CP: Goldfinch Whistle World Tour

[Whistler Bard]

Hello there fellow whistlers and wanderers!

Today the Goldfinch Whistle arrived! I didn't had much time to play it, but for the little I tried I can say I love the sound, and as I never had possessed a plastic (pvc?) whistle before I admit I never thought they could have this sound quality!

As time passes by and I play it more I'll let you know with more detail my opinion. Next week I'll send it to the next person in the World Tour

Just as it is, I'm loving the experience!

Cheers!

(if you follow my blog you'll see that today's post is the same as this one, I'm sorry, but I'm out of time lately)

[Whistler Bard]

Part two!

So today I still didn't had much time to play the Whistle, but the little I had I again loved it! I'm seriously thinking in buying one, cause I really love the sound and the easy that is to play it!

Another great thing for me is that in other Whistles I've tried I tend to make them clog really quickly because my breath has lots of moisture (I guess!), and this piece of Polish magic doesn't clog for anything in this world! I'm really loving it!

It comes packed in a simple card box, and has a sweet rustic carry bag, I'm posting a pic for you to see (sorry if you think this is pub but if you want to see the pic check my blog: http://thewhistlerbard.blogspot.com/ cause I'm too damn lazy to put it here, and anyway, I have a new whistle to enjoy!!!)

More details to come soon enough!

Cheers!

[Whistler Bard]

Part 3:

Hello people!

So I played the Goldfinch whistle today, and let me say I'll be sorry I have to depart from it so soon! Still on Monday or Tuesday I'll send it to the next world tourer

My opinion remains the same, it's a great whistle, and even being a beginner I can tell it's a great buy. I really love the mouthpiece, I don't know why but it's different, smaller, really easy to play, and as I said previously, doesn't clog for anything in this world!

Cheers, and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

[Feaorn]

Thank You for the review! Of course, we are really happy to hear that You like our whistle!

We just can't wait for next participants' opinions!

[Whistler Bard]

The whistle is no longer in my possession, I shiped it today to Gilian, the next lucky one

I just feel sorry for not being able to play it more, but I'm out of time these past weeks.


Cheers!

[Welshman]

Interesting about the mouthpiece being suited to musicians producing a lot of moisture - this has been a perennial problem of mine, so I'm really looking to testing this little baby!!

D

[benbrad]

I just received a new Goldfinch D today for the US leg of the tour. It is beautifully made. I have only played it a very short while but I am already impressed with the tone, workmanship, and playability. I will post more info when I have had time to play it for a while.

[scoutcow]

I received the whistle yesterday. It's well made and it looks good.
It plays pretty comfortable, it has a nice shaped mouthpiece. The tuning is pretty good, only with C# and 2nd D it is needed to blow a bit harder to bring it in tune. Cnat is oxxooo when using the same pressure as for the C#. When in tune it is around halfway up on the tuning slide, wich is pretty tight, but not too tight.
It is very responsive, have no problems when playing some fast reels.
I really like the playing characteristics. It's hard to descibe the tone, but I do like it. I think it would be something like, pure with a bit chiffness.
I had a little bit of clogging while playing, but nothing serious and I'm a pretty wet blower.
The only thing that would keep me from buying it (apart from the lack of money) would be the pressure you have to use while playing, or the lack of it. It doesn't have to be played really gently, but I like whistles wich have to be played a bit more aggresive. The air pressure requirement is more than that of a Dixon Trad, but less than my Overton and Oz high D's.
It's a very fine whistle to play and I love to play this one, but I'd like it to use a bit more pressure.

I'll play it a bit more this week and if I make up my mind on some points I'll let you know.

[scoutcow]

Here's a vid of me playing the Belfast Hornpipe on the Goldfinch tour whistle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKdOCfbNnXM

[scoutcow]

The european tour whistle is on it's way to the next person on the list.

[Feaorn]

Thank You very much for Your participation and the recording!

The tour goes on...

[benbrad]

GOLDFINCH WHISTLE TOUR (A REVIEW) by Ben Bradley
Note: I am following the general outline used by Tin Whistler who has expertly reviewed many whistles on his own website.

Overall appearance
This D whistle is beautifully made and has real attention to detail in the construction. The whistle is tunable with the body of the whistle tightly sliding into the head joint. It has a long beak which comfortably fits the mouth. The wind way is curved to help prevent clogging. The fipple plug is black Delrin ® and the blade ramp of the fipple appears to be hand cut. According to the Goldfinch website each whistle is entirely hand made. There are two accent lines cut around the circumference beginning about one fourth inch above the bottom of the bell and about one eighth inch apart for distinct styling. Each whistle is numbered with the number being cut or perhaps melted on the back side of the head joint. The whistle comes with a tan draw string type bag with the Goldfinch Logo printed at the top end. The Goldfinch logo is also on an acetate tape about an inch above the tuning joint of the whistle head. It looks like care must be taken to prevent the tape from peeling off from prolonged whistle use. The logo would be better applied in a more permanent manner. The tone holes are very smooth and symmetrical and are tapered on the inside showing that they have been individually and expertly worked.

Playing Characteristics
This whistle is pure and more flute like in tone. It is crisp with not much chiff when you attack notes. You can tell it is not a metal whistle just by listening to it.

Volume:
This whistle is moderately loud. Although I didn’t play it outside in the wind, I doubt that it would stand up to very much cross wind and would probably not be heard well outside. It can be played in a medium loud session but would be drowned out in a really loud one.

Responsiveness:
This whistle is very responsive with there being no problem playing anything you like as fast as you like.

Tuning:
This whistle does require a bit of breath control but it presents no problem and you will quickly learn to control it. It plays in-tune fairly evenly through two octaves with a piercing 3rd register with the high e even playing well. The tuning slide has plenty of room to adjust the whistle to play sharp or flat.

C-natural:
OXXOOO works for me just fine.

Hole size and placement:
The bottom two tone holes of this whistle are a little on the large size and look to be of the same size but I have seen and played whistles with larger holes. Slurs and half-holeing work well with this whistle.

Air volume requirements:
Low. You won’t be huffing and puffing with this whistle.

Air pressure requirements:
Low. This whistle is very easy to play. Doesn't take a lot of breath, and you don't have to push it in the 2nd octave.

Clogging:
I have a real moisture problem when I play but this little whistle has never clogged on me even once.

Summary
This is a very good PVC whistle. It has a very pleasing tone. It is light, comfortable, and handles easily with good responsiveness. The only hang up for me is the price. It is $56.00 USD and this seems just a little pricy to me for a PVC soprano d. Plus since it has to come all the way from Poland you have the shipping cost. The actual shipping to me was 7.70 euros or $11.00 USD (if I am reading the mailing stamp correctly) but some whistle makers charge a flat rate of $15.00 USD or more which could be higher than the actual shipping cost. Eleven dollars is not much for shipping even within the US but it all adds up. To be fair you can obtain a shipping quote from the Goldfinch website before you order if that is an issue for you. However, my point is that the cost would be $67.00 USD to me. A Susato is easily as good a whistle as this at less than half the price. However, that may not be an excessive amount for a hand made whistle. If money is not a problem then by all means go for it. In my opinion you won’t be disappointed with the whistle, only the price.

[Chris]

The European-tour-whistle reached Germany yesterday and I would like to share my first (unsorted) impressions.
Actually benbrad has summed it all up nicely.
The whistle looks lovely and very well made. I especially liked the mouth-piece.
I was really impressed by the responsiveness. All the tones come very prompt and exact. The overall tone is very pure, the upper octave especially is very clear and bird-like.
I had some difficulties in tuning the whistle, as was very tight and I was actually afraid of breaking it.
Breath control is an issue with this whistle. With my erratic breath control, which works fine on most cheapies, I produced a fair amount of squeaking, when I first tried. I managed to improve during the evening, though (much to my family's relief). This is definitely a personal problem I have and noit the whistle's fault.
Overall the Goldfinch doesn't need much air.
There's not much chiff and it is on the quiet side.

On first impression, this might well be a candidate for my next bout of whoa.

[Tommy]

I've just been sending You e-mail adresses of the participants who are next to You on the list
The USA and the UK
USA
2. Tommy D.
3. Jonathan T.

I need an address for Jonathan T.
Thank you

[Feaorn]

Again, thank You, Ben, for Your proffesional, detailed review!

Can't wait for more!