Meg/Sweetone or Generation?

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Thu May 04, 2006 7:23 pm

Get the Generation. It is a real whistle. I have a Sweetone and a Meg that are never played because they are toys in my opinion. You might also consider a Feadog or a Walton's Mellow D. Play them until you learn to play them. They may be hard to play at first but hang in there.

Ron

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Thu May 04, 2006 8:00 pm

Gen.

The Sweetone is super easy to play, and would be less discouraging to a beginner, but just isn't worth the bother. My D and C are both horribly out of tune. Well, the D is gone now. Got squished accidently. For a while the C was my only C but now I have a Freeman tweaked Feadog C and it's wonderful.

In fact, I think an off the shelf Feadog black head model would be a good choice too. The little shop near me has them and they're pretty consistent.

Or an Oak, but not an Acorn.

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Thu May 04, 2006 8:46 pm

Make a Generation sound good? Of all the talk I've heard about (key word here, and that is finding, not making) those amazing Generations, is people trying a bunch of them out in a shop if they can, or buying one untill they get one. I never hear about people "making" or tweaking a Generation so that it becomes that "rare whistle." There is of course Jerry Freeman's tweaked whistles, and I've heard good things about them. But that's not what I'm talking about. I guess this talk I always read about, must be innacurate huh?

I don't have a problem playing Generations, I have a problem with how most of them sound. Out of the box of course. And that is, usually screachy and scratchy in the upper notes, and buzzing disgustingly on the bell note. And that's not putting Generations down, I enjoy their G, F, and Bb whistles much. I've never had one single Clarke, any model, sound horrible like what I just mentioned. And that's in my experience. I obviously can't say the same about everyone else's experience. The Sweetone and Meg C whistles have tuning issues, big noticeable ones, and that's already been said. But, if they're so much like toys, how come it is when I play them for people, they tell me how pretty that sounds, or how amazing that was to hear? Seems to me, toys don't sound beautiful or amazing... I guess it's what your definition of a toy is right? ...

I don't have a problem with people not liking something, or preferring something different. I have a problem with people putting down other people's work. How'd you like it if a bunch of people put down whistles you worked hard to make/design?

But this topic has really got me interested in Generation D's. I have two Feadogs in D, the green fipple one in brass, and the black fipple one in nickle plating. I like them honestly, although mine have a little screachy ness in the upper octave. So, I'll try them out. All I've ever heard about them is bad things, and that is the un-tweaked ones straight out of the box so to speak. So, we'll see.

shadoe42 · Post by **shadoe42** » Thu May 04, 2006 8:55 pm

I have two Clarke D's a Stock sweettone D and C and a Freeman Tweaked Sweettone D, a stock and freeman tweaked generation D. Love them all. My fav of those is probably actually the standard Clarke for sound. For playablity the Freeman tweaked Gen.

My sweettone C is a very nice sounding instrument. At least by itself. I purchased a chromatic tuner today so I can finally see exactly how in or out of tune they are rather than the ballpark I did with my guitar tuner hehe.

sweettone are inexpensive. No reason you can't buy a couple and a gen.

you might consider a Freeman tweaked model of one of those. hehe next I am thinking I want to try a Freeman tweaked Shaw myself

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Thu May 04, 2006 9:46 pm

I have an untweaked sweetone in d. I would like to get some generations but people from the forums scared me out of trying 'em.

From what it sounds like searching for a good generation is like trying to find the holy grail or something.

shadoe42 · Post by **shadoe42** » Thu May 04, 2006 10:40 pm

I ordered my Gens off the web sight unseen and they are fine. They sound nice and chiffy no realy problems. Any problems with playing them I attribute to my skill or lack there of not the whistle itself.

like I said.. order em both

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William T. Anderson · Fri May 05, 2006 12:51 am

I've read most of this thread and all I could add is that once you've spent anytime at all with whatever whistle you get, Meg, Sweetone, Clarke, Walton or Feadog you'll fall in love with the instrument and want a really awesome one so, in the grand sceme of things I'd like to introduce you to the word "Chieftain"
...Ask and ye shall recieve, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you... You see, Jesus spoke these eternal truths at the end of his first set at the "Session on the Mount" switching from His Chieftain tunable Low D to His Chieftain Mezzo A for an aire He called the Beatitutes...

WTA

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:27 am

CRC wrote:I have an untweaked sweetone in d. I would like to get some generations but people from the forums scared me out of trying 'em. From what it sounds like searching for a good generation is like trying to find the holy grail or something.

My very point exactly...

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:53 am

Untweaked Gens build character.

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Fri May 05, 2006 5:05 am

Yeah, this really could go on endlessly, but I'll have to agree with Walden. Generations have issues, but they also have something pretty special in them, if you're willing to work for it. I have several keys, and only my D really is less than decent. I chalk that up to a quality-control "lemon". I've been listening to Mary Bergin's recordings lately, and have fallen back in love with that Generation sound. For a few bucks, pick one up and decide for yourself.

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Fri May 05, 2006 7:18 am

I have a complete set of Gens in brass and in nickel bought from the whistle shop. I had no chance to look at them ahead of time. They are all very playable. Yes some are better than others but all playable. If any special selection was done it was done by Thom without me knowing it. Many times I hear about the screeching and squawking and I wonder if these people tried to back off a little with the breath pressure. A Gen doesn't take a lot of breath but it does take a fair amount of breath control. Only experience gives you the control.

Ron

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Fri May 05, 2006 7:29 am

Walden wrote:Untweaked Gens build character.

God, I hope so! I decided to give Gens another try yesterday. I was in
a music shop looking for Oaks (they didn't have any), and I asked the
shopkeep for a bluetop Generation. He tried to convince me to get a
SweeTone instead (I thought that was hilarious). After convincing him
that a Generation would be fine, I took it home, and it sounded awful.
Not as bad as the first time I tried one, mind. But the upper octave is
very chiffy, almost buzzy. I'm trying some long tones exercises to see
if there is some way to bring it under control, but no luck, yet. I've
decided to give this whistle a couple months of exclusive play to see
if I can get used to it, as many people have said. It's going to be hard
to resist the urge to tweak this sucker.

I'm not a beginner. I have played many whistles (cheap and
expensive) successfully, so this might be an interesting experiment.
I might record myself tonight, so I can compare progress.

Jason Paul · Post by **Jason Paul** » Fri May 05, 2006 9:03 am

I'd love to hear a recording of what you're talking about FF.

I'm new, so maybe I just haven't heard enough good whistles to know what a bad one sounds like (unless it's REALLY bad). But I ordered two Gen Ds last month or so and they both sound fine to me. They're not perfect, but I wouldn't say they were awful or unplayable.

I can tell the difference in quality between the stock Gen and my Oak/Whitecap, and can appreciate the great improvements that the Whitecap offers. But that's adding $30 to the cost of the whistle.

When comparing my Gen D to other cheapies though, I don't see that much difference. Some, but nothing that would have me rail on Gens.

And honestly, I'm trying to learn here. I'm not trying to defend Generations. I just want to know what you guys with problem Generations are hearing that I'm not. I just wonder if what I think is just the character of the whistle is really a problem with the whistle.

I've listened to James Peeples' comparisons and don't really hear much "bad", just different. I realize it's different in person vs. a recording on the internet.

Thanks,
Jason

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Fri May 05, 2006 9:13 am

Generation whistles, like many other, buzz when you blow too hard or otherwise improperly into them, that's the only thing I can come up with. Some can be a bit screechy in the high notes but you weed them out by trying. Of the ten I tried in Custy's two weeks ago all were fine and had fine strong low notes without any problems. From that onward, it's all down to taste.

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Fri May 05, 2006 9:21 am

Peter Laban wrote:Some can be a bit screechy in the high notes but you weed them out by trying.

(emphasis mine)
I think this must be what has been turned into the
"finding that one perfect Generation out of 20" mentality...