Price check on aisle 2...

[celticmodes]

A friend has a Copeland high D brass and was asking me what I thought it was worth. I'm guessing in the $300 range.

Am I close?

[Feadoggie]

A friend has a Copeland high D brass and was asking me what I thought it was worth. I'm guessing in the $300 range.

Nah! They aren't worth much any more. They fell out of favor with the popular people. I'll give you $100 for it. Yeah, that's the ticket...

It depends on the whistle, it's condition, it's age, etc. But it is safe to say at this point that $300 should be at the low end of the market. It would certainly sell at that price if it is in good playing shape. Copelands are not for everyone but I like them a lot. I'd make an offer if I didn't already have a couple Copeland D's in the bag.

Michael is still making new ones too.

Feadoggie

[AvienMael]

$300-$350 would be the range in my opinion. The new ones were selling at $345 in December, but a friend who spoke with him in the end of January said he had only nickel available at that time.

I have had a half-dozen predated Copelands over the years - still have one in brass and play it nearly every day. I was recently gifted a new one in nickel, and in my opinion it's a better whistle than any of the others I've had. That said, I can't buy into the sentiment that an older Copeland is worth more than a newer one. I am very partial to the feel and sound of the older ones, but this newest whistle is capable of being much more expressive, the intonation is better, it is chiffier, and it is clearer.

So age isn't really a factor in my opinion. As for condition? Does it play well? Is the tuning slide in good order? Everything else (other than major dents, etc.) is just character. A 15 to 20-year-old whistle that doesn't look used probably hasn't been used - and that's just a shame in my opinion... especially if it's a Copeland.

[s1m0n]

I have had a half-dozen predated Copelands over the years.

Really? Why kind of predator can take down a Copeland?

[Feadoggie]

$300-$350 would be the range in my opinion. The new ones were selling at $345 in December, but a friend who spoke with him in the end of January said he had only nickel available at that time.

It's interesting that used Copelands have been bringing in a bit more than that lately - quite a bit more in some cases. I attribute it to the fact that the Copeland website disappeared and some folks think Copeland is out of the business that they are no longer being made. And some sellers place their instruments for sale and state that they are no longer available from the maker. It bumps up the price - right or wrong. That's why I mentioned that new ones are available.

I agree with your thoughts on the vintage versus new Copelands as well. I've had five Copeland high D's over the last... well many years ... and the two I kept happen to be numbered. One is nickel and the other brass. They play and sound the same, really nice. Still some players persist in the notion that the older (Philadelphia) ones are the prized ones and so the myth goes on. And that is where the market is at - right or wrong. I would think a new Copeland might be just as nice myself.

Shouldn't be any trouble selling one - new or old. I like 'em but maybe it's just due to my Philadelphia upbringing - right or wrong.

Feadoggie

[AvienMael]

I have had a half-dozen predated Copelands over the years.

Really? Why kind of predator can take down a Copeland?

You know, I catch myself doing that all of the time... no idea as to why. "pre-numbered," not "pre-dated."

By the way, who moved the Copelands to Aisle 2? No wonder I'm confused.....

[s1m0n]

I have had a half-dozen predated Copelands over the years.

Really? Why kind of predator can take down a Copeland?

:lol:

You know, I catch myself doing that all of the time... no idea as to why. "pre-numbered," not "pre-dated." :oops:

Actually, your grammar is the more correct. When you strip the latin case endings off of 'predator', the stem is prey, not date. We likely say predator because preyor or preyer is awkward and ambiguous.

[AvienMael]

That may be, but Mr. Copeland doesn't stamp his whistles with a date, he numbers them. For some reason I keep referring to the older whistles as "pre-dated." I've done it for years...

[celticmodes]

By the way, who moved the Copelands to Aisle 2? No wonder I'm confused.....

I did since I got my Vambrace...

Now I will put on my flame retardant clothing.

[PhilO]

No need for the HAZMAT suit, but, I'm in the mood and will say a bit. I've been dealing with Michael and playing his whistles for a long time - pre- Jim Rementer and during Jim Rementer days, but not since. I have brass Copelands - E, Bflat, A, G, F, D, and 2 pre numbered nickel - D and C.

I've always found that Michael's high and low D whistles seem the most consistent; never met one that wasn't really fine. The C's were always a problem until I found a terrific one.

Over the years, I've owned and played about 20 Copelands and had to return 2 (C and A) that were so terrible they approached unplayable (and those times it really wasn't me); of course, they were both replaced and repaired respectively.

All of the Copelands I currently own are terrific, except one; that one, a low G, was sent by the gods as an example of the ideal whistle.

Bottom line - Burkes and Sindts are in my experience super consistent (I like them both); Copelands out of the D key are not so consistent.

That said, Michael's whistles are elegantly beautifully made whistles of top materials and craftsmanship, and, perhaps moreso than anyone else, he is capable of turning out really special instruments.

As to pricing, well that's what it is and up to each individual's preferences and means.

I'm just happy that I've had the good fortune to know Michael and his whistles through the years.

Philo

[rodfish]

So if a person would like to contact Mr. Copeland for a new whistle....

[Feadoggie]

There is a sticky at the top of the whistle forum which has all the info.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61533


Feadoggie

[jim stone]

Also he will retune/ revoice a whistle if it isn't up to par. He has the time now.