whose the king of the cheapies?

[cavefish]

CLARKE IS THE KING AND THE ORIGINAL --------------

[shadeclan]

You can pick up some of Jerry Freeman's whistles for under $20 - wouldn't they count as cheapies?

[benbrad]

Really? Where?

[CapnDistracto]

As Judy said, while not a "cheapie" by nature, the inexpensive Dixons are a fantastic buy. The polymer D is about $18 or so most places and it's a very sweet whistle that is well in tune.

Edit: Just read Strom's post, and I have to agree with him. The Dixon was the first non-cheapie I'd purchased and there was just something about that sound that wouldn't let me put it down. New whistle discovery aside, it fits into that whole finding the whistle that you sound better playing as a beginner, which encourages you. Feadogs and Oaks are great and take a lot of my play time, but how I sound on a Feadog or Oak now as opposed to when I first tried controlling one of them is entirely different. Also, the very light air requirement of the Dixon is very helpful for training your breathing as a beginner.

[PhilO]

Clark originals, Waltons, Gens, Faedogs and Susatos; although I love also Burke, Sindt, Copeland and Abell, load your quiver with the aforementioned cheapies and you're set for life.

Philo

[shadeclan]

Really? Where?

You can look at tweaked Sweetones at the following stores:
Gaelic Crossings
Irish Flute Store
The Whistle Shop

[cavefish]

Clark originals, Waltons, Gens, Faedogs and Susatos; although I love also Burke, Sindt, Copeland and Abell, load your quiver with the aforementioned cheapies and you're set for life.

Philo

i can tell your a content man

[Steamwalker]

When I first read the title, Clarke immediately popped into my head although I prefer the Feadogs because they too were my first whistle and are a lot less breathy than the Clarkes. Feadogs have the what I think of as the traditional sound for a tin whistle. But then again, I am a newbie.

[Steve1776]

King of the cheap whistles? The Clarke Meg is $3 - cheap enough to give away to kids in a whistle class, yet not a bad whistle. You can buy them in 3 dozen batches directly from Clarke for $2 each.

I have posted a song played on an untweaked Clarke Meg D on my website, http://www.whistleharmony.com/Whistle.html

[lalit]

Steve1776, your Meg sounds WAY better than mine, which seems to have a funky blade (that I have been unable to fix). I think I need to go spend another $3 -- kind of like buying a lottery ticket, isn't it?

However, I like my Clarke Original better anyway, so perhaps no lottery today, after all! ...It must be those nice painted diamonds swaying my opinion... Joking, just joking! Honestly, though, I'm not bothered by the diamonds. What I like is its simple, old-fashioned construction and its sound.

[synecdoche]

hmmm....well, i love the tweaked Sweetone i just got yesterday. it plays EVER so much better than my Walton brass D...i love its peppy sound! but i still haven't tried the feadog or generation, so i have no way of knowing which one is best for me.

[Ballyfingers]

King of the cheap whistles? The Clarke Meg is $3 - cheap enough to give away to kids in a whistle class, yet not a bad whistle. You can buy them in 3 dozen batches directly from Clarke for $2 each.

I have posted a song played on an untweaked Clarke Meg D on my website, http://www.whistleharmony.com/Whistle.html

There was a huge beginner workshop here in Ottawa in August at the local Folk Festival. Over 200 Megs were given away. I wrote a teeny review of it here:
http://irishmusicottawa.blogspot.com/20 ... takes.html

Craig

[Wanderer]

The clear winner: Personal preference.

[seisflutes]

I voted feadog, but prefer waltons.


I suppose everyone knows it was Picard, not Kirk, who "played" the "whistle."

[CranberryDog]

i like clarke, but mary bergin would tell you generation.

I'd tend to take her word for it.

Not that it's a cheapie, but Mary Bergin plays Sindt.