Having accepted the delivery, I quickly retreated into my home to inspect and play the new arrival. I carefully opened the priority shipment container sifting through packing material until finding a cylindrical caccoon of bubble wrap protecting the whistle. Slowly peeling back the plastic sheet, I was soon to behold a Milligan Soprano D whistle crafted from Gene's special reserve of select blackwood. 
As I examined the new whistle, I was awed by the stark contrast of the blackwood, the highly polished brass of the tuning slide and ferrule surrounding the mouth of the bore, and the matte black finish of the Delrin mouthpiece. All of the elements just mentioned complimented each other like those found in the composition of a piece of fine art. Further examination of the blackwood while closemin hand and under varying lighting conditions showed the wood to be a rich blend of black and a deep brown hue. The coloration had the added character of greyish white striations that ran parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tone body. The coloration exhibited seemed to vary in deapth as a vitreous lustre was reflected back to my eyes. The blackwood was obviously very fine grained and very dense.
It was unclear to me if the whistle was highly polished or the blackwood just had a naturally shiney surface, but it certainly is pretty.
The total length of the whistle without any extension of the tuning slide is 11.3" as measured from the mouth of the bore to the aftmost part of the Delrin mouthpiece. The blackwood tone body is just shy of 8" from the mouth of the bore to the junction of the tuning slide. The Delrin mouthpiece section is 3.2". The outside diameter of the cylindrical whistle is .6" and the inside bore diameter is .4". Gene said that he makes this whistle with a thicker wall and that the results were what he considered to be a more mellow tone than his thinner walled whistles. The all brass tuning slide is precision machined and though it slides smoothly, it is designed to hold any position of adjustment as set by the player. The tuning slide is well designed and works flawlessly. The tone holes on the whistle body were nicely centered and the edges were smooth. As I played through several scales and tunes, I made note (no pun intended) of the crisp response as my fingers fell upon and then left the various tone holes. The whistle is very responsive and a series of cuts, taps, and rolls demonstrated that a great range of expression was possible on this instrument.
Milligan whistles have a reputation of being loud and this high D was no exception. I played both indoors and outdoors to test differing acoustical environments. This is a very nice whistle for outdoors and I played in a fair wind with little negative noticed. This whistle does like to be pushed and I seemed to gravitate toward doing so. The whistle mouthpiece has a curved windway that is just shy of .4" wide and .1" in height, this design combined with it's construction in Delrin seem to minimize any clogging issues and I did not experience any such problems during an extensive period of play. The mouthpiece provides what I would consider to be light to medium resistence and air consumption tends to be fairly high. The demand for air would be of little consequence for experienced players. Players having less experience can make adjustments to the length of phrasing in shortening intervals between breaths while enjoying this whistle. With regard to the tonal qualities inherent to the more thickly walled Milligan high D, I concur with Gene in that the sound is nicely mellow, yet there is still an interesting complexity of air moving through the whistle, a hint of rasp, and minimal chiff unless pushed hard. The transition between octaves is smooth with a defined break between the lower and upper. Air flow throughout the octaves require little extra push until reaching the And B notes of the upper octave. There is a noted increase in volume as this threshold is reached.
Overall, the Milligan soprano D whistle is another fine example of the top shelf status of this fine instrument and that of Gene Milligan as a maker. Gene crafts his whistles in a wide variety of hardwoods, Delrin, and Dymondwood ( a wood and epoxy laminate), and in a variety of keys. I found Gene to be pleasant and easy to speak with, and he demonstrates a focus on pleasing his customers. My Milligan whistles certainly will be treasured for their value as a wonderful musical instrument and for their intrinsic beauty as honed by the skills of Gene Milligan. As a retired engineer and a maker of fine guitars, it is apparent that Gene Milligan blends science, art, and the sound business practice of superb customer service in producing fine whistles that any whistle enthusiast will thoroughly enjoy playing.
I look forward to the special old world appearance that this beautiful Milligan Blackwood D whistle will take on as the shine of the brass takes on the patina aquired through continual and frequent use. The underbelly of my whistle is laser etched Gene Milligan Denver 114 (a serial number) and D for the key designation. The etching is enhanced in a subtle gold. Gene Milligan's makers mark is symbolic of the pride he takes in making these great whistles. I believe that instruments such as these possess the potential to become treasured collectibles and heirlooms, I know #114 certainly will.
Cayden
