Best High-End Whistles these days?

[Loren]

And really, why would it when $65 or so will get you a Cillian O’Briain Improved whistle?

35 euro, last time I looked. But you will have to add p&p where you are. I got one when they were 25 and got me a spare one for the same price from a forum member.

Not in stock here currently, but last I looked at the one place I ever saw selling them here in the states the price had risen to $50. or $55ish plus shipping, which has gotten crazy expensive even for U.S. domestic.

You are correct though Peter: Current price for D whistles is listed on O’Briain’s site as 37 Euro plus 12 Euro for international shipping. Works out to $55 and change at current exchange rates if you buy direct.

[Peter Duggan]

Richard would possibly use 'legit' but that makes me cringe even more

Me too! I'm not comfortable with the term 'classical' for music that isn't Classical (as in period/style of the First Viennese School), but not sure I can think of a better one* when alternatives like 'western', 'serious' or 'art' music all bring value judgments of their own.

*As a school music teacher, I sometimes jokingly referred to it as 'music for violins and things by mostly dead composers', which is no more accurate than any of the others but at least made a point about their inadequacy.

[Narzog]

While this is a thread based on "the best", how do you guys think O’Briain tweaked compare to other tweakers? As someone whos dabbled with making whistles myself, I understand fully that theres some magic the best makers pull. So I'm assuming the best tweaker is going to be better than any crappy tweaks I can try to do haha. If there is a best that is, which in the whistle world there's usually not.

I'm part of the demographic that's very likely to prefer a tweaked over a not tweaked. I prefer the tuning/voicing style of Burkes and similar, which feel very different than normal Gen and Feadogs. And I think tweaks usually shift this closer to what I like. I think?

[bigsciota]

Richard would possibly use 'legit' but that makes me cringe even more

Me too! I'm not comfortable with the term 'classical' for music that isn't Classical (as in period/style of the First Viennese School), but not sure I can think of a better one* when alternatives like 'western', 'serious' or 'art' music all bring value judgments of their own.

*As a school music teacher, I sometimes jokingly referred to it as 'music for violins and things by mostly dead composers', which is no more accurate than any of the others but at least made a point about their inadequacy.

In general if you're not going to use "classical music" (which was actually used to describe the concept well before it got attached to a specific era) the term most in use right now is "western concert music," which is still imperfect but decently descriptive. I tend to dislike "serious" and "art" music as well, but I don't quite get the issue with "western." It's grown arms and legs since and been exported all around, but it's still quite squarely based in western-derived practices.

But more to the point at hand, I would generally agree that classical wind players are usually looking for something very different in a whistle that they whip out for Lord of the Rings night at the Pops or similar shows than what many traditional Irish musicians would be after. I've never fully gotten along with whistles that those players tend to like, but I'm also not playing "Concerning Hobbits" in a concert hall, so our goals and needs are different. Horses for courses, as they say.

[Peter Duggan]

In general if you're not going to use "classical music" (which was actually used to describe the concept well before it got attached to a specific era) the term most in use right now is "western concert music," which is still imperfect but decently descriptive. I tend to dislike "serious" and "art" music as well, but I don't quite get the issue with "western." It's grown arms and legs since and been exported all around, but it's still quite squarely based in western-derived practices.

The problem with 'western' on its own is that there are other types of music based on western-derived practices. Likewise 'western concert music' when you can hear all types of music at concerts. But the problem is really finding discrete labels for things that exist in states closer to Venn diagrams, and this isn't specific to music genres!

[Daeld]

Just to be clear again. I'm not actually looking to buy anything else now (that O'Riordan set cost me an arm and a leg). And I love my whistles. I don't expect that I'll be getting any more any time soon. I don't need any more (doesn't not mean I won't get more later). I was just wondering what the best in the business is right now.

As for Low D whistles, I completely agree. It seems that only the more serious makers bother with it and tend to be (as a group) better quality than the high D cohort (at least in my limited experience - currently I own a Becker (yes, I misspelled it in my post above, sorry), Susato, Syn and MK Pro. I have not felt the need to get anything more than those; the Becker is great for low-volume practice, the Susato has a great clean tone, the MK has an gorgeous complex tone and the Syn always makes me feel like I'm playing an exotic flute. The MK Pro and Syn whistles have great C-nats with just OXXOOO). I wouldn't mind trying one of the tuneable options from Kerrywhistles or Reyburn.

Anyway, thanks again for everyone's input.

[ecadre]

The best whistles are the ones I own ... so there

[Mr.Gumby]

Pretty much.

The best whistle is the one that effortlessly does the job at hand.

I don't think any whistle is going to make me sound any better than the ones I already have.

[ecadre]

And really, why would it when $65 or so will get you a Cillian O’Briain Improved whistle?

35 euro, last time I looked. But you will have to add p&p where you are. I got one when they were 25 and got me a spare one for the same price from a forum member. They are all I need for a D really, the Sindts and Killarneys only come out of storage for special occasions.

Ah, I meant to mention this before. The only whistle that I have ever bought because of favourable mentions on the web is Cillian O’Briain's "improved whistle." Yes, all your fault.

A very light player, nice clear traditional sound. In fact, when I first played it, it already felt very familiar; as if it was an instrument that I'd been playing for decades. And in a sense it is. It plays very much like my old (pre-1980s) Generation whistles, to the extent that sometimes I forget which one I'm playing. Though it must be said that there is more clarity in the sound of the O'Briain and it feels "smoother" to play all round.

A good buy? Yes, and I pretty much immediately ordered a second one; there was a sale at "The Big Whistle" that brought the price down to approximately the cost of ordering direct. One lives by my desk and is my main D practice whistle and the other lives mostly in a bag to be played outside the house.

So, thanks for that

[Mr.Gumby]

Glad that worked out.

I am generally hesitant recommending whistles on the forum. It is so hard to tell what people expect from their instrument and what they are at.

I have also had bad experiences giving recommendations. I showed whistles I had on different, separate occasions to two very wellknown , very fine whistleplayers that I knew well and helped them make contact with the makers of the respective instruments when they liked what I showed them. In both cases the maker made changes to their design without notice and the whistles received were not as expected and a disappointment. It caused real life hassle and I was put in the middle of situations where I really didn't want to be and I deeply regretted getting involved in any of it and I want to avoid getting into such a situation ever again.

I have no qualms mentioning I like COB's whistles. They suit me well and I have found his output in the past decade or more remarkably consistent. But from that point on it is for anybody to make up their own mind.

[Daeld]

I have also had bad experiences giving recommendations. I showed whistles I had on different, separate occasions to two very wellknown , very fine whistleplayers that I knew well and helped them make contact with the makers of the respective instruments when they liked what I showed them. In both cases the maker made changes to their design without notice and the whistles received were not as expected and a disappointment. It caused real life hassle and I was put in the middle of situations where I really didn't want to be and I deeply regretted getting involved in any of it and I want to avoid getting into such a situation ever again.

I guess that's the thing about making whistles by hand - usually a labour of love by people who are not necessarily trained instrument makers or sometimes not even trained musicians; each instrument will be unique. But I suppose that is partly why I asked; I'm interested in knowing where the state of the art is at the moment. I ordered my 4 oz whistles on 3 different occasions and each time the quality was the same.

With my Syn whistles, I ordered a D/C set early on and then some years later the full lowA to high F set and was impressed by the quality (of workmanship and sound and tuning) having improved remarkably). Same with Becker PVC whistles.

There are two other makers (whom I will not mention here) where the reverse was true: great whistles originally and disappointments later once they became more well known and there were larger orders.

[Narzog]

There are two other makers (whom I will not mention here) where the reverse was true: great whistles originally and disappointments later once they became more well known and there were larger orders.

When people say this it makes me super curious as to what makers they are talking about haha.

[Mr.Gumby]

I guess that's the thing about making whistles by hand - usually a labour of love by people who are not necessarily trained instrument makers or sometimes not even trained musicians; each instrument will be uniquei

I was talking about substantial changes to the design/voicing.

A slight variance from one instrument to the next can be expected. My advice here is always to try the whistle you are going to buy and if you can test drive several by the same maker, pick one that suits best.

However, design changes aside, I think a maker who can not deliver a high degree of consistency in their output has no business charging the prices you would expect to pay a skilled craftsman for their instruments.

I would also avoid makers who are poor players like the plague.

With my Syn whistles, I ordered a D/C set early on and then some years later the full lowA to high F set and was impressed by the quality (of workmanship and sound and tuning) having improved remarkably)

The early ones were pretty rough. I had one, sold it because I didn't like it and later heard Earle sent the man who bought it a new head to go with tubes he ordered to make a full set because he (Earle) thought the original one I was sent wasn't up to scratch.

My experiences with whistle makers have been mixed, to say the least. And made me wary. I keep an eye out, out of interest, but am not tempted to buy anything: as I said nothing I can buy is going to make me sound any better

[JTU]

[quote= Mr Gumby

My experiences with whistle makers have been mixed, to say the least. And made me wary. I keep an eye out, out of interest, but am not tempted to buy anything: as I said nothing I can buy is going to make me sound any better
[/quote]

Clearly Mr Gumby you are a very accomplished player so no need to look for a whistle to make you sound better. Mediocre players like yours truely , in the knowledge that we don’t sound that good, are always looking for another whistle because we “secretly ” think there might be a whistle out there that makes us sound better.

By the way why don’t the quotes I use come out in the message with a yellow cream background like everyone else’s?.

[Peter Duggan]

By the way why don’t the quotes I use come out in the message with a yellow cream background like everyone else’s?.

Because you're missing a bracket here:

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[quote= Mr Gumby

Which should be:

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[quote=Mr.Gumby]

Although the spaces don't affect the code and the period's just restoring how he styles his username.

If you leave the full thing:

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[quote=Mr.Gumby post_id=1251867 time=1644050845 user_id=14893]

You get a clickable link to the post you're quoting, although it's just the username and post_id you really need for that.