Feadog Pro review & comparisons

[Bloomfield]

The challenge is not so much the stretch as covering the holes. They are pretty big. But I found the hole grasp thing not so hard. What's harder is the stretch:

That's a bit screwed up.

Hehehehe. Just like me.

What I mean is first the stretch between your fingers: splaying your hands enough to cover the holes. Then I am talking about the arms: Getting your hands far enough away from your shoulders that the whistle fits....

Funny.

[RonKiley]

I guess my ear is still not very good because I don't hear any difference in the sound of the regular Feadog and the Feadog pro. There must be something else that is desirable about the whistle. Don't get me wrong I will be buying one. I can't stand for there to be a cheapie that I don't have. Maybe someone will give me one for Christmas.

Very nice comparison. That Susato sounds nice. In a whistle listening test it would be hard to identify it as a Susato. I can hear the sound that many don't like when I am playing it myself but not when someone else is playing it or on a recording.

Ron

[Bloomfield]

I guess my ear is still not very good because I don't hear any difference in the sound of the regular Feadog and the Feadog pro. There must be something else that is desirable about the whistle.

It's subtle, they're both Feadogs. But you can hear by listening back to back that the Pro is rounder, stronger, and a bit huskier on the low end. peeplj of course avoids the bottom end and brings the last note up, but in the first couple of bars you can get a sense after that slide into the first note and then the descending phrase. The Pro has a bit more body and solidity. Mind you that it is very easy to make any Feadog sound harsh and unlovely.

I actually don't share peeplj's impression that the Feadog Pro is more forgiving of breath differences, but I do agree that playing characteristics differ from Pro to regular. Part of why I prefer the Pro over the regular Feadog is the way it plays (and not just the way it sounds).

[RonKiley]

Thanks Bloomfield. I knew I was missing something. I think some of my favorite whistles are not very forgiving. I do like the Feadog a lot. It is one of my favorite cheapies. I will definitely be getting the pro.

Ron

[peeplj]

I started to post yesterday, but I wanted to wait until I could play both whistles again first.

This is all in my own experience: your mileage may differ.

My original Feadog seems to have a stronger low octave but be harder to control. The Feadog Pro seems to have slightly less oomph in the low octave but is much easier to control in both octaves.

Is the difference in the whistles (Bloomfield's Pro and my own), or in the players? I don't know, but I do know that I like and enjoy the Feadog Pro a lot and that right now it's getting a lot of play compared to some of my other inexpensive whistles.

As to whether or not bad Generations exist...I've bought twelve high D Generations over the last maybe six years or so. Four have been wonderful, four have been just ok, and four have been unplayably bad (two bluetops and two redtops to be specific).

The bad Generations all have similar problems: they won't take a lot of air before the note just goes away; if you blow softly enough that the notes will sound, they have a very unpleasant rasp; and the low end of the first octave either won't play at all or will just very barely. My theory is that something happens, either in the molding of the fipple or in the assembly of the whistle, that makes the blade get out of alignment with the windway.

But I will grant you this: I haven't had to go through "boxes" of Generations to find really good ones. In my experience, if you order several at once, you've got a really good chance getting one or two gems, particularly if you order some of each "color"--get a couple of redtops, a couple of bluetops, and a couple of greentops.

Best wishes to all,

--James

[Tommy]

So Bloomfield, are you going to come out of the shadows, and get around to telling us about the Overton Low C that you beat me out of (fairly) by 15 minnuets.

Mighty. Absolutely stunningly marvelous (as are the low low Bb and low low A I picked up at the same time.... ). And after you play them a low D feels like a little bitsy stick of a whistle. Brilliant.

So I am guessing your going to keep it?


Happy Holidays

[Bloomfield]

So Bloomfield, are you going to come out of the shadows, and get around to telling us about the Overton Low C that you beat me out of (fairly) by 15 minnuets.

Mighty. Absolutely stunningly marvelous (as are the low low Bb and low low A I picked up at the same time.... ). And after you play them a low D feels like a little bitsy stick of a whistle. Brilliant.

So I am guessing your going to keep it?


Happy Holidays

You can always tempt me, right?

[Dee Whistler]

As to whether or not bad Generations exist...I've bought twelve high D Generations over the last maybe six years or so. Four have been wonderful, four have been just ok, and four have been unplayably bad (two bluetops and two redtops to be specific).

So they are inconsistent. The ones that I bought were from same shop all, so maybe I got unlucky, cause they all had similar problems you described and I got the impression that the new Generations are bad and the older ones are good.

Actually, what a marvellous business plan. First we have this legendary reputation because of Mary Bergin and others. Then make the instrument vary in quality so that people will buy tens of them, when they would normally settle to one or two whistles.

BTW, great comparisons in the beginning of this thread!

[Screeeech!!!]

Actually, what a marvellous business plan. First we have this legendary reputation because of Mary Bergin and others. Then make the instrument vary in quality so that people will buy tens of them, when they would normally settle to one or two whistles.

You could probably buy a Burke with the money you'd spend buying up a bunch of Gen's to find a decent one.

[monkey587]

Actually, what a marvellous business plan. First we have this legendary reputation because of Mary Bergin and others. Then make the instrument vary in quality so that people will buy tens of them, when they would normally settle to one or two whistles.

You could probably buy a Burke with the money you'd spend buying up a bunch of Gen's to find a decent one.

True, but then you wouldn't have something that sounds like a decent Generation... which some would choose over a Burke any day.

[Bloomfield]

Actually, what a marvellous business plan. First we have this legendary reputation because of Mary Bergin and others. Then make the instrument vary in quality so that people will buy tens of them, when they would normally settle to one or two whistles.

You could probably buy a Burke with the money you'd spend buying up a bunch of Gen's to find a decent one.

Yes, but why would you want a Burke?

Actually, what a marvellous business plan. First we have this legendary reputation because of Mary Bergin and others. Then make the instrument vary in quality so that people will buy tens of them, when they would normally settle to one or two whistles.

Here is my theory: Injection molds are expensive, and they wear out over time. As the injection mold for the Generation heads wears out slowly, so the average quality of the heads deteriorates. 5 years ago, you were more likely to get a bad Generation D, while Generation Bb were all terrific; In the last two years or so I haven't found a (really) bad Generation D, but the Bb's have been spotty. The cycle is probably fastest for Ds, slower for Cs and particularly Bbs.

The only fact I can't quite reconcile with all this is that Ebs allways seem to be good and they use the same head as Ds. Must be tube length.

Speaking of tube lengths:

Is the difference in the whistles (Bloomfield's Pro and my own), or in the players? I don't know, but I do know that I like and enjoy the Feadog Pro a lot and that right now it's getting a lot of play compared to some of my other inexpensive whistles.

You moved the fipple out, right? Our different perceptions of the bottom end and octave switches may well be a function of fipple position. But then again, every whistle is different.

[peeplj]

You moved the fipple out, right? Our different perceptions of the bottom end and octave switches may well be a function of fipple position. But then again, every whistle is different.

Yep, I did move it out a bit to bring it into tune at A=440.

I think there's a lot of truth in the "every whistle is a bit different" idea, also every player it different from every other player.

That's why we have so many kinds of whistles, I believe.

As for your Burkes, if anybody has one they don't want, I'll be glad to foster it and give it a loving home for ya!

--James

[Dee Whistler]

Actually, what a marvellous business plan. First we have this legendary reputation because of Mary Bergin and others. Then make the instrument vary in quality so that people will buy tens of them, when they would normally settle to one or two whistles.

Here is my theory: Injection molds are expensive, and they wear out over time. As the injection mold for the Generation heads wears out slowly, so the average quality of the heads deteriorates. 5 years ago, you were more likely to get a bad Generation D, while Generation Bb were all terrific; In the last two years or so I haven't found a (really) bad Generation D, but the Bb's have been spotty. The cycle is probably fastest for Ds, slower for Cs and particularly Bbs.

This gets interesting. So now every time I get bad Generations, its about bad timing considering injection molds' life cycles. This starts to sound like astronomy. So instead of star maps, can someone make me a Generation injection mold replacement map, so I could know, when is the hunting season for Gen high D:s. Now it is not about getting bunch of Gens at once, but you have to repeat the procedure seasonally .

Seriously, Bloomfield might be right, I don't know anything about Generations' production methods.

The only fact I can't quite reconcile with all this is that Ebs allways seem to be good and they use the same head as Ds. Must be tube length.

Yes, the few (about 5) Ebs I have tried have all been excellent. By the way , for example Gavin Whelan (and mostly Mary Bergin also), who has IMO an excellent whistle recording plays almost exclusively Eb Gen, and not at all with D. So it seems that pros uses Gens lots in other keys than D. (in recordings, of course)

[Tommy]

Mighty. Absolutely stunningly marvelous (as are the low low Bb and low low A I picked up at the same time.... ). And after you play them a low D feels like a little bitsy stick of a whistle. Brilliant.

So I am guessing your going to keep it?


Happy Holidays

You can always tempt me, right?

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pg[/img]

I don't need all of them. The A or Bb would do.