opinions on Burke chiffness

stiofan · Post by **stiofan** » Thu May 13, 2004 5:05 pm

Wondering about opinions on which of the Burke d whistles have the most of that ever-elusive quality we call ~chiff~? I prefer a bit of the edgier sound rather than a sweeter tone in a whistle (not to mention other things that shall remain anonymous), so just wondering if any of you Burke aficionados have an opinion on the-chiffier-the-better issue. Thanks for any of your thoughtful opines. I'm also posing this question to Michael Burke for his perspective.

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Thu May 13, 2004 8:53 pm

Stiofan,
I have a brass wide bore D and a narrow bore brass D. The wide bore is chiffier and has a slight edge to the tone more so than the narrow. If you come over on June 5, you can try them for yourself. I know Weekender has an aluminum wide bore to compare. (I'm not sure how germaphobic Weeks is, so I shouldn't speak for him.) Ronaldo Reyburn makes a brass D that has a lot of chiff (breathiness) if you want to go really chiffy. The Abells have quite a bit of chiff as well. Also, Jerry Freeman can adjust the tone of his tweaked Generations. I have a very breathy one and one with very little breathiness.
Tony

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Thu May 13, 2004 11:46 pm

of all the burkes, i believe the composites have the most chiff, very complex in tone!

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Fri May 14, 2004 12:05 am

TonyHiggins wrote:Stiofan,
I have a brass wide bore D and a narrow bore brass D. The wide bore is chiffier and has a slight edge to the tone more so than the narrow. If you come over on June 5, you can try them for yourself.

I'll have my narrow-bore aluminum D and wide-bore brass C Burkes (as well as the bloodwood Busman, Whitecap aluminum A, and a handful of other high Ds--and the Olwell bamboo G flute, too).

It'll be interesting to have some actual examples of "chiff" identified live.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Fri May 14, 2004 5:02 am

By repute the composites have more breathiness. I only have Al Pros but I have D, C and low G. The get more chiffy as you go down, but they are pure compared to whistles designed to be breathy. I only use them when I am looking for a pure whistle.

Most makes of whistle get less pure as you go lower. One whistle that is consistently complex all the way up is the Overton and if that's what you want, that's what I'd go for. I have them in 9 different keys (counting high and low D and Eb as separate) and they are wonderfully consistent.

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Fri May 14, 2004 7:58 am

Wow. Well, I was going to say my composite D is rather pure, but I'm comparing it to an Overton and an Alba...both in lower keys...

I think it's time we start describing whistles like wines...it has a hint of the oak barrel, balanced by pear and citrusy notes...
or, I suppose, in the case of a composite...a whiff of Perry Mason bakelite desk phone, with an ever so subtle cellulose crunch...

stiofan · Post by **stiofan** » Fri May 14, 2004 6:26 pm

thanks for all of your thoughts and opinions on my chiff query (but please feel free to offer more...). to be honest, I have a good ol Clare that has alot of what I like in tone quality (yes, believe it or not, a Clare) , but I suspect that I could find what I like and even more in a higher-end whistle. Since I'm mostly into low whistles, I haven't really purveyed the varieties of whistles in higher keys, but I'll certainly take your input into consideration. Basically, I'd like to find a handful of whistles that really fit the characteristics I prefer, rather than collect dozens and dozens of whistles that I may or may not play. Tony, I'll probably take you up on your offer to try some of yours when I see you next month, though I may try to decide on something beforehand. thanks again.

p.s. anyone who has suggestions on other whistles that they feel are the chiffiest of the chiffy, feel free to chime in. thanx