Got my Tully!

[Patrick]

One of the nice things about living in Fairbanks is that Erik Tullberg also lives here. That means that he hand-delivered my new whistle yesterday instead of having to mail it to me. Instant gratification. It also meant I got to see the whistle in various stages of completion, which is fun.

A full review will have to wait until I have had more than 5 minutes with the instrument, but I wanted to share my initial thoughts on it.

First, just as Dale says on his High-End Whistles reviews, Erik really cares about presentation. The whistle comes in a nice, solid case (I think it is a leatherette necklace box with a custom foam insert for holding the whistle) with a pair of polishing cloths. It also has a small certificate stating the serial number (the whistle is also marked) and a fingering chart with basic tips about caring for the whistle. Both pieces of paperwork are color prints, not photocopies. All of this comes in a white cardboard box, so the entire package has the effect of unwrapping a present. Very cool.

The one thing I could possibly say that is even remotely negative about the whistle is that the case demands that it be stored dis-assembled. That means I have to put it together every time I want to play it. That means tuning it every time. I am a mediocre player at best and my ear is not perfect. Therefore, I am not super-great about getting it in tune without the electronic tuner. That's okay. I fixed it. (Erik- sorry if this shocks you, but I doubt it will.) I used the tuner to get the whistle in tune (both Ds tune accurately, I didn't check the other notes with the tuner, yet) then took the point of a knife and scratched an index mark on the tube so I can line it up and be in tune right away.

Had the whistle come with such a mark in place, there would not be anything remotely negative to say about it at all. And this is hardly a detraction from the lovely instrument Erik makes.

As for playing, it takes less air than my Sweetone (I got the Session model), so I can squeek it a little bit. After an hour of playing it, I doubt I will have that problem any more. That's a problem with me, not the whistle.

The sound is very clean, nice and sweet. I think I am blowing a little too hard, which makes the upper octave sound a bit breathy. I will have a better idea of that after I spend more time with it. My initial impression was that the upper octave was a little airy, but this morning I played Boys of Blue Hill and didn't get that breathy sound, so I am thinking it really is just me.

The whistle is sterling silver and has a full tuning slide. The tuning slide offers enough tuning room to make it significantly flat or sharp. More than I can imagine ever actually needing.

I genuinely love the whistle and consider myself blessed to know Erik and his wonderful family. I'd love the whistle even if the maker was a stranger, but knowing the craftsman who builds these puts a personal connection there, too.

The disclaimer is that yes, Erik is a friend. He did not ask me to write a review, nor do I expect to receive anything from him as a result of my comments here. I am a self-taught and not-at-all-accomplished whistler, so you are not getting the opinions of a life-long pro, here.

I brought the whistle to work today so I could look at it and touch it any time I want. First time I've done that with any whistle.

-Patrick

[Patrick]

Forgot to mention this earlier. When Erik came to Fairbanks last Summer, I got a chance to play with one of his whistles the first time I met him. I had been to his web site the day before and I told him that the pictures do not do justice to his products. He didn't really agree, but I stand by this.

Since then, I have looked at a fair number of whistle makers' pages, but nobody has pictures as nice as Erik's. Still, the pictures don't tell the story.

Just a note.

-Patrick

[Zubivka]

How to remember a tuning length without scratching the whistle :
1. hardware store, plumbing aisle
2. Find the black o-ring which will fit over the whistle
3. Roll the o-ring up to the tuning sleeve assembly.
4. You can disassemble the whistle now, the o-ring "remembers" the basic tuning point.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Zubivka on 2002-12-06 18:01 ]</font>

[Patrick]

Well, sure, now you tell me. A little late, though. Of course, this is more subtle. I only put the scratch on the back, so even with the tuning slide pulled out, it isn't visible while playing.

Thanks for the tip!

-Patrick