Inexpensive whistle poll...

[Boody]

I am new and I only have 1 whistle, which is a Feadog. I had trouble with the second octave till I tacked it, but now it sounds really nice.

[lyrick]

Oak is my favorite cheapie, I've bought three of them and they're all good, one is a little better than the others. I love the sound of them, clear, bright, sweet, in tune. In fact, I now play my best Oak more than my expensive custom-made whistles.

I've bought three Feadogs, they've all been totally playable and in tune and consistent, they sound identical to each other, but I don't like their sound quite as much as the Oaks, a little too husky for my taste.

I've bought three Generations, all playable, but not my cup of tea.

I've bought two Clarks, playable, not my cup of tea, too breathy and not as responsive as the others, in my opinion.

I've bought one Sweetone, playable, but I can't stand the sound of it. It sounds very dull and unlike a traditional whistle to me.

So that's 12 cheapies, all playable. I guess I've been lucky. Or maybe cheapies are generally playable?

[riverman]

I think the Clarke original has to be the best--good mellow breathy sound and no buzz. But I have been spoiled by the modern mouthpieces, and love my unpainted tin Sweetone dearly. It's quiet tone only adds to the appeal--and it's reasonably windproof!
So I voted for the Sweetone.

[riverman]

...also, when I play the conical Sweetone I can pretend I'm playing a Copeland!

[Adrian]

One of each.

Best answer!

[RonKiley]

I said Feadog but the truth is it doesn't really matter too much except for the Clarkes. I don't play Clarkes at all. I have an old Feadog here that is super glued and taped that plays beautifully. I have an Oak but it has a Hoover white Cap on it. Who gets the most play? Whichever is close by. Most of my Generations are not tweaked at all. My Feadogs are sticky tacked, plastic bits removed and the blade dulled a bit.

Ron

[Loren]

My favorite is not listed - Walton Golden Tone C.

Philo

I just realized I've never had one of those

If anyone runs into a batch tucked away in an out of the way little shop somewhere, please let me know.

Hard to believe I let those slip by me back in the day when they were still available.

Loren

[Ann]

Generation. It's my first whistle ever and it really does sound nice, its quiet, it never clogs and is easier to play than other whistles.

[IDAwHOa]

Under $15???? I thought this was going to be an inexpensive whistle poll, like under $150 or so!

Oh yeah, I like wood. Inexpensive is relative.

[walrii]

I voted for the LBW because I seem to keep coming back to it. I like the Feadog a lot but I need to play it frequently or I forget it's idiosyncrasies. I have a Clarke, a Walton, a Sweetone but the LBW gets the most play. I do agree with a earlier comment - as cheap as they are, one of each is a good idea!

[dotyj]

I've been playing for less than a month, not quite three weeks.

I've got a pair of Walton's in D, one's a Mellow, a Clarke Sweetone in D, and a Feadog in D.

It's amazing how much personality each pennywhistle has.

I love my Feadog, but it's the hardest to play. The Feadog sounds so bright and has great tone. The Clarke seems to be the easiest to play but doesn't sound a pretty.

I've still got a lot of learning to do though.

[riverman]

I LOVE you guys! The Black Cat made me want to bawl--this is the very stuff that attracted me to the whistle in the first place! I have to work on some improvisation of my own, and get serious about my slow airs tunebook!

[regor]

Quick update on my new Generation D tweak... it is rapidely becoming my favourite inexpensive whistle indeed.. the more I play it, the more I like it, it's groing on me...

[MacNeil]

I've played most of these.

I find the Sweetone seriously overrated -- unfocused and toy-like in its sound.

Feadogs can be nice, but have this weird edge I find unpleasant. Same with the standard Walton's (actually Soodlums, since the one I own dates from 1983).

The Walton's Mellow D would be my choice, except for its seriously-sharp bell-note.

The Little Black Whistle does nothing for me.

That leaves the Generation, which is head and shoulders above the others for purity of tone and responsiveness, provided you can find a good one. But I guess a chance at something good is preferable to a sure-bet mediocrity (or worse).

(My personal choice would be a Mellow Dog, but any of Jerry's mods goes beyond the target price.)

[lisdoonvarna]

I've had a clark, a dixon, a feadog, a shaw and a sweetone. I'm using the black sweetone in performances. The clark takes more air and began to have serious clogging issues, I do like the Dixon (30 some dollars) but it was too quiet for loud venues. The shaw was too out of tune and took a lot of air, the feadog had very low volume in the lowest two notes, but the upper register is nice. I like to blow a bit harder than it wanted me to. The sweetone is for me just the right volume, takes just the right amount of air for how hard I blow, the plastic head never clogs on me and I think it sounds traditional. It seems to have a nice balance between mellow and chiffy. I like the painted ones better though. I bought a natural metal one but the seam on the back sticks out more than it does on the painted ones I've had so it wants to roll to one side. I haven't had this problem with the painted ones.
Lisdoonvarna