Whistle Advice

OnTheMoor · Post by **OnTheMoor** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 2:49 pm

Hey guys and gals. Looking to get a new whistle and needed your expertise. I currently have a Walton (sorta, I think I killed it), a Sweetone and a MEG, the MEG is my favourite. I'm looking for something in the low to mid-level range ($50). I want a rather quiet whistle (especially in upper octaves) good for playing solo in my room without bugging the family... too much. Not breathy at all. I'm somewhere in the murky area between beginner and intermediate. Anyone? Thanks in advance.

DanTheWhistleMan · Post by **DanTheWhistleMan** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 3:05 pm

I´m guessing a white cap would be just perfect....
Lets see what others have to say

Daniel

alespa · Post by **alespa** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 3:43 pm

I have a Hoover Whitecap with brass body, and two Dixons (pvc), one tuneable. To me, the Hoover is brighter with a "rounder" more tubular sound, and the Dixon has a mellower tone, with more timbre (I hope I' saying this right). It took me awhile to get used to the very low breath requirement on the two low notes. But after a few weeks, I finally got it!

Both the Dixon and Whitecap are very close in regard to upper octave volume and balance, but you might be able to find a "quieter" whistle. For your price range you could look at the new Dixon aluminum with pvc head. I think the tuneable version is $51, and the nontuneable is in the low $40's.

I have heard great things about the Freeman tweaked Mellow Dog (hybrid of Walton's Mellow D with a Feadog C head). That's under $50, and the wider bore may be what you are looking for!?!?!

matt

OnTheMoor · Post by **OnTheMoor** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 3:43 pm

That's what I'd concluded after reading through the forums and the site... the Hoover that is.

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 4:55 pm

For a REALLY quiet whistle the Hoover narrow bore is a good choice. You just missed one on Ebay.

If you contact the makers directly most are able to fix you up with your particular requirements.

A couple that come to mind are Hoover (US), Weston (UK), Syn (AUST) and O' Brien (CAN). I can tell you more about the Weston whistles, just email me.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:10 pm

The hoover I had would match your requirements as well. Mine's not spot-on on tuning, being a little sharp, but since I only use to to play by myself in the computer room when the house is asleep, it's not that big of a deal to me.

alespa · Post by **alespa** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:13 pm

my Hoover brass D/C is tuneable. I thought all of his were? Oh well.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:15 pm

Some hoovers are tunable. If it's a D/C, it would have to be.

teflon · Post by **teflon** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:33 pm

I bought a new Syn the other day and its great. Not breathy, fairly pure sound. Doesn't shriek in the upper octaves like my Sweetone and for you guys over there its cheap when you take the exchange rate into consideration! I thought it was cheap myself even in Australian Dollars considering it sounds so nice. I like the feel of it in my hands more than my Sweetone too. And once you have bought one all you have to do is buy a new body if you want another key and just use the same fipple.

Definitely recommended. Erle makes Low whistles too but unfortunately my hands are too small :(. They look and sound nice though.
(I have no connection to Syn whistles, just really like them).
Teflon

OnTheMoor · Post by **OnTheMoor** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:38 pm

Thanks for the suggestions folks.
Hm. O'Brien is sounding interesting... I like the Canadian money thing, I'm just looking at the set of D,C,B and E for $110, which seems like a good deal. How do they measure up against my requirements?

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:45 pm

Cillian O'Briain improved from www.shannaquay.com or how about a Clare 2 piece - both are on the quieter side. The O'Briain (not O'Brien) is much more pure than the clare and has the quietest/sweetest second octave of any whistle I own.

Eric

Miwokhill · Post by **Miwokhill** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 6:03 pm

I'm pretty much of a beginner myself so you may want to factor that in but as far as quiet whistles go alot of people do recommend the Hoover. You can have one of his whitecaps, just the whistle part, put onto your own tube and it's supposed to really make quite a difference from the things I've read here. I think that's $20.00. (Check out Mack Hoover's website for more info.) Another quiet whistle is the Dixon. There's a review for his latest alluminum whistle from a contributor here on Aug. 27 you may want to check out. I think all of his whistles up to that point have been pvc but they sound really nice and they are quiet. Hey, I think that one is $51. at the whistle shop! --mike

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 6:20 pm

OnTheMoor wrote:Thanks for the suggestions folks.
Hm. O'Brien is sounding interesting... I like the Canadian money thing, I'm just looking at the set of D,C,B and E for $110, which seems like a good deal. How do they measure up against my requirements?

The Syn basic whistle (one complete whistle) is less than $40 including shipping. Each additional tube is about $5, I believe. I think you would be hard pressed to find a quality whistle in this price range. Of course Erle would have to give you the final word on his current pricing.

synwhistles@yahoo.com.au

Miwokhill · Post by **Miwokhill** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 6:28 pm

I see Gaelic Crossings has the high D Syn for $38.--- That extra tube thing sounds cool though and the high D seems to be the only item on GCs list so maybe going direct as NorCalMusician suggested is a better idea. mike

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 7:12 pm

alespa wrote:my Hoover brass D/C is tuneable. I thought all of his were? Oh well.

Mine's a one-piece hoover PVC D..not tunable.

Chiff and Fipple Forums

Whistle Advice

Whistle Advice

Whistles