Unearthed Review of a Busman Whistle...

[JessieK]

A couple of years ago, I wrote a Chiff and Fipple newsletter. Dale was about to publish it when I got involved in a board skirmish (I don't remember what it was about, or who was involved) and I pulled the whole thing. Well, I looked at the old file this morning and I think this review I did of a Busman whistle is worth sharing...

Whistle Review: Busman blackwood d

Several years ago, I tried one of Paul’s very early whistles. He was still working on perfecting his own design of the mouthpiece, moving away slightly from the Thin Weasel design. It had a nice tone, but I thought it clogged too easily. I always intended to try another one but I didn’t get around to it until recently.

Whistle and Drum - http://www.whistleanddrum.com - carries my silver whistle pendants . Every now and then they sell out their stock and reorder. Upon one reorder, I got the idea of exchanging whistle pendants for Whistle and Drum credit. I came up with a number that was between wholesale and retail, so it would work well for them and for me, and they agreed. I looked around their site with anticipation. I saw the Busman d and although I usually like to buy directly from the maker (and I certainly like and respect Paul Busman for many reasons, especially the fact that he really loves and appreciates his wife, Charlene, and sings her praises often, which is heartwarming, and he is an active participant on the whistle board with a reputation of excellent customer service), I thought this trade would work well. And so it happened. They ordered one from Paul and sent it to me as soon as they received it.

When it arrived, I took out the package and admired the very soft , dark blue fleece-like pouch with a black ribbon bow. It’s thick enough to protect the whistle, and upon opening it, I discovered the two cozy slots that hold the head and body of the whistle. I don’t usually comment on packaging (I don’t recall if I ever have before), but this is a sweet package. I have learned that it was made by Charlene. Well, it was cold when the whistle got here, so I let it sit for a little while (ok, about thirty seconds) before taking it out of its case. I was patient with the part that mattered: playing it. I waited about ten minutes and, in that time, inspected it visually. Upon first look, it appeared to be very similar to a Thin Weasel. This was not surprising. Paul has credited Glenn Schultz with teaching him to make whistles. There are some differences in the critical dimensions. The windway is much smaller in height, and the blade has a very thin flat bit at its edge (the part that directly faces the window), as opposed to being sharpened all the way. This very thin (less than half a millimeter, I think) flat bit is at a right angle to the bore. These differences in sounding dimensions from the Thin Weasel design make this a different whistle than the Thin Weasel. More on that later.

I do have a couple of complaints. The holes were not finished well. They were very sharp, and he had done a tiny bit of cleaning up, clearly with sandpaper on a dremel tool bit. I know this because there were fuzzy circles around the holes. Because of the sharpness of the edges of the holes, the whistle wasn’t comfortable to hold. In addition to this, the outermost part of the mouthpiece and the bottom ferrule were loose.

Conscious of the important breaking-in period of wooden whistles, I allowed myself only about 15 minutes to play it the first time. At first blow, the first octave was very smooth. It wasn’t very loud, but it wasn’t too quiet, either. It was pure, but not so pure as too be unmusical. The second octave struck me as a little hissy, but then I remembered the warming-up thing, and I warmed it in my hand. I covered the window with my finger and blew into it a few times. Then I played it again. This time, properly warmed, the upper octave was FAR less hissy. I played a few of my favorite airs and tunes on it and put it away, very excited about getting to know it.

The following day (after it had time to dry from my playing session), I reglued the top steel mouthpiece and the bottom ferrule. Then I took out my super-sanding-cloth (it has about six grades, and the higher ones go far above typical sandpaper) and got to work. I was able to glue it back together and sand the holes gently so that they are smooth to the touch, and give the whistle a whole new, somewhat softer and more inviting, but shiny finish in the process, in about 15 minutes. I have heard from several Busman whistle owners that they are unhappy with the sharp holes. It’s an easy thing to fix. I get my sanding cloth - and some jewelry supplies and tools - from Rio Grande, which can be reached at 800-545-6566. Their item number for this product is 337-307.

When I was done with the sanding, I played the whistle again and have taken considerable time since then getting to know it. It’s neat how each whistle requires a different sort of blow, different support. Each of us has a preferred, or at least practiced, way of blowing, and I think that accounts for why we all have different favorites among well-made whistles. While I am not among the most accomplished players in terms of extensive repertoire or degrees of the many little things that separate decent players from great players (I have been a singer all of my life, but came to the whistle as an adult), I do have a knack for getting to the heart of an instrument and feeling how that particular instrument needs to be blown for its best sound. I've found that holding this whistle almost horizontally (instead of vertically) seems to make for a sweeter upper octave, due to the somehow more direct air flow into the mouthpiece. If blown just right (a kind of open throat and slightly tightened lips, breathing naturally into the whistle), it has a sweet, lyrical poppiness and purity that span both octaves. If you push it too much, the upper octave can come out hissy or somewhat harsh (though not shrill), and if you don’t blow hard enough, you run the risk of falling down to the first octave when intending the second, but this can be said about any whistle. Its sweet spot is very sweet, and it has something really special. This special something, which I have found on several whistles, most of them conical bore, is a bottom d that seems a little weak at first blow, but when you push it a bit, instead of jumping into the second octave, it sings with an almost vibrating, reverberating resonance. This Busman whistle has this wonderful quality not just on the first note, but on the first four notes! No matter how I play this whistle, the first octave (through the second d) is sweet and pretty perfect. I suppose it takes a special blow to get the upper octave just right. This would be no problem if someone were to have just this whistle. If it were one of many, just know that it might take a minute to get to its heart when picking it up after playing a different whistle. Really, every whistle is different. This one might be a little more different, but not by much. I’m rambling. Anyway, though the whistle is slightly prone to clogging (I have to cover the window and blow into the whistle every now and then between tunes), it is a unique instrument with a phenomenal and endearing first octave and an occasionally finicky but able-to-be-pleased second octave. In addition to the blackwood d, Paul also makes high C and Eb whistles (I sure am confused about when to use lower case letters and when to use upper case letters. Oh well.), all in a large variety of woods. He has a website - http://www.busmanwhistles.com/ .

[Tommy]

Thank you for sharing all the detail of a fine whistle. Several weeks ago I played Paul's delrin D+ whistle. I was amazed at how much it looked like black wood. I do not remember what the holes were like. My fingers are large and I am able to cover holes from a Generation G down to an Overton bass Bb without thinking about if the holes are clean cut or beveled. The tone of this whistle was great and I was able to adjust to the pinky finger hole.


Edited one time changing ''grate'' to ''great'' for fearfaoin. I know he is lurking, and waiting with his spell and grammer check to help me.

[Unseen122]

Good reveiw. I have to agree with most of what is said. From your reveiw it sound like your whistle is very much like mine, although I do not think my lower octave is as strong. Ferrules fall off of anything wooden, I have had Ferrules/Rings fall off of almost every Flute I have owned and on the Busman I own.

[Loren]

Ferrules fall off of anything wooden, I have had Ferrules/Rings fall off of almost every Flute I have owned and on the Busman I own.

Umm, might I suggest a humidifier......



Loren

[Unseen122]

Done, they fell off before I saw the moist light.

[PhilO]

Ferrules fall off of anything wooden, I have had Ferrules/Rings fall off of almost every Flute I have owned and on the Busman I own.

Umm, might I suggest a humidifier......



Loren

Loren, old friend, I think perhaps Crazy Glue would work better.

Philo

[Loren]

Ferrules fall off of anything wooden, I have had Ferrules/Rings fall off of almost every Flute I have owned and on the Busman I own.

Umm, might I suggest a humidifier......



Loren

Loren, old friend, I think perhaps Crazy Glue would work better.

Philo

You crack me up dude



Loren

[swizzlestick]

Jessie,

Thanks for posting the review.

However, since this is an old review and you have some negative comments, don't you think you should confirm that the current design has not changed? Or at least emphasize that the review may be dated and may not be representative of a newer whistle?

People tend to get upset over stuff like that.

Edited to say: Well, now that I take the time to really think about it, you do say "unearthed" in the title. Guess only somebody like me who is half asleep could get confused over that!

[Kansas]

I read your post/review of your Busman at the office today. I wanted to reply right away, but waited to re-check my own whistles. I have Kingwood in D Previously owned by Byll so I'm of the impression it is well over three years old. I also have purchased two new Busman whistles from Paul this past year in wonderful maple. One is primarily birds eye, the other Tiger. Beautiful! Stunning! I love them!

I have none of the roughness you mention on your piece. They are nice and smooth. The Kingwood is especially so, no doubt a result of long play as well as careful creation.

My Busmans are simply treasures to me. I love their sound. And the craftmanship is excellent. But the real treasure is in the fine wood.

A VERY satisfied whistler in Kansas.

[fearfaoin]

Edited one time changing ''grate'' to ''great'' for fearfaoin. I know he is lurking, and waiting with his spell and grammer check to help me.

I'll only bug you if there's a good pun to be made, but thanks for thinking of me
I guess I could've done something with grating one's fingers on sharp holes, but it would've been forced.

Speaking of which, is the hole finishing something that has changed since Jessie wrote this review?
I don't notice that problem on my Busman, but it's second-hand so who knows what's been done to it since it left Paul's shop...