New acquisition!

Bothrops · Post by **Bothrops** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:16 am

No, it's not Jumanji!...

It's my new Brad Anderson cooktown ironwood whistle!, YAY!!!!

MichaelR · Post by **MichaelR** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 11:04 am

Very nice looking whistle.

If it's sounds as good as it looks you'll be in whistle heaven.

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:24 pm

Very pretty! Sound clips???????

Bothrops · Post by **Bothrops** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:31 pm

jemtheflute wrote:Very pretty! Sound clips???????

Oh, no. I'm not qualified to do it justice.

Just kidding. I'll try to record some clips in the next few days. I'll post them here.

Cheers,
Martin

narrowdog · Post by **narrowdog** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:47 pm

Nice

Biggie · Post by **Biggie** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:13 pm

Very pretty.

I'm always scared of wooden whistles.

Again, congratulations!

ketida · Post by **ketida** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:03 pm

Why would you be scared of wooden whistles? I've been playing wooden instruments most of my life. I LOVE the sound of wooden instruments and wood love (bad pun, sorry) to have a whistle made of wood.

The only thing that scares me about wooden whistles is the price. What's up with that? Okay, I know some of the wood used is very dear....but not $400 worth of dear! Is it really that difficult to make a wood whistle?

chrisp · Post by **chrisp** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:40 pm

Wooden Whistles are not expensive!

I think they are cheap, considering they are made lovingly by hand.
It's just, today everything is mass produced by machines, and nobody seems to appreciate craftsmanship any more.
I am a stone carver, people are always shocked to hear how many man hours were used towards a project, and how much it costs.
How much would you expect to earn in one hour?

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:25 am

Biggie-- taking care of wooden whistles is no, well, biggie. Pretty common sense.

Ketida-- the wood is fairly expensive, but what you're really paying for with a wooden whistle is a LOT of time and labor. I think most whistle makers do this part time in their spare time. In a sense, what you're paying for is time that we'd otherwise be spending with friends and family, other chores, travel etc.

I just received the Anderson tour whistle and will finally have some time with it this weekend. I"ll comment on it soon, but for starters I like it a lot.

kennychaffin · Post by **kennychaffin** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:26 am

Congrats! Will look forward to sound clips.

Feadoggie · Post by **Feadoggie** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:00 am

Bothrops, very nice whistle. I am sure it sounds lovely too. Congratulations.

ketida wrote:The only thing that scares me about wooden whistles is the price. What's up with that?

They are really a bargain in most cases. I sat down one rainy afternoon and did a rough cost analysis for making whistles constructed from wood blanks as well as pre-made tubes. Think about what goes into it. The start-up costs for tools are very expensive - lathes, mills, etc. The research and development - all that wasted time and material. Then once the design is established, cost out the labor to produce each whistle. Consider the cost of running the shop, insurance, communicating with ciustomers. Then add the cost of materials. The costs add up. And the whistle market is not a large market as far as sales go. The sales potential is rather modest. That doesn't make for a very compelling business case.

I don't think the price of many handmade whistles actually cover all those costs. In spite of that we have a lot of whistle makers. Why? My only explanation is that whistle makers (and flute makers) really like the music, the instruments and the people that play them. It's a labor of love. Wooden whistles have the added draw of the timber. When you make wooden whistles each and every whistle is different and unique. Gotta love that.

ketida also wrote: Is it really that difficult to make a wood whistle?

Well it isn't particularly easy.

I know I am having fits trying to get everything right myself. Maybe I can make candle stick holders out of the whistle tubes that haven't worked out. I have a lot of respect for the effort Brad, Paul and others put into the wooden whistles they produce. I am looking forward to Paul's review of the Anderson tour whistle too. I know I am enjoying my Anderson whistle.

Feadoggie

Bothrops · Post by **Bothrops** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:35 am

Here there are two sound clips.. I'll try to upload some more in the next few days.

"The Ashplant"
http://audio.xanga.com/Bothrops/1915a2426657/audio.html

"Glass Of Beer"
http://audio.xanga.com/Bothrops/c784d2426646/audio.html

kennychaffin · Post by **kennychaffin** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:43 am

Thank you!

shadowformz · Post by **shadowformz** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 7:49 pm

Glad you like your whistle Martin and i love the sound clips

. Great stuff

.

Bothrops · Post by **Bothrops** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 10:52 am

I wish I played better to do it justice!

Another sound clip:

"The Silver Spear"
http://audio.xanga.com/Bothrops/c17852459527/audio.html