Chiff and Fipple Forums

I've played both and prefer the Trad. The brass whistle (DX203) was simply too heavy for me to hold comfortably. Others like the weight. The heavier brass will take longer to warm up than the Trad. Tone-wise, both were very good whistles. It really boils down to personal preference.

Have to agree with Thomaston -- a brass Burke is about the purest metal whistle I've played. However, I just got one of Jerry Freeman's Bluebird whistles. Sweet & fairly pure is a very good description of the one in my possession. Definitely a keeper.

Hey Sarah/Annie! Good to see ya posting again. Love my whistle satchel .... felt a bit sorry for those unable to get one for the past few. Best of luck in the new studio.

My first thought was 'any whistle in Joanie Madden's hands'. But there were once two special whistles in my hands that have since been sent on to better players -- an Abell D and a Reyburn G. Each had just a little bit extra magic in the tone, even with my amateur playing.

Happy Banjo-ing, Mack!

Better watch out, though. People may decide to head for Colorado for a Mack fix. You have been warned.

Jkrazy52 - I have two Mel Bay books already. All I can say to anyone, is stay away from these. These are utterly awful. They are not even written by flute players, and just seem to propagate that awful commercial enterprise with impeccable marketing that Mel Bay books are very good at. I'm really d...

James_Alto wrote:Seems hard to find a collected book of these.

James, there is a Mel Bay book in the Ireland's Best series called Ireland's Best Slow Airs.

Mack has made whistles entirely of cpvc, but I didn't notice them on his website when checking last night. However, send him an email and double-check. He's a wonderful person to talk to and deal with.

Three makers of pvc/cpvc whistles that haven't been mentioned: Mack Hoover, Ethnicwind whistles, and Tommy Dion.

The Whitney whistle pictured on the link given is probably a much newer version than the one Darwin reviewed. It certainly looks nothing like the Whitney in my collection. My whistle is all brass, with the window and ramp very similar to a Laughing Whistle, and has a pure, sweet sound, to my ear. he...

Zen, contact Mike Burke and see if he has any suggestions or options to offer. He is the first person I would ask if it were my Burke whistle.

DrPhill, I've used backing tracks created with some of the Finale programs (SongWriter, PrintMusic, Allegro). Write out the music in parts -- whistle, harp, cello, piano ... whatever. You can designate which parts you want to include in the MIDI, or mp3. Canned music and kept to a strict tempo for s...

I've got a question. Why wouldn't a D whistle work, cross fingering the G#, provided that the music stays within the range of a D whistle?

I'm beginning to think Keith just needs a good excuse to buy an E whistle.

Paul Busman, Tommy Dion, Ronaldo Reyburn, Erle Bartlett, and Gary Humphrey also post here. Stacey O'Gorman (Alba) also posts on rare occasions.

Jock_Hawk, there is a whistle made in Scotland -- the Alba. It is more expensive, but you may be able to get it by Christmas if you order through the Alba website . Not the whistle you were asking about but just another option. Jerry Freeman is a forum member. A direct order from him might get the w...