Susato Oriole Model Whistle

[Feadoggie]

I just noticed that there is a new product on the Susato website. The Oriole whistle is meant to replace the non-adjustable Dublin models. Has anyone had a chance to try one of these?



Might be a "Smart" move to redesign the Susato whistles about now.

Feadoggie

[MTGuru]

Interesting. I wonder how they differ from the Kildares.

[Feadoggie]

I wonder how they differ from the Kildares.

I'm curious as well.

One thing that appears to be different from the photo is that the head format has changed particularly around the window. We're familiar with the outer mouthpiece of the Kildare and Dublin models extending down around the window to the lower end of the ramp. That works well and makes the manufacture of the heads fairly straightforward. Take one apart some time and you will see why that is an obvious design advantage.

The Oriole outer mouthpiece collar stops at the top of the window. That is another conventional construction format but not one we've seen on a Susato. There might also be a difference in the diameter of the head tube but I'd want to actually take measurements. That is all based on some assumptions on my part from looking at the photo. I'll have to buy one to see just how they construct them of course.

Feadoggie

[Nikolas]

Just wondering if anyone has had a chance to try an Oriole D yet? I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been a review posted yet.

[Feadoggie]

I ordered one. It has not been delivered yet. I'll post some thoughts once I have it in hand.

Feadoggie

[Feadoggie]

I received my Susato Oriole high D whistle today. I've just played a couple tunes on it and I like it. Here are my first impressions.

It's a sweet little whistle. The timbre isn't quite as pure as the Kildare to my ears but it's nice. It plays very much like the Kildare. It does not seem to be as loud as the S series Kildare but it has plenty of volume. You have to provide that little extra push to hit the high B as you do on other Susatos.

It is a two piece whistle unlike the Dublin models. Color is a dark brown. The whistle body appears to be a simple extruded pipe. The whistle key is stamped on the bottom front of the body. The material feels/looks similar to a Dixon polymer whistle body but is a little stiffer and perhaps thicker in the wall. The bore is just under a half inch and cylindrical. You could mistakenly place the head on the wrong end of the tube. The tone holes are a little bit edgier than those on the Kildare.

The head looks to be molded. I see no lines that would indicate that the plug is a seperate piece as you would find on other Susato whistles. It has an impression of "Susato USA" on the front of the head and "Oriole" impressed on the reverse side. The finish of the Oriole is a satin or matte finish unlike the glossy Kildare.

The Oriole comes with a Susato thumbrest, an inexpensive vinyl pouch and the usual Susato fingering chart.

So this is a back-to-basics Susato model. It plays well. It's nicely made. It is nicely tuned. And it's a bit cheaper than the Dublin models that it replaces. And unlike those Dublin models it is tunable. It's a very decent whistle at a decent price of under $20US.

I'll take some side-by-side photos with a Kildare when I have some more time.

Feadoggie

[Peter Duggan]

Sounds interesting... so what's the overlap of the head and body (ie how deep does the body slot in at zero extension)?

[Feadoggie]

what's the overlap of the head and body

It is short, half inch or so. It's enough to tune I would think. I'll check later on where it would be set to hit A=440. The fit is solid and it does not slip. I'd probably like a bit more length for support but the material is not thin so it works (in a Susato kind of way).

Feadoggie

[Peter Duggan]

I'd probably like a bit more length for support

Yep, that's what I was wondering about more than tuning. Never had a Kildare although I've had D and C Dublins (think they might have been just plain 'Susatos' when I got them?) for many years, but always thought the 'slide' looked on the short side for stability and (dare I say it?) aesthetic grounds. So thought these Orioles might have a bigger overlap if the body slotted straight into a larger head, then spotted what still looks a bit like the Kildare slide/collar/whatever you like to call it...

[MTGuru]

One thing to mention, I suppose, if I understand the concept correctly ...

The Oriole is intended to be a series of interchangeable heads and bodies among various fipple instruments - whistle, recorder, etc.

A few years ago in my quest for a chromatic whistle-recorder hybrid, Mike K. was kind enough to send me one of his narrow bore recorders for testing. And one of my disappointments was that the parts weren't interchangeable with the Kildare whistles, despite the almost identical appearance.

But if the Oriole head is reasonably optimized for the whistle body with a good whistle sound, then swapping in the recorder body may be just the ticket.

[Feadoggie]

Well, the Kildare body to head joint did change at least three times in my memory. I remember talking to Mike K. in the late ninties about interchangability of the parts between current models and most of the Susatos I had at the time. The conversation was certainly pleasant, as usual, but the bottom line was "tough luck". They did change the joint at least once more after that too. The Oriole is available with Eb, D, C and Bb bodies as well as a tabor pipe, pentacorder and recorder of similar bore (~.485"). The head ahould work as well as the S-bore head works on the Kildares of the same keys. My experience there says that the high E of that bore was outside good performance boundaries (the bore too wide for the pitch) and the Bb was borderline in the other direction. The S-bore A whistle was over the line. It would appear that they are sticking to what worked well for them in the past. So we'll have to see how they handle the rest of the keys that are present in the Dublin line. I won't guess how the Kelischeks will do that or ultimately how the parts will interchange.

One thing I will mention is that the head length on the Oriole is considerably shorter than those of the Kildare line. The position of the tuning joint matters when you have a wall thickness like these whistles. I like that this joint will be higher up the whistle than it is on the various Kildares. I predict that this will have less of a negative effect on tuning if the slide is opened a bit than it does on the Kildares.

Feadoggie

[Feadoggie]

Pictures!

Here are the two Susato whistles. The Kildare being the black one and the Oriole being brown.


The heads from the front showing the joints. There you are Peter!


Both heads from the side profile showing the similarity of the beaks.


Both heads from the rear.


Both heads from the top showing the curved windways.


The layout of the finger holes. These appear to be more different in the photo, probably a perspective issue, than they really are.


Hope that is illuminating.

Feadoggie

[Dale]

I remember well that 10 years ago or so, we did a poll of C&F members at the time, getting their ratings of various lower-end whistles. Susatos, as I recall, had a lot of people ranking them really high, and a lot of people ranking them really low, and not much in the middle. I've always loved them. Not fond of their low whistles, though.

[hoopy mike]

The Oriole is intended to be a series of interchangeable heads and bodies among various fipple instruments - whistle, recorder, etc...

I can see possibilities for a whole host of frankenwhistles. I think there should be something in the Geneva convention forcing whistle manufacturers to make their whistle heads fit a simple tube to facilitate body swapping.

[Feadoggie]

I can see possibilities for a whole host of frankenwhistles. I think there should be something in the Geneva convention forcing whistle manufacturers to make their whistle heads fit a simple tube to facilitate body swapping.

Hoopy Mike, this one's going to be an easy target for the "make your own bodies" set. The inside diameter of the joint on the Oriole head is just about 5/8". It fits marvelously well over a piece of 1/2" CTS CPVC pipe - no sanding, no lathe work, no plumber's tape. But you didn't hear that from me.

Feadoggie