Mellow Dog over the Bluebird for a beginner, although he says that they'll both be appropriate and have nicely contrasting sounds.

Cheers

Marc E

[MTGuru]

Jerry himself recommended the Mellow Dog over the Bluebird for a beginner

Did Jerry give you a reason for his recommendation (as I did for mine above)?

[Poohze]

Did Jerry give you a reason for his recommendation (as I did for mine above)?

Not really, he just gave a description of the different whistles he offers, and the differences in sound and breath requirements. On my ordering the Bluebird as well as the Mellow Dogs he does say that he thinks the different breath requirements between the whistles will help in "getting the feel of how to use your breath". Sounds good to me - that's part of why I want to try different whistles

Cheers

Marc E