Do Susato whistles vary in quality?

Stephen Seifert · Post by **Stephen Seifert** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:01 am

A number of people have written that Susato whistles vary in quality. Some said they were fine if you could find a "good one".

I've toured the Susato shop with the maker. If my memory serves me right, they're using injection molds to pop out hundreds or thousands at a time. Would the variation be because there are little flakes that need to be cleaned up after leaving the mold? Maybe they don't catch everything?

My impression was that the process produces very consistant copies. Could some of you who are able to tell a difference from one Susato to another please explain the differences? Thanks!

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:10 am

I've had several Susatos through the years, and I've found them to be very consistent whistle to whistle.

I think what happens in this:

A lot of players get a Susato way too early, and they try to play it, and they really can't control it yet, and they don't like how it sounds, so they put it at the bottom of a drawer, or sell it, or give it away, etc.

Then, sometimes years later, they wind up trying another, and they think "Wow! This is so much better than the one I used to have."

But it's not really that one Susato is different from another--it's the player who's changed.

However...years of playing Generation-type whistles don't do much to teach you to control a Susato. So you can be a great whistler but still a newbie as far as controlling the thing is concerned.

That's my take on it.

--James

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:15 am

I agree with James. I have found them to be very consistent. I find that I play mine a lot now that I have developed some control. I played a B Susato a month or so ago and it was very nice.

Ron

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:37 am

They are consistent. I haven't seen or heard anyone say otherwise.

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:43 am

Stephen Seifert wrote:A number of people have written that Susato whistles vary in quality. Some said they were fine if you could find a "good one".

I've toured the Susato shop with the maker. If my memory serves me right, they're using injection molds to pop out hundreds or thousands at a time. Would the variation be because there are little flakes that need to be cleaned up after leaving the mold? Maybe they don't catch everything?

My impression was that the process produces very consistant copies. Could some of you who are able to tell a difference from one Susato to another please explain the differences? Thanks!

I also have never heard anyone say this about Susatos. The whistle about which I have heard people say exactly what you are saying is the Generation high D whistle. I wonder if somehow the two got mixed in your thoughts?

scheky · Post by **scheky** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:47 am

Ahhh, the poor oft-maligned Susato.

Some will remember when there weren't many whistle makers out there. You had cheapies and then Copeland hit the scene. However, the Copeland was out of the price range of most. Then came the wonderful Susato. The first (as far as I know) of the mid-range. Everybody was raving about them because they were loud. I mean LOUD. They were definately a session cannon.

We all had a couple, and everybody was happy.

Wait a minute...that's not really the truth. There was one VERY vocal dissenter on the internet that absolutely hated the beloved Susatos (and actually, he felt the same about the Copelands too). This was Conrad Bladely (did I get the spelling right?). He led a mighty crusade on every internet forum maligning these whistles for sounding too "recorder like". Nay cried the masses! They are good! They are a gift from the powers that whistle! Begone foul demon!

But, said he...the Susato has a plastic BUZZ!

With that one argument, the mighty Susato was laid low. The fact is, it DOES have a buzz. Since most of us played Generations or Soodlums we all heard the buzz plainly.

Thus, the Susato fell from favor (and still is maligned to this day).

The true fact is that none of us really knew how to control one. Moving from a Generation to a Susato is quite an experience. The Susato requires confidence. It requires leaning into it. When played properly, they are actually a nice bright and sassy whistle (Phil Hardy's podcast has some amazing tunes played on Susatos).

I still have my Susatos of old. They still sound fine and dandy some days...some days they make me cry. It's not the whistle, it's more of how much time I spend on whistles like the Dixon Trad which require me to lay back a little. I still hear the buzz on Airs, and perhaps that buzz will always be there. Perhaps if I spent a little more time with whistles that require more oomph (like chieftains) I'd break that barrier too. All in all, they are, and likely will continue to be, a great whistle (especially for the price).

The molding process they use should produce a consistant whistle around 99% of the time (there are always glitches in any process). This doesn't leave much room for customization, but you know in advance what one will sound like when you pick it up.

Good whistle this....

p.s. I know I made Mr. Bladely out to be a boogeyman, and to some people he actually once had that status. In truth he was just a man with very strong opinions that went against the grain of popular opinion. Though I butted heads with him on more than a few occasions, and seldom if ever agreed with him, he was a very big part of the whistle playing community when the internet was young.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:54 am

Wow. I didn't know there was an internet whistle community before C&F!

King Friday · Post by **King Friday** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:56 am

Whoever yyou heard saying this could have meant between entirely different Susatos. For instance, I think my Susato Bb is of better quality then my D, and my C is of better quality then my Bb. Which really isn't the case since they were just pumped out of a mold, but its my personal bias.

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:03 am

I've found them to be very consistent as well. Different keys, however, have very different characteristics.

The higher keyed ones (high D, Eb, etc.) are similar.

I had a Susato B that was wonderful, but I've had a D and Eb that were a little too demanding on the highest few notes.

-Brett

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:07 am

Stephen Seifert wrote:A number of people have written that Susato whistles vary in quality. Some said they were fine if you could find a "good one".

I don't recall hearing this about Susatos myself..I do recall hearing it about Generations.

I've owned 3 Susato D's over the years due to trades, etc, and played two others, and they've all been pretty consistent.

gonzo914 · Post by **gonzo914** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:13 am

I've found them to be very consistent. The different types have different playing characteristics and sound (SB vs. VSB, for example), but the quality has always been there.

What has changed is the player. I couldn't handle one when I first started -- didn't have the breath control. Now I find myself playing them more and more, and they are my whistle of choice for outside playing because they are very wind resistant.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:16 am

JessieK wrote:Wow. I didn't know there was an internet whistle community before C&F!

Probably listserv IRTRAD-L.

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:27 am

Ditto. Very consistent whistles, I've never heard any complaints of inconsistent quallity.

They're not good whistles for a beginner to start on, but once you can master one they're very good value, loud and clear. They need a lot of puff, though the range inlude small bore whistles which require less puff.

Sound quality is not everyone's cup of tea.

I've seen Susatos being played by professional players in live gigs and even on TV.

XDVarenkor · Post by **XDVarenkor** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:46 am

Yes, hugely consistent between whistles. Don't know where this 'inconsistent' idea comes from.

They vary a lot between keys, but that's down to physics and familiarity. Generally, the longer the whistle at the same bore size the quieter it is - and the more likely to flip between octaves on the bottom few notes. But it's down to familiarity too - if I play the medium bore Bb for a week, the medium bore F feels incredibly weak and fragile afterwards. If I then play the F for a week it feels comfortable again, but then the Bb feels unresponsive and raucous. I guess this could be mistaken for inconsistency between whistles.

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:05 am

It's not that if one can control the Susato, they unvariably sound great. There are still those out there who can control them and still think they sound like crap you know (not really talking about myself here in case anyone thought so). To say "if you don't like the sound of the Susato it's because you can't play it properly" isn't going to work, I hope you all realise that.

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Do Susato whistles vary in quality?

Do Susato whistles vary in quality?

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