I suffer from WhOA and therefore when browsing at a local music store I could not stop myself from buying the nickel plated Generation F and G whistles. They are cute, small, and not expensive. But whistles are lonely if the are not played, so I tried them. To my surprise they are not just novelties but easy to play and beautiful sounding instruments. I found then found they had a number of virtues. 1) Their music has a pleasant, mystic sound. 2) They are small enough to fit easily into a shirt or jacket pocket. Now when my wife ducks into a store for an item, I can get 20 minutes of playing while waiting for her. 3) They require more careful fingering than the larger whistles. This is good for it never hurts to improve your fingering. And finally 4) they can win you bets. A bartender seeing the whistle in my pocket, bet me a beer that I could not play anything as small as my G whistle. After playing "The Star of the County Down" I got my Guinness and almost started a session.
Please change the description of the G whistle in the Chiff and Fipple Deciphering Whistle Keys, the G whistle is a lot more than a novelty!
My dogs, a shepherd-pit bull cross, and a doberman, seem to like my whistle playing, no matter which whistle I play. But that is to be expected since dogs can be better people than humans.
The F and G Generations are, in my opinion, the best of all the keys Generation does, in terms of everything being configured so they play and sound the best with the least amount of tweaking.
Having made some hands-on comparisions, I found that the soundblade position and other geometry of the current F and G Generations seems not to have changed from the classic pre-1980's "I wish they still made them like they used to" Generations. All the other keys of Generations are different between the vintage and current ones, both in terms of the geometry being optimal for playability, and in the voicing -- the current ones being huskier (some would say "edgier" or "raspier").
I have the f and g. I can't manage to get my fingers on the g very well, but I can the f. Both of them are very very sweet sounding. Delicate. Not much tweeking or anything.
I love both my G and F. I have found that my fat fingers and Guiness don't work too well on the G. One of my dogs does give me the "LOOK" but he doesn't howl or leave. I bought them for novelty but that changed after a short time. I just don't play either one enough.
I have a Thin Weasel which is one of the niftiest pieces of precision machining I have ever seen. Blackwood with all stainless fittings. Glenn could not find tubing for the tuning slide in the proper sizes, so he machines these himself. In two pieces and stowed in it's usual TW case, this is truly pocket size for easy carrying. The sound is sweet and birdlike and not at all shrill, all the way up to the top. An amazing little whistle.
Drat. I've been avoiding those keys because I find a Gen Eb is hard enough to finger. Now I'll have to think about adding both the next time I order something from The Whistle Shop.
Although if they can win free stout it could be argued they pay for themselves.
They're ideal for small people with small hands (like me); they're pretty; there really is an element of surprise when they produce nice music; they're easily concealed in a handbag and brought out when...well, there was a power outage at work last week; no lights, no computers, no work could be done: Everyone else was suddenly idle...but I was whistling in the dark.
Nice little tooters when well-tweaked. I gave an untweaked Gen G to a friend with a near deaf dog. Works wonders. No, I'm not kidding.
I have an Abell F which is a fantastic little instrument. Quite pure and very sweet but with just a hint of 'character' which is hard to achieve in an instrument in that range.
Odd timing, as I just got one of these (a Gen F) yesterday.
I love the sound of the little guy, but the Eb (0XX000) sounds off a bit. Is it just me, or is this normal?
For when as children we listen and dream, we think but half-formed thoughts; and when as men we try to remember, we are dulled and prosaic with the poison of life.
DCrom wrote:Drat. I've been avoiding those keys because I find a Gen Eb is hard enough to finger. Now I'll have to think about adding both the next time I order something from The Whistle Shop.
Three words: Fingertip Reduction Surgery
Mike Wright
"When an idea is wanting, a word can always be found to take its place."
--Goethe
