Just one whistle...

clarinetnut · Post by **clarinetnut** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:23 am

Sorry for beating a probably quite dead horse, but I tried to do a search and came up with 10210 hits...

I need to buy a whistle. I am finding myself to be increasingly unhappy with the whistles I have (a Feadog that is squeaky and disgusting, and a Clarke that takes too much air and is unacceptably flat). But here's the catch...I can only buy one whistle. Money is a little bit tight, so I need to buy an inexpensive whistle (<$20) that is virtually guaranteed to play well (for example, I know some Generations are fantastic but some are terrible). I'm not picky about sound quality except that it not be squeaky and not sound too much like a recorder.

Does such a beast exist?

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:31 am

just send this fellow a pm, he tweaks whistles and he's sound
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/privmsg.php?mode=post&u=1845

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:36 am

For $20, you can get a Whitecap and stick it on your Feadog tube. That's what I did. It's fairly quiet, but has a very nice sound, and is extremely easy to play.

The only thing is that it was a little too tight. I sanded it out a bit, and got it on, but I wish I'd taken it a bit further, as I don't think it'll ever budge again, so tuning is out of the question. Still, it sounds great, and it's not off by much.

I haven't checked the tuning, but I've got my Clarke Original into pretty good shape by hammering down the top of the windway a bit, then pressing the blade in to get the sound back. I thought I'd ruined it at one point, but kept hacking at it till it got its sound back.

Now it takes a reasonable amount of air, and is reasonably in tune with itself. It's very quiet, and the sound is rather "plain", but I can actually enjoy playing it now. Also, the wooden fipple block has loosened up, and I can make it even quieter by sliding the block in a bit.

lyndamic · Post by **lyndamic** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:13 am

For a little bit more than this, you can get a Dixon soprano D tunable (non-tunables are only $18, but I recommend tunable). I love mine, it was my 'move up' from the cheapies and the difference is amazing. It took a few days to get used to it, but I wouldn't give it up for anything now. I bought it from The Whistle Shop, great, fast service. Good luck!

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:15 am

For $38, get a Syn. Available from http://www.gaeliccrossings.com
Alternatively, get a tweaked Sweetone and/or Generation from Jerry Freeman. A good Sweetone will probably make you happy, but buying one from Jerry instead of buying it from a store, ensures you get a good one (removes the uncertainty).

g

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:17 am

While I am not a great admirer of the faedog, I never thought of it as squeaky. Are you sure the problem isn't somewhere that will not change when going to another whistle? You could do like Jerry and backfill the mouthpiece with bluetack.

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:19 am

Clarke Sweetone and Oak are two suggestions that I have heard over and over on this message board. You can also get a Jerry Freeman tweaked Sweetone for a few bucks more than the basic model, but still under $20.

Is that a Clarke original that you have? If you are a beginner it may be that you need more practice time to get a cleaner sound. I have a Clarke original and it took me a very long time to be able to sound the second register without squeaking or running out of air. Ironically, it was a cold and congestion, that was the catalyst for me to become much more comfortable "leaning into" my Clarke.
+ Bill

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:26 am

Darwin wrote:The only thing is that (the Hoover) was a little too tight. I sanded it out a bit, and got it on, but I wish I'd taken it a bit further, as I don't think it'll ever budge again, so tuning is out of the question. Still, it sounds great, and it's not off by much.

If you send the tube to Mack when you order, he'll make sure it fits.

peteinmn · Post by **peteinmn** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 10:02 am

I second Darwin's suggestion. I had several high D whistles (feadog, susato, sweet tone, etc.) that I was just not satisified with. Several months ago I got a Whitecap and put it on my crappy feadog tube and it turned into a superwhistle. It is now among my favorites. Can't go wrong with this $20 solution. Mack Hoover is also great to deal with.

jonharl · Post by **jonharl** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 10:04 am

I agree with the Jerry Freeman Tweaked recommendations. The Tweaked Generation is outstanding. If you don't want to spend the money a brass Clare from Lollysmith.com are good. I just got two brass whistles (with green fipples) that are just wonderful without any tweaking. They were under $10.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:05 am

I'd not recommend a Syn for a beginner. I love mine, but you need to be a lot firmer with the top notes of the second octave than most beginners are comfortable with. For a more experienced whistler, they're wonderful. I'd also warn against an Oak D, for similar reasons (there, it needs very precise breath control - not as low-air as a Hoover narrow bore but towards that end of the spectrum).

For cheap:

standard Sweetone D (not C!) - $5
Jerry-tweeked Sweetone D - $15 (going by reputation here - I've not played one)
Walton's C (not D) - $5
Walton's Mello D (not standard) - $5
Dixon D non-tunable - $18

For a lot more money (>$100) I really liked the Burke Session Pros I had a chance to try (Brass and Aluminum versions) but quite honestly I think it's utterly unnecessary until you can already get a good sound with the cheapies.

What high whistles do I play most?

Serpent Polly (original model), Serpent Brassy Polly, Syn, Dixon D & Bb, Walton's C, Oak C

I love them all, but except for the Dixon D and the Walton's C, they all take a bit more technique to get the most from. And though not bank-breakers, they all cost more than twice the price of a basic whistle.

But I've got to say that if you want the most bang-for-the-buck it's hard to go wrong with a Sweetone D. No real peculiarities to work around, easy to play, decent tone. My daughter quit playing her Feadog and annexed my first Sweetone as soon as she had a chance to try it; Sweetones are a lot easier to deal with than the Feadog/Gen/Waltons style whistles. Buy a couple, if you're worried about getting a dud; they're cheap enough.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:09 pm

I always think my Syn is one of my easiest whistles to play!!! This is a Syn aluminum new model, i hear they're very different from the old ones.

But then, it's been so long since i've been a beginner, that i probably forgot!

g

antstastegood · Post by **antstastegood** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:20 pm

I would stick with the Clarke for the time being, and smash the mouthpiece a little. That tends to help.

I like to stick with the Clarke for learning new stuff, as it's a little more difficult to play the high vs. low notes, and it doesn't hide my mistakes as much.

Pat Cannady · Post by **Pat Cannady** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:26 pm

DON'T FORGET:

O'Briain Improved or Clare whistles. Though somewhat harder to obtain they are worth the extra effort and are still inexpensive, especially the Clare. Look em up on the cheapo whistle listing in the main part of C&F.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:50 pm

glauber wrote:I always think my Syn is one of my easiest whistles to play!!! This is a Syn aluminum new model, i hear they're very different from the old ones.

But then, it's been so long since i've been a beginner, that i probably forgot!

g

Glauber, I don't know if my Syn is a "new" or "old" model - I got it from Gaelic Crossings. No "D" stamped on the tube, so it may be an older one. It's a great whistle, and fairly easy to play, but it does need a touch more breath support in the upper register (and can make some awful squawks if it doesn't get it).

I'm pretty much still a beginner - intermediate level at best - but there are a LOT of whistles I had trouble with early-on that I'm quite fond of now. (I used to think my original-model Serpent Polly was hard to play because it had more backpressure than the cheapies. Now I think it's the easiest-to-play, best-balanced whistle I own.)

But the great thing about whistles is that you don't really NEED to pay a lot of money, at least in the standard whistle keys. A professional musician forced to play nothing but mass-production whistles might have to do a bit of picking and tweeking, but wouldn't really be handicapped too much (some do this from choice, even now). How many top pianists, or fiddlers (much less violinists

), or Sax players would be happy with a beginner's instrument? (And the "beginner" instruments for any of these cost more than most of the high-end whistles out there.)

Let's face it - with high whistles, once you get above $100 or so, you're paying for that last half of a percent difference in performance, if that. The big difference is in the feel in your hand, and beauty of the workmanship. I'm not immune to this - I've currently got a couple more whistles on order - but I don't expect any of them will magically make me a better player. (Would it were true

)