Best session whistle under US$100? Under US$50?

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 1:52 pm

Allright, i'm a recovering WhOA sufferer, but i mostly play flute. I like taking the whistle to sessions, though, to learn tunes and to rest from the flute a little, in long sessions. My best whistle is a Burke wide-bore brass, but it's not loud enough to keep up in a session. Sometimes i can't hear anything i'm playing on the low octave.

So i started taking the Shawn, since it's a little more tollerant of larger bursts of air.

Question: what's the best whistle for sessions (i.e. has to be loud) that won't force me to sell one of my daughters in order to buy it?

I like the "Thin Wheasel", but that's well beyond my price range right now.

I've seen people pull out Susatos and wail like banshees. However, i have a low A Sustato Kildare, and really dislike it; it has no power and no soul. Maybe the high Ds are better? If so, Dublin or Kildare? Does the new laser engraving improve the sound?

Any other ideas? Maybe the Shawn is it?

Thanks,

g

(expecting a deluge of followups)

chas · Post by **chas** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 2:46 pm

By Thin Weasel do you mean Water Weasel (the plastic ones)? They're just a little out of your price range (about $65 for a D), plus they show up on the board for $50 or less fairly frequently. Silkstones are also not too much over $50. Either of those is a pretty loud whistle that to most ears sounds better than Susatos.

Of those in your list, only Susatos are loud.

Aodhan · Post by **Aodhan** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 2:47 pm

glauber wrote:Allright, i'm a recovering WhOA sufferer, but i mostly play flute. I like taking the whistle to sessions, though, to learn tunes and to rest from the flute a little, in long sessions. My best whistle is a Burke wide-bore brass, but it's not loud enough to keep up in a session. Sometimes i can't hear anything i'm playing on the low octave. So i started taking the Shawn, since it's a little more tollerant of larger bursts of air.

Question: what's the best whistle for sessions (i.e. has to be loud) that won't force me to sell one of my daughters in order to buy it?

I like the "Thin Wheasel", but that's well beyond my price range right now.

I really like the new Alba SE soprano D whistle. It's aluminum, warms very quickly, has very little clogging problems, and is fairly loud. My only concern is that it take a little "oomph" to keep in the second octave, but that's a minor thing.

Has a nice tone, fairly sweet with a little bit of "buzz" to it, very little chiff. Visually a very nice whistle, brushed aluminum with a knurled look around the tuning slide. They run about $120, and IMHO are well worth it.

Aodhan

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 2:53 pm

Chas, the Thin Weasel is a wooden whistle, very loud and pretty. It costs $290, and comes with a wooden case. http://www.thinweasel.com. The Water Weasel is a spinoff by the same maker (Glen Schultz). He also makes very nice flutes, by the way.

I'd buy a Water Weasel, if it's loud and good. I haven't met them in person yet and i didn't want to spend the $70 to find out.

Aodhan, i thought the Alba was a quiet whistle ("like Marilyn Manson singing Happy Birthday Mr President"

). I need something that will play well in a loud session. In the session i go to, it's not uncommon to have 3 (button) accordions, 4-5 fiddles, a couple of banjos and a piper all going at it, and we poor fluters trying to keep up.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 2:53 pm

I don't know how they'd do in an actual session, but my Walton's Mellow D is quite a bit louder than any of my other cheap whistles (Clarke original, Sweetone, Generation, Walton's standard D, Feadog). I don't find the tone particularly "Mellow" - more brassy - but it works well for jigs and marches. Oddly, though has the same head and tube diameter as a Walton's C whistle, it sounds very different.

Whether it would hold up in a session I don't know, but the price is right.

Aodhan · Post by **Aodhan** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 2:56 pm

glauber wrote: Aodhan, i thought the Alba was a quiet whistle ("like Marilyn Manson singing Happy Birthday Mr President" ). I need something that will play well in a loud session. In the session i go to, it's not uncommon to have 3 (button) accordions, 4-5 fiddles, a couple of banjos and a piper all going at it, and we poor fluters trying to keep up.

I haven't tried the others, but I recieved the Alba SE as part of a promotion on Gaelic Crossings. It's louder and purer than my Susato set. I had no problem being heard over 2 bodhrans, 4 guitars, 3 fiddles, a mandolin and 35 singers doing the "Mermaid" open air at a faire recently. I really like it a lot, it's become my favorite whistle so far.

Aodhan

ChrisLaughlin · Post by **ChrisLaughlin** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 3:51 pm

Under $100??
Sindt.
No question about it.

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 3:54 pm

The only prob with Sindts is that they're very quiet, you can't hear them in noisy sessions. But then, if you need something louder, maybe you're at the wrong session!

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 3:58 pm

Azalin wrote:The only prob with Sindts is that they're very quiet, you can't hear them in noisy sessions.

Exactly! We're back where we started; the Sindt is (to my ears) almost indistinguishable from a Burke, though they each have their own tribes of fierce zealots.

Azalin also wrote:But then, if you need something louder, maybe you're at the wrong session!

Maybe... but then again, maybe not!

Tell this to the guy who takes a Susato out of his pocket and blasts away seemingly louder than the pipes.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 4:01 pm

Aodhan, i thought the Alba was a quiet whistle ("like Marilyn Manson singing Happy Birthday Mr President" ).

Happy Birthday, to you.
Happy Birthday, to you.
Happy Birthday Mr. President...

jonharl · Post by **jonharl** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 4:16 pm

My votes with the Water Weasel. Good volume for a rowdy session.

chas · Post by **chas** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 4:23 pm

glauber wrote:Chas, the Thin Weasel is a wooden whistle, very loud and pretty. It costs $290, and comes with a wooden case. http://www.thinweasel.com. The Water Weasel is a spinoff by the same maker (Glen Schultz). He also makes very nice flutes, by the way.

I'd buy a Water Weasel, if it's loud and good. I haven't met them in person yet and i didn't want to spend the $70 to find out.

I have quite a lot invested in Glenn's wares, thanks.

I'm just surprised that you've encountered TW's but not WW's. If you like the TW D, you're certain to like the PVC version. I was initially underwhelmed by my TW D because it was so much like the WW. It really did take months for me to fully appreciate it, now it's among my favorite whistles. For the money, though, I really don't think WW's can be beat.

Give Glenn a ring and tell him what kind of sound you like -- he'll pick a WW out that oughta suit you. Plus, he's one of the few who ship before you pay, so if you don't like it, all you're out is the return postage.

E = Fb · Post by **E = Fb** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 4:31 pm

I agree with the cat person earlier. I tweak Walton's Mellow D's and they are LOUD. You have to open up the F# hole to sharpen it. Sometimes I have to put a piece of masking tape at the fipple side of some holes to flatten the note...can't remember which now....G I think. And the bell note (lower D) is very sharp, or flat...sharp I think. So I stick a pea-sized piece of gummy tack in the opening at the end, and for some incomprehensible reason that fixes it. To cover up the masking take I spray the whole sucker black, except for the fipple, of course. The result is loud, somewhat brassy sounding, very slightly breathy, with a reasonable amount of "character". To make this baby sound right you have to play with authority. Big sessions...no problem.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 4:48 pm

I sent Glen an email, let's see what develops; i'll probably buy one of these. Will cost more than i wanted to spend, but what-the-hell, it will get me started in Glenniana.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sat Apr 26, 2003 10:30 am

ChrisLaughlin wrote:Under $100??
Sindt.
No question about it.

Agreed. They're not particularly quiet the way I play them.

I like both Sindts and Burkes but don't think they sound alike at all.

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Water Weasel