Effective Student Instruments, your recommendations

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 1:48 pm

Reflecting on the many brands out there today and comparing that with what was about when I used hunt the Wren - I wonder how on earth we managed with those wind tunnels of yore- todays selection is a great improvement.

Under 10 bucks there are Walton, Generation, Soodlums, Dollar General special - which I love very nice soft sound! - and some Asian wannabes.

Ok educate me, what else is there.

Thank You

Rando7 · Post by **Rando7** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 2:54 pm

Sweetones.

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 3:19 pm

My favorite inexpensive whistles are Clare and Oak. The Oak may be more like $11. Clarkes also come in at a little over $10, and if you like a breathy-sounding whistle, there's nothing better.

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 3:19 pm

Feadogs and Clares.

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 3:47 pm

Agree on the Oak: Oak is my favorite of the cheapies and seems to be consistently good. A good Generation is a pleasure but may be harder to find.

For just a little more money, there are the Syn, Hoover whitecap, Serpent polymers, Dixon, and Susato whistles, all good, all different, all together representing a wide variety capable of supporting many different tonal ideals and styles of play.

--James

Dwight · Post by **Dwight** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 3:57 pm

I'm very pleased with my Clarke Meg. It cost $3 and plays very well.

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 5:13 pm

Blackhawk, is your avatar the passage tomb just north of Dublin? Very cool place (but not all that efficient at indoor space per tonne of building material). We also had to endure a raging downpour when we were in line to get in, but, hey, you're not in Ireland if you didn't get rained on, right?

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 6:49 pm

I'm not too sure what this thread is about. Generally, around here, questions about student instruments usually meant something like, 'what whistle should I use for a class of children?'.

If you're just looking for a good, inexpensive beginner's instrument, see above. If you *are* speaking about instruments for a group of students, y'can't hardly beat Clarke's Meg. Three bucks each, retail, won't really cramp anyone's budget and they're nice, forgiving instruments that sound good immediattely - a plus for real beginners.

Fopah · Post by **Fopah** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 6:59 pm

this is sort of off topic, sort of directed towards Chuck. the only Meg ive ever played was a C, and it sounded very similar to my recorder, so i didnt really like it... is this all the megs or just a defective one i played?
I keep hearing great things about the inexpensive little meg, but whenever i think of it the sound of a recorder still comes to mind.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 7:04 pm

Fopah wrote:this is sort of off topic, sort of directed towards Chuck. the only Meg ive ever played was a C, and it sounded very similar to my recorder, so i didnt really like it... is this all the megs or just a defective one i played?
I keep hearing great things about the inexpensive little meg, but whenever i think of it the sound of a recorder still comes to mind.

Never tried a C - just one D, actually. Nice sound, not really what I'd want now, but IMHO a fine idea for a newbie or youngster.

FWIW, I personally think *ALL* C whistles sound like recorders. Not really my favorite key, don't ya know.

Liam · Post by **Liam** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 10:55 pm

Sorry for just jumping in after lurking for a while.. but the idea of a student whistle seems a little odd to me... We are talking about an instruemnt where anything much over $20 is considered high end. In most instruments, starters probably begin at about $200 and might cost much more before you make the jump to a serious instrument.

--
Bill

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:42 am

chas wrote:Blackhawk, is your avatar the passage tomb just north of Dublin? Very cool place (but not all that efficient at indoor space per tonne of building material). We also had to endure a raging downpour when we were in line to get in, but, hey, you're not in Ireland if you didn't get rained on, right?

Chas, yep, it's Newgrange. It's a majorly interesting place, a thousand years older than Stonehenge. And yep, the rain is what makes it the Emerald Isle. It's just part of the adventure. This pic was taken last May 1, the date of Beltaine, the ancient Celtic spring celebration (it was just coincidence that I was at Newgrange on that auspicious day). On that trip it rained every single day. The trip over there the previous year it was sunny the whole time, and it was in March, a usually rainier month. There's just no way to predict good weather for the vacation.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 6:29 am

Chuck_Clark wrote:I'm not too sure what this thread is about. Generally, around here, questions about student instruments usually meant something like, 'what whistle should I use for a class of children?'.

If you're just looking for a good, inexpensive beginner's instrument, see above. If you *are* speaking about instruments for a group of students, y'can't hardly beat Clarke's Meg. Three bucks each, retail, won't really cramp anyone's budget and they're nice, forgiving instruments that sound good immediattely - a plus for real beginners.

Ok sorry about my title ...