Feadog

[vomitbunny]

Well, they did come out with the M1, M2, and M3. Doesn't sound like they are too adverse to trying a new mold now and then. My favorite cheap whistle by far has been an M3 feadog I tweaked a few months back. I'd be more than happy to pay four times what they are asking now if they'd all come out of the factory that way. It's got to be at least half way possible. It IS plastic. We put men on the moon, like, 35 years or so ago?
Look at a Coke can! Every one perfect! No smudges! No smears! For 50 cents a can! Look at disposible lighters! Big Macs! Condoms! All cheap! With an almost 100 percent perfection rate!

[Darwin]

Well, they did come out with the M1, M2, and M3. Doesn't sound like they are too adverse to trying a new mold now and then. My favorite cheap whistle by far has been an M3 feadog I tweaked a few months back. I'd be more than happy to pay four times what they are asking now if they'd all come out of the factory that way. It's got to be at least half way possible. It IS plastic. We put men on the moon, like, 35 years or so ago?
Look at a Coke can! Every one perfect! No smudges! No smears! For 50 cents a can! Look at disposible lighters! Big Macs! Condoms! All cheap! With an almost 100 percent perfection rate!

But none of them sound all that good.

I still think it has to do with the limitations of the molding process. In particular, you can't have a big thick chunk of plastic, due to shrinkage problems, so they've made the outside the shape you'd expect, but they've left the part "behind" the window hollow--and we have to fill it with blue tac.

Wonder if I can do some ASCII art. (It looks a little flaky, but maybe it's worth a shot.)

Instead of having a nice curve on the outside and a hollow spot on the inside, like this,
___________________^___________________
|                                                     ___________|
|                                                __/
|                                           __/
|                                      __/
|___________________/

maybe they could make the hollow spot on the outside, so that the inside would be more like this.
___________________^___________________
|                                      ___________________|
|                                     |
|                                     |
|                                     |
|___________________|

(The ^ marks the edge of the window opposite the blade.)

There could be a couple of sloping walls going up on either side of the bottom, just to make it look all streamlined, I suppose.

Does this make any sense at all?

If the casting process is just naturally messy, cleaning up hanging chads and such may be more of an economic problem. I don't know anything about that.

[Redwolf]

Other manufacturers manage to have more consistency than Feadog, though. You don't hear a lot of complaints about Oaks (sound-wise, anyway) or Sweetones. And you may love Waltons or hate them, but they don't seem to have the consistency problems Feadog has had.

Redwolf

[Darwin]

Other manufacturers manage to have more consistency than Feadog, though. You don't hear a lot of complaints about Oaks (sound-wise, anyway)...

Except from me, apparently. Mine was no better than my Feadog, but was also saved by a Hoover Whitecap.

So far, I haven't had much luck with the real cheapies. That's why I'm convinced that spending a little more is definitely worth it--especially for a beginner who might get discouraged, not knowing that a lot of the problem is actually with the whistle. There are some excellent medium-priced whistles out there, in the $35-$95 range. I love my Jerry-tweaked Generation, the Hoovers, and the Syn aluminum, and from what I've read here, I'm confident that the Humphreys and Albas are also great. (Of course, I love the more expensive ones, too, but you can do mighty well for under $100.)

For me, one of the other advantage of whistles from individual makers is that they've all been such a pleasure to deal with--at least so far.

[rh]

So far, I haven't had much luck with the real cheapies. That's why I'm convinced that spending a little more is definitely worth it--especially for a beginner who might get discouraged, not knowing that a lot of the problem is actually with the whistle.

i've gotta say, though, that the last couple of whistles i purchased really made me take a step back and think about this whole high-end (or even medium-end) whistle thing.

i got two Feadógs and an Acorn. the Feadógs i already mentioned, but it occurred to me one night while playing the Acorn that it reminded me a lot of the Burke narrow bore that i'd spent $130 on.

now there's no disputing that the Burke is a nicer whistle than the Acorn -- professionally hand-made, better looking, stronger bottom end, etc -- but is it 15 times nicer than the Acorn? i gotta think long and hard about that one.

around the same time, i bought a used Overton soprano D, because of the raves on the board, Bloomfield and everybody... and i hear Brian Finnegan playing one and it sounds great. so i got the whistle, and it does indeed sound great... and loud -- really loud -- as in "when am i really going to need to play a whistle this loud?" loud...

it was at that moment i decided that my quest for high-end whistles had come to an end. as Peter has mentioned before numerous times, most of the best players in Ireland play cheap whistles off the shelf... when i got the Feadógs, i could hear their potential and i also heard the raspiness... as i played them more, the raspiness went away, or rather i learned to control it.

to paraphrase Johnny Rotten, i had problems, the problem was me. now all i really play is the Feadóg, except for the Q1 (which i bought used) as a change of pace.

not criticizing or casting aspersions on anyone, just telling my own story.

[norseman]

Is there some way to tell which version (M1, M2, M3) of Feadog I have?The local music store I bought mine from has a large stock of them that they may have bought several years ago, so I don't know if what I have is the latest version.

[Jerry Freeman]

Here you go ...


left to right: Mark I, Mark II, Mark III

Since I took this photo, I've discovered that there are two versions of the Mark II. The difference is that the newer Mark II has a bump on the ramp whereas the older Mark II is identical to the newer Mark II except it has no bump. There's enough information in this photo so you could examine the fine details of the whistlehead and distinguish between an older Mark II and a Mark I (e.g., look at the corners at the top of the ramp or note the champfer along the sides of the top of the beak of the Mark I).

Best wishes,
Jerry

[norseman]

Thanks very much Jerry!! I have the M III.

Bob

[vomitbunny]

Well I'll be. I always thought the first one I had was M1, but it seems it was the M2 without the bump. No wonder it was so crappy.

[RonKiley]

The mark II seems to have a narrower window in the picture. The area of the window on the Mark I seems smaller. This is hard to judge from the picture. Is that true Jerry?

I did see a Mark II and a Mark III for sale on the same whistle rack at a local store. The biggest difference that I saw was the height of the blade above the windway floor. The mark II did not even come below the top of the windway. I couldn't try it but I believe it would probably be nearly unplayable. I have a Mark III that is a very nice whistle.

Ron

[Jerry Freeman]

The window of my Mark I is slightly wider, and the same length as the windows of my Mark II's. That would make the area of the Mark I window slightly more. I don't know if this is by design or if it's just a matter of manufacturing tolerances allowing for some variability. In any case, the difference is small.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[Peter Mullin]

I've got a Feadog D (mark III) in brass, purchased June '04 at Dietze Music in Lincoln, NE. I've been playing it right-out-of-the-plastic-box, untweaked. It's the trickiest whistle I've got, being prone to squeak on octave D and has a softer, "reedier" tone than the Generation brass D I've got. That being said, for some strange reason I prefer this whistle to any of the other D's in the jar (Oak nickel, Sweetone, Generation, Clare 2-piece, and one bizarre real tin, wooden-fipple whistle from Connecticut). The Clare's a close second, but I still prefer the Feadog. It's the one I embarass my kids with while waiting at the bus stop.

Peter

[kevin m.]

I have two Feadog mk1's and a black mk3.
The mark 1's pre-date my awareness of Whoa in others,and C. and F.
When I bought them,about 1992,I had no idea that there were people like me who were interested in various whistles(I had no idea that skilled artisans were actually making them too!).
Of course,when I heard about the Feadog Pro model,I checked their site,but alas no pic.
I must admit to liking Feadogs-the mk1's are a fine whistle-well in tune .with a bit of character to the sound,the mk3 is good (at least mine is),being more 'pure' sounding.

[Daniel_Bingamon]

I have the Mark II in blue. The fipple is black and body is painted blue.

[ChrisLaughlin]

The new Feadog line is superb.
Seriously.
I was in Ireland a few months ago on my way to Uganda and I decided to pick up some cheap whistles to give to kids here as gifts. The cheapest whistles I could find were the new line of Feadogs, which comes in a variety of colors as well as old-fashioned nickel with a black head. I thought they would be pretty bad but when I tried one out I was very, very pleased indeed. I bought 10, including 3 for myself, and I am now using the Feadog as my standard whistle (the one I keep in my pocket, keep in my bag, leave on my desk, and play whenever I'm in the mood). There are better whistles, but not at this price. I think the new Feadog is far and away better than the Generation offerings in D and C. I play a Generation Bb and love it, but unfortunately Feadog hasn't made whistles in that key.
Anyhow, by all means, buy the new Feadog. It's a darn good, very stable, very consistent, very fun to play little whistle. For $5 I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Chris