Alban Faust whistles?

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 3:18 pm

Oh my goodness, these are pretty:

http://www.sackpips.smedja.com/index.php?id=338&L=2

Does anyone have any experience with them?

Coffee · Post by **Coffee** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 3:35 pm

No, but I can't help thinking of a certain opera when I see the name.

Flogging Jason · Post by **Flogging Jason** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:06 pm

They ARE pretty! Nice woods and horn mounts.....I wonder how they sound. Hell, I wonder how the pipes he makes sound too. I did a currency conversion on the price of the one whistle he currently has for sale and it came out to about $400US!!! I can't say much though since I just spent $350 on a Thin Weasel A(thanks Patrick!). I would certainly like to know, as well, if anyone has ever put their hands on one of these.

Whitmores75087 · Post by **Whitmores75087** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:33 pm

The spacing of the tone holes is very even. I mean the gaps are about the same distance between all holes. That's unusual.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:11 pm

I think the spacing looks normal.

It would be more uneven if the instrument were strictly tuned to equal temperament. However, since he is a bagpipemaker and traditionalist, I would expect he uses tunings closer to just intonation, which most notably produces more of a space between the second and third toneholes from the bottom.

Best wishes,
Jerry

falkbeer · Post by **falkbeer** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 7:16 pm

Jerry Freeman wrote:I think the spacing looks normal.

It would be more uneven if the instrument were strictly tuned to equal temperament. However, since he is a bagpipemaker and traditionalist, I would expect he uses tunings closer to just intonation, which most notably produces more of a space between the second and third toneholes from the bottom.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Here are som other links to swedish pipe makers. (Tin whistle can roughly be translated to spilapipa in swedish). Gunnar Stenmarks page is in both swedish and english. Stenmarks pipes, or whistles, are beeing made in both the old original tuning and "modern" equal tuning. I´ve listened to some players who use the old tuning (and I can assure you, it´s very far from just tuning), and it sound very odd for a modern ear. Some of the notes are more like blue notes in jazz or blues. But it´s like listening to bagpipes - you´ll get used to it after a while! If you are curious I can recommend listening to Ale Moller on the album Harjedalspipan where he plays on the old pipe.

http://www.harjedalspipan.se/eng_frames.htm

http://www.tongang.se/leif/leifmain.html

/all the best, Falkbeer

MarcusR · Post by **MarcusR** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:43 am

Hi Jessie and all!

All I can say is that Alban is a very well known and first class instrument maker. I'm sure the whistles he makes share the same quality and craftsmanship as his pipes and keyed fiddles, which are top notch.
I'll see if I can find a whistle clip for you.

Cheers!

/MarcusR

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:12 am

Cofaidh wrote:No, but I can't help thinking of a certain opera when I see the name.

I'd sell my soul for one of them!

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:45 am

Thanks, Marcus. I'd love to hear a clip.

Dana · Post by **Dana** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:17 am

brewerpaul wrote:
Cofaidh wrote:No, but I can't help thinking of a certain opera when I see the name.
I'd sell my soul for one of them!

Roger O'Keeffe · Post by **Roger O'Keeffe** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:06 am

Cofaidh wrote:No, but I can't help thinking of a certain opera when I see the name.

Strikes me as a clever piece of marketing: any WhOA victim in denial can just say "the devil

made me buy it!".

falkbeer · Post by **falkbeer** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:51 am

MarcusR wrote:Hi Jessie and all!

All I can say is that Alban is a very well known and first class instrument maker. I'm sure the whistles he makes share the same quality and craftsmanship as his pipes and keyed fiddles, which are top notch.
I'll see if I can find a whistle clip for you.

Cheers!

/MarcusR

His and Lef Eriksson´s work on the swedish bag pipe has been essential to it´s revival.

JS · Post by JS » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:48 pm

This is cool & interesting stuff. I love the sound of that "old tuning." Makes me think of Bill Monroe's words for the old-time music he loved--"ancient tones."

Thanks for the postings and the links.

Dave Parkhurst · Post by **Dave Parkhurst** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:35 pm

bump... the olivewood and snakewood ones are making me covetous
dave

Pekkos · Post by **Pekkos** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:19 am

Hello!

I saw some of Alban Faust's whistles some year ago, but I didn't play them. They were beautifully made, he really makes high quality instruments! I have bagpipes mede by him and they have really nice intonation, and he likes to use drones in his music, so I would guess that the whisltes are intonated more close to bagpipe scales than to modern temperment.

/Anders