Feadog???

[scottie]

I saw a post the other day about Feadog whistles. The participants were talking about two models in particular. They referred to a Mark III and a Mark I. I wrote to a guy selling a Feadog in the key of C and asked him if it was a Mark III or Mark I and he said all he knew was that it was a Feadog and that was all he could tell me. Can anyone explain to me what the Mark III or Mark I Feadog whistles are?
Thanks,
Scottie

[walrii]

Here you go:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29835

[pancelticpiper]

That's a great photo Jerry posted, of four different Feadog styles.

What are the years each was made?

I see from the photo that my beloved old Feadog, which I got around 1980, is the Mark I.

[Feadoggie]

I wrote to a guy selling a Feadog in the key of C and asked him if it was a Mark III or Mark I and he said all he knew was that it was a Feadog and that was all he could tell me.

It is unlikely that anyone that doesn't hang out around this forum would know or use the "MarkI/II/III" terminology for the different generations (pardon me ) of Feadogs. The terminology was coined here in discussing the changes to the basic Feadog over the years.

What are the years each was made?

Good question! I don't know that we have established dates for the various editions. Maybe if we sample the recollections of "seasoned" players here we could zero in on some dates. Your experience sets an early date of 1980 for the Mark I. I've played one particular Feadog Mark I since the early 80's too. I liked that one enough to buy extras every time I ran into them. I have close to a dozen Mark I's in my kit and most of them are quite good and similar to my original. The Feadog Mark I was (still is) easily identified by an extra sticker around the bottom of the tube. Somewhere between 1990-92 I noticed the stickers at the bottom of the tube were phased out and the whistle head and tube layout proved to be different as well. That was the Mark II. Here's a photo of one of my Mark I's and a Mark II.

It's likely that the factory changed over to the Mark II earlier than that and it took a while for retail stocks to be replenished on this side of the ocean. The Mark III seemed to appear in the late 1990's. That's just my general recollection.

Anybody else have a clearer memory?

Feadoggie

[MTGuru]

I wrote to a guy selling a Feadog in the key of C and asked him if it was a Mark III or Mark I

As far as I know (and I could be wrong), the "Mark I" Feadóg was only offered as the standard D whistle. When I used to sell it back in the early 80s, I don't recall a C Feadóg available from my US distributors/jobbers, and I certainly would have stocked it if I could have. Back then, the Gen and Clarke were the two C whistles I was able to get hold of from my US wholesale channels.

[scottie]

Thanks to all that responded. I really appreciate the information.
Scottie

[pancelticpiper]

Digging around in some cabinets a couple days ago I found a second Feadog Mark I.

It plays nearly as good as the one I've been playing as my main D whistle for ages.

I stuck it on an Eb Gen body and it plays great.

The heads are the same shape but slightly different colours: my original one is a rather dark green and the one I bought a bit later is more of a Kelly green. (Just to add one more factor in to the mix!)

[Tucson Whistler]

I just found a Mark I on eBay, but I have to see how much shipping from the UK is. I've been interrested in trying one, but didn't know how to tell which is which. Thanks

[Feadoggie]

I just found a Mark I on eBay,

This one?

[MTGuru]

The heads are the same shape but slightly different colours: my original one is a rather dark green and the one I bought a bit later is more of a Kelly green. (Just to add one more factor in to the mix!)

Yep ... Except I wonder about the chronological order of the colors.

My original Mk1, which I bought around 1983, has a head which I would call a bright primary green or Kelly green. The label reads "Feadóg / Made in Ireland by McCullough Pigott Mfg. Ltd.". These is the original whistle produced starting 1978, and is same whistle that was supplied to me during the time I sold Feadógs through 1986.

My second Mk1, which I acquired fairly recently from "new old stock" via Jerry Freeman (thanks, Jerry!) has what I would call a duller "camouflage green" or "olive green" head, and the plastic finish is more matte and not as shiny. The label reads "Feadóg / Made in Ireland by Feadóg Teo."

And while I can't date the second one, it's clear that it was made after the first, since it post-dates the changeover from McCullough Pigott to the incorporation of Feadóg Teoranta as a separate entity in 1987.

See: http://www.cro.ie/search/CompanyDetails ... 848&type=C

So perhaps the color mystery deepens. Or, more likely, Richard, we're just describing the same colors in different terms.

As an aside ... The second head is not as cleanly molded, with some spurious plastic flashing inside the fipple window. It plays nearly as well as the first one, but I need to take an Xacto knife to it one of these days.

[AvienMael]

It may very well be that you can't date them by the color of head. In working with any plastic, variations in color from one "lot" to another is extremely common. The only difference (in some instances) may be that one whistle head is from a lot that was batched on a Tuesday, and the other from a lot that was batched on a Thursday.

[MTGuru]

It may very well be that you can't date them by the color of head.

Yes, perhaps. But I can say that during the 4 or 5 years I sold them the color was 100% consistent. So in this case it's not a matter of Tuesday vs. Thursday lots, but of a long production run over a period of years. Which would make the color a usable factor in dating, especially if the color change seems to correspond both to labeling and to a significant date in the history of the company. Of course, we'd need more examples of the Mk1 from the 1986-87 period in particular (the terminus post quem here) to be able to pin this down.

It's not unlike the consistent color change in dating Generation heads, from the deeper blue of the "classic" Gen to the lighter blue of the later (and current) production. I'm not sure when the color change took place. But it was long-term and global, and certainly post-dates the change of mold from the old style head with crease and dimple, to the new style head without. The new style head appeared around 1986, but continued to use the old dark blue plastic color.

[pancelticpiper]

I now have my two Feadogs in front of me.

The one I bought first, as I recall c1980, is about this colour, what might be called a deep Kelly green, perhaps what might be called halfway between Kelly and forest green. It's been played regularly since I bought it and has lost its sticker or stickers long ago.

The one I bought somewhat later, in the mid-80s as I recall, is about this colour, somewhat lighter and duller but also with a slight olive cast (which I didn't notice until I put the two side-by-side). It's never been played and is like new. It has the sticker around the bottom and the "feadog teo" sticker at the top.

There are several subtle differences in the head design:

-the darker head appears to have a slightly larger opening, as best I can tell both wider and longer.

-the darker head has a more slender and delicate tip.

-the lighter head has more flash around the circumference, and has a slightly more matte finish.

[MTGuru]

I now have my two Feadogs in front of me.

Thanks, Richard. Your observations are exactly consistent with what I see in mine as well.

I did take a knife to the extra flashing today. I'd say it's a slight improvement, but the older whistle is still slightly brighter and less airy than the newer one. Both are putty-filled.

[Tucson Whistler]

I just found a Mark I on eBay,

This one?

Yep, that's it