I have a bad case of WhoA!!!

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Wed May 24, 2006 9:44 am

CRC wrote:Yeah, just the other day I noticed 3 cracks in the mouthpiece of my Walton. So, I was thinking of buying a few more whistles just to replace the cracked one. (Not that it was my favorite whistle. ) You know just to ease the pain from my terrible loss.

And so begins the slide down that steep and slippery slope.... mwuhahahaaaaaa!

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Wed May 24, 2006 11:46 am

Yes, but I really wish I was in the second stage of WhOA instead of the first.

riverman · Post by **riverman** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:28 pm

My own pathetic story:
I started whistleplaying with a Walton's starter kit (bless 'em) but in time neither me nor the family could stand the untweaked Walton's sound. So I went to a Clarke original, which kept me satisfied for several months. Then, drooling onto my keyboard, I ordered a Burke brass session. Ooooooh!
"This is my last whistle," I thought.
But WHOA had entered my bloodstream.
In an effort to avoid buying more expensive whistles, I began ordering more cheapies. A Sweetone, a Clarke original in C, a coupla Clarkes for my music teacher, a Generation D in nickel...
Finally my wife made me order my second Burke--an aluminum in C--to keep me from constantly buying cheaper stuff.
I am still waiting for that one, and I KNOW that when it arrives, it will be my LAST whistle...
Because I can quit anytime I WANT!!

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:47 pm

riverman wrote:My own pathetic story:
I started whistleplaying with a Walton's starter kit (bless 'em) but in time neither me nor the family could stand the untweaked Walton's sound. So I went to a Clarke original, which kept me satisfied for several months. Then, drooling onto my keyboard, I ordered a Burke brass session. Ooooooh!
"This is my last whistle," I thought.
But WHOA had entered my bloodstream.
In an effort to avoid buying more expensive whistles, I began ordering more cheapies. A Sweetone, a Clarke original in C, a coupla Clarkes for my music teacher, a Generation D in nickel...
Finally my wife made me order my second Burke--an aluminum in C--to keep me from constantly buying cheaper stuff.
I am still waiting for that one, and I KNOW that when it arrives, it will be my LAST whistle...
Because I can quit anytime I WANT!!

That Burke C will cure any further need for a great C, Kelly.

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:05 pm

We all think that the next whistle we buy is the last.

Until of course, you just have to get that next one.

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:19 pm

I remember when I bought my Burke DAN and told my friends "see this? I'ts the last D whistle I'll ever need to buy".
If memory serves, I've purchased at least three or four other D's since then, as well as several in other keys.
I think that's an important part of the "second stage"(for me anyways). When you buy your first one or two high end whistles, you tell yourself "well, this is it. I won't need to buy anymore whistles in the key of ___ now that I've got this little treasure". You still constantly buy cheapies, tweaking them to get that authentic "Irish" sound out of the Generations and Feadogs. This, of corse, in addition to the bucketload of the Clarkes, Oaks, Clares, Acorns, etc. that you already own. Then you find yourself on C&F, reading about how awesome someone's Overton D sounds and you can't help but wonder if it's better sounding than your Chieftain D or Burke D... or maybe it's not better, but different. "Yeah, it's different! I might need a 'different' sound for some tunes. I better get me one of them too"! Eventually you're putting in the big bucks for an Abell, selling a couple of your old high-enders to fund it. You say "this is it, the last one I'll ever buy". A while later you get nostailgic when thinking about that old brass Burke D you once had. "Maybe I should get another one, for old time's sake"?
Eventually you will die. Your whistle collection will be passed on perhaps to a child or grandchild. They won't know what to do with them and they will sit in a closet for years. Your Overtons, Chieftains and the like were found and used by some crazy aunt to make a windchime for her back porch. Then, one day, someone will see an ebay listing for one of your plain old original Clarkes, a little rusted, dented in a few places and the branded markings have long since faded. The item description will read something like this:
"Vintage European six-holed flute, a must-have for any collector or music enthusiast."

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Thu May 25, 2006 3:48 am

I'll have my whistles burried with me...

unless of course the kids want 'em...

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Thu May 25, 2006 8:14 am

Oh, if you raise them correctly they'll be masters of the whistle long before you're gone

riverman · Post by **riverman** » Thu May 25, 2006 9:39 am

Straycat,
Thanks for that very depressing, hilarious, and totally true depiction of my whistling future!!

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Thu May 25, 2006 9:48 am

What do we call the point where one realizes he has so many whistles
that he never plays several of them, so decides it's time to pare down
the collection to recoup the cost of his flute? I'm on the cusp of that,
the arse-end of WHOA

riverman · Post by **riverman** » Thu May 25, 2006 10:01 am

A return to sanity?

Tristan · Post by **Tristan** » Thu May 25, 2006 10:40 am

Lessee... I'm up to 11 in just over a year. Well, currently 10, as I've already passed my "starter" Walton on to my nephew.

spring 05 - Walton's D - Tourist special. Doesn't customs pretty much check all foreigners as they leave Ireland to make sure they've purchased one of these before heading home?

summer 05 - got the low bug. Picked up a Serpeant Low G/D combo.

fall 05 - saw a good deal on a used Burke Low D. Couldn't resist.

Jan 06 - The Walton was driving me nuts, so I tried a nickle-plated Generation D. Much better.

Feb 06 - Windfall! My dad uncovered his old full set of vintage brass Generations (sans the D, which has disappeared) and gave them to me since I'd fallen into the habit. Chalk up one G, F, Eb, C, and Bb.

Apr 06 - decided to get "serious" and bought a brand new Burke DBSBT-- the last whistle I'd ever need.

Currently, looking for an A to fill the burning gap between my Gen Bb and Serpeant low G.

Jetpiper · Post by **Jetpiper** » Thu May 25, 2006 10:55 am

Well, I just ordered my first Burke. A DBSBT. Its my first non-cheap soprano whistle. My son is learning fiddle and I have been accompanying him on my sweetone, and Clarke original. Since I've been playing the whistles so much now, I finally decided to get serious about having a nice soprano. My first more expensive whistle was my Chieftain low D, which I love. I must confess that I thought my Clarkes, sweetones, and generations were going to suffice. Now I realize I was wrong. Sooooooo wrong. This could get ugly.

DavidT · Post by **DavidT** » Thu May 25, 2006 12:38 pm

Got my first one less that a month ago, and I now have four (Tweaked Clarke, O'Brien D, Dixon Low D ABS, Pakistani Low D brass), with major lusting for at least two more (low G and A). I'm also getting ready for my first stab at building a wooden C. Who knows after that...

The road goes on forever. And there's a toll booth every few yards.

Dave Parkhurst · Post by **Dave Parkhurst** » Thu May 25, 2006 3:17 pm

Oh, David T.... you've just begun to scratch the surface. Wait until you discover the creamy wonder of Sindts, Busmans, Rose, Copeland Low Ds, Burke high Gs... I'd add Parkhurst whistles to the list but the lazy sod doesn't seem to be making any recently....and he only works in copper anyway

Dave