Susato Whistles

goesto11 · Post by **goesto11** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 3:00 pm

I am very intrigued by the Susato whistles, and plan to buy (at least) one soon. My question is: the Dublin or the Kildare?

I often hear people on the board refer to the qualities of a Susato, but I am never sure which whistle they are referring to.

Is the only real difference that the Kildare is two-piece and therefore tunable? Or do they have very different sounds to them? When someone says that the Susato is a loud whistle, does this refer to the Dublin as well as the Kildare?

Thanks in advance.

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 3:10 pm

Buy the Dixon. I own both brands, and love my Dixon beyond words.

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 3:11 pm

I only have the tunable, two-piece kind. I think they're called the Kildares.

cj · Post by cj » Fri Jun 07, 2002 3:12 pm

I agree--I have Susatos and a Dixon, and the Dixon rules.

markv · Post by **markv** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 3:37 pm

Who mentioned Dixons?

The question was Dublin VS Kildare. Yep, they are both loud and the tone to my ears is pretty much the same. I'd go for the tunable kildare. Even if you never have the occasion to get "plays well with others" on your musical report card of life, you can take it apart and fit in smaller pockets.

Since it was brought up, I like Dixons too. I've got one of his older soprano models with the mouthpiece similar to a Susato and have been toying with the idea of getting one of the new brass tuning slide models (gotta buy a decent mic for my new minidisc recorder first:)

MCV

Tom_Gaul · Post by **Tom_Gaul** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 3:58 pm

I also have a few of the two piece Kildare model Susatos. I think the tuning is very limited and the two pieces seems to be more for switching whistle bodies on the same mouthpiece. They are loud! They seem to be a whistle that people either love or hate. I don't want to start another flame war on the issue but I would check out John Sindt or Mike Burke for a D whistle. I don't have a Dixon but it may also be quite good. On the inexpensive level the Generation is very nice if you get a good one or if you follow this site's instructions on tweaking a whistle. Good luck on making your decision!

Best wishes, Tom

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 4:00 pm

On 2002-06-07 17:37, markv wrote:
Who mentioned Dixons?

The question was Dublin VS Kildare.

That's just the way my warped sense of humor works, sorry. If I had to choose between Bo Derek and Cameron Diaz, I'd take Ashley Judd. And I'd take a Dixon over any Susato, despite the undeniable quality of the Susatos. I just love my Dixons.

vaporlock · Post by **vaporlock** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 4:23 pm

Blackhawk has good taste in general.

WhistlerWannaBe · Post by **WhistlerWannaBe** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 4:26 pm

I have a set of 3 kildares (one mouthpiece, 3 bodies) and really like them. Funny thing is though that I don't find them all that loud. I use them almost as much as my Hoover and I don't find that horribly quiet either! Maybe my hearing is going!

Deb

Sorry, can't compare to the dublin though!

DaveG · Post by **DaveG** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 4:47 pm

My experience with the Kildare in D was one of confusion. On the one hand in the low octave it was responsive and even toned. However, in the second octave it became somewhat difficult to play and finicky about wind pressures. If not played by a person of some chops a nasty squeak is frequent,particularly above the upper F. Having said that....I going for a Dublin soon..BTW..love my Dixons

csharpd · Post by **csharpd** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 5:24 pm

When people talk about Susatos here, they're almost always referring to the older, standard soprano ("S series") models, which are notoriously loud.

Susato recently came out with a new series, called variously "sopranino," "very small bore, "VSB," or "V series" whistles. These are more slender and have a quieter, sweeter sound.

The S and V series are both available in one-piece nontunable (Dublin) or two-piece tunable (Kildare) models.

I have two Susatos, an S and a V (both in D). I really don't care for the S -- it's too loud for playing alone -- but I like the V. My V is a Dublin nontunable. At $13.50 plus shipping, I think it's a great bargain.

You can search on "VSB" for some other opinions.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 7:31 pm

Mine's a Dublin...I've never played one of the Kildares. I'm growing to love it, but it does require firm breathing in the upper octave...if you waver at all, it does too (actually, if you waver, it drops like a ton of bricks). Still, it's got about the nicest sound in that octave of any whistle I've played, so it's worth the effort.

I don't think it sounds much like a recorder...just a bit fuller than some whistles.

BTW, it's my positive experience with this whistle that's led me to start saving for a Dixon. I was one of those that said "an all- PLASTIC" whistle??? No way. I got this one on special when I bought my Walton's Mello D (which I don't like nearly as much), or I don't know if I'd ever have tried one. So when I get my Dixon, the folks at Dixon can thank Susato

Redwolf

chas · Post by **chas** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 7:43 pm

On 2002-06-07 18:00, blackhawk wrote:
That's just the way my warped sense of humor works, sorry. If I had to choose between Bo Derek and Cameron Diaz, I'd take Ashley Judd. And I'd take a Dixon over any Susato, despite the undeniable quality of the Susatos. I just love my Dixons.

I agree with you on Ashley Judd, but definitely prefer Susatos over Dixons.

Neither whistle is for everyone, though. As I'm fond of saying, the Susato is not for the faint of heart. But if you really want to lay into a whistle and play with reckless abandon, there's nothing better in the price range.

Charlie

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 7:54 pm

[quote]
On 2002-06-07 21:43, chas wrote:
I agree with you on Ashley Judd, but definitely prefer Susatos over Dixons.

Neither whistle is for everyone, though.<quote>

*****Yeah, I'm just glad we have such a wealth of choices! Actually, no one can go wrong with either the Susato or the Dixon...or Sweetone, or....

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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: blackhawk on 2002-06-07 21:55 ]</font>

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Fri Jun 07, 2002 8:03 pm

-I like the Susato VSB D Kildare (two piece) whistle for its clear tone, decent tuning, tunability & ease of play through two octaves and into the third. Its sound is quieter, thinner and less rich than the standard small bore Susato D, but in fine tune at the B note where my small bore D is flat. -peeplj on another thread mentions the small bore D has more chromatic cross-fingering options than the VSB, but this alludes to the bore size and not the tunability/not issue. I haven't experienced anything to distinguish the one piece from the two piece in tone or volume, but a more experienced ear than mine might have something to say. -
-Tunability is nice to have even if one plays alone if playing along with recordings/MP3s or the BBC Radio Two session web site.
-I havent tried any Dixons.

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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-06-07 22:31 ]</font>