Susatos

regor · Post by **regor** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 5:42 am

Recently I have pickep again my Susato C after buying the Kerry Songbird Low D (my first Low D and a great whistle!). My other whistles are O'Briens High D,C and Dixon High D (which I like both very much), but I find that after playing the Songbird for a while that it takes some effort to "re-adapt" my breath control to the no-back pressure of these whistles. The Susato has a back pressure similar to that of the Songbird and makes the transition much easier.

Now, I am considering getting a Susato SB high D, and/or Q1 and/or Songbird High D.... WhOA...!

Roger

DRC · Post by **DRC** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 10:24 am

I had a Songbird high D a couple years ago and hated it. It was a very difficult and tempermental child, indeed! The upper register was impossible at best, and finally ended up trading Ronaldo Reyburn for one of his high Ds, which was a significant improvement. And yes, I was up front with Ronaldo and told him it was just too darn difficult to play. But he wanted to see the design more than anything and was willing to make the trade. Maybe I just got a bad copy of the Songbird. I never buy non-tunable whistles anyway, so I don't know why I even got it in the first place.

I have a Susato high D standard bore, and although I do like the sound, it too is a bit difficult in the upper octave, but nothing close to that Songbird. At least I can play it, and it sounds great through a sound system or recorded. I've played several Susatos, and the C is my favorite by far. I had a VSB D, but gave it away because I didn't like the thin tone.

DC
SlipJig Celtic Band

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 2:26 pm

I find that Susato is a fair whistle for the price. Now I prefer the Overton low D and Greenwood high D.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 2:30 pm

Sold all of mine. Never regretted it.

Whitmores75087 · Post by **Whitmores75087** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 4:52 pm

Hi DRC,

The Songbird was my first "high end" whistle and it drove me towards cheapos for a long time. It's a bad whistle. Then I discovered Burke and the simple fact that not all makers of high end whistles are....

DRC · Post by **DRC** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 7:46 pm

Whitmores75087 wrote:Hi DRC,

The Songbird was my first "high end" whistle and it drove me towards cheapos for a long time. It's a bad whistle. Then I discovered Burke and the simple fact that not all makers of high end whistles are....

AMEN!

bresker · Post by **bresker** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 2:09 am

I've only had cheap generations and feadogs, apart from my Tony Dixon low-D, so I asked my folks to send me a mid-priced plastic whistle for my birthday last week.

My Susato high D has now arrived. Early impressions are that it is cetainly loud enough for playing along with my mp3 collection, but I miss the breathiness of the cheap metal. It feels a bit sterile, the notes jump rather than fade into one another and doesn't really justify the price tag. The fingering is nice and quick though.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:11 am

I voted Other Answer. I've never tried a high Susato, but have two low ones, given to me by friends at C&F. They sound great... I like the round tone and strong volume, but they also seem to take an awful lot of wind, which, I reckon is the trade-off for good volume. I don't especially like the appearance and the feel of Susatos. That said, I still intend to get a Susato rec***er or two, some day (unless, perhaps, an Adriana Dreamflute comes my way first).

perrins57 · Post by **perrins57** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:14 pm

I like Susato high D's, but not as much as my new Davy Spillane High D!

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:50 pm

perrins57 wrote:I like Susato high D's, but not as much as my new Davy Spillane High D!

Happy 100th post, perrins57!!

Whitmores75087 · Post by **Whitmores75087** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 2:54 pm

The hairspray tweak reduces the buzzy recorder sound from a Susato. Spray some ultra strong hold hairspray into the little window hole thingee. Let dry and re-apply often, I did it about 15-25 times over the course of a few days. If too much gets into the windway, clean it out with a strip of paper. I did it until the whistle started to sound like it had a cold. At that point I tried to "back off" by soaking the head in rubbing alcohol. I thought this would bring me back to square one, but in fact it made the sound better. I have no idea how this happened, but I ended up with a great whistle. It still doesn't have what you'd call a "round" or "flute-like" sound, but neither is it that annoying sharp Susato thing. I'll run it by a whistle-playing buddy this weekend and report back.
I did the same tweak to a Silkstone and got great improvement, although it required much fewer applications....maybe 10 overall.

Bumble · Post by **Bumble** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:32 pm

The Susato High D is my most expensive whistle. The big holes make half holing some notes easy and I love the sound of it, especially when cutting notes.
I also hate the sound (especially when cuttting high notes) when the octave squawks down. ...and if I do get the cuts right, I'll be blowing way too hard for the next note down and I"ll squawk that one.
A recent run of such noises just earned my Susato a turn in the "time out box" for bad whistles ...where it will stay until it has learned its lesson.
Honestly, after two months of regular practice, shouldn't running up and down the upper octave come more easily?

Grrrrr!

Sort of love and hate it.

mark02 · Post by **mark02** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 9:24 pm

Just wanted to chime in that I have been extremely happy with my Susato whistles for a number of years now. The intonation is flawless, and if you work out the correct fingerings in the second octave, they tone improves dramatically. Absolutely worth the work of the fingering changes.

I find that if you hole the right hand above the second octave G, the tone is softened (certainly true of my whistles), and the sound quite easy to control.

I have a large number of brands of whistles and find that I now play Susatos exclusively. The excpetion is the low D; I don't have a low D Susato.

If you give a bit to the instrument, it gives back wonderfully.

Thanks for listening,

Mark Sackett

Foozwah · Post by **Foozwah** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 9:43 pm

Only got two Susatos; a high D and C. I sort of like them, but tend not to play them very often as I find that their volume makes solo practice a neighbour-affecting proposition (currently living in a semi-detached unit, sharing an internal wall with the next-door folk).

Great for outdoor use though, and I'm strangely fond of their tone. As I say, don't use them very often, but when I do, I'm usually a little taken aback initially by how mellow they sound, compared to my other high whistles.

But then the volume and the slightly unbalanced high end starts to irritate me, and back into the whistle bag they go for another couple of months...

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 10:36 pm

Welcome, Foozwah!!

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Susatos

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