Has anyone played on an abell whistle

illuminatus99 · Post by **illuminatus99** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 11:57 am

I'm looking into buying a high end whistle soon, I'm leaning towards a copeland in brass but I'm wondering how that abell sounds, it's definately a pretty whistle but I don't know if a wood one would be loud enough for session playing.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:29 pm

Well, I suppose it depends on the size of the session........

In most cases your average Abell D will carry well enough for all but the rowdiest sessions.

Copelands are wonderful too, and tend to be a bit louder.

Loren

thurlowe · Post by **thurlowe** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:37 pm

My Abells are my favorite; they run like a top and have characterful sound that seems to get better with age. But watch out: some people have a hard time with the mouthpiece design. The "beak" is short, and I've noticed that people who pick up mine seem uncomfortable with it. Abell said he based the design on the Susato whistle (can't get any louder than that), so if you don't like Susatos...

The Sindt whistle I played almost, but not quite, resuscitated my WhOA. I would order them if I didn't have the Abells.

My Copeland nickel silver is great. I can't exactly say why I have a slightly adversarial relationship with it. It's a little slippery. We haven't built up trust.

I would love to try Overtons. Bloomie has me convinced that they are the bee's knees.

Good luck, Illuminatus!

Cara

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 1:03 pm

P.S. See my related post in the "Whistle Volume" thread.

Cara, although Chris may have used a Susato as a starting point for his design, I think any sort of comparison of the two is.......unfair: Aside from a stubby mouthpiece and impeccable tuning, the two are as different as night and day. Just a clarification for any newbies out there who might otherwise be turned off to Abells by the comparison - certainly no offense intended

Are you still enjoying that Olwell?

Loren

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 1:09 pm

I have both the Abell and the Copeland nickel.
I've played the Copeland brass, too.

The Abells are very beautiful, but they're less
loud than the Copelands. The Abells are very
lovely on slower tunes, but perhaps less
good on quick stuff--which is not to say
that they aren't very good. They are a bit
like classical instruments with less of
the roughness that one expects from
whistles.

Of the two my personal preference is for
the Copeland as an all round instrument
for celtic music. But both are grand.

Of the Copelands Ds I much prefer the nickel to
the brass.

thurlowe · Post by **thurlowe** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 1:17 pm

Loren wrote:Aside from a stubby mouthpiece and impeccable tuning, the two are as different as night and day.

Too true, too true. They really are, stubby beaks aside.

Loren, that Olwell is the last flute I'll ever need, I tell you what (that's my Hank Hill accent).

... Hasten to add: Until I save enough for a keyed flute. I'd like to have one of each, someday.

Don't forget about next week's Abell cabal meeting. I'm bringing zesty lemon squares. Counting on you for beer.

C.

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 1:58 pm

I have them both, and can be heard on the Abell in a loud, aggressive session, but not with the piercing quality of a Susato. I find the Abell far easier to play the upper register (though that's probably because I'm so familiar with it). I don't particularly like the Copeland at this point in time, but I'm deep into a wooden phase in my whistle life.

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 4:49 pm

Loren pretty much summed it up - both great and loud enough, Copeland a bit louder. I have five Copelands and three Abells and think that they are the absolute best whistles that are obtainable at this time. My Copeland nickel soprano D is the one whistle I'd pick if I had to pick just one. Second is my Abell delrin D. The delrin sounds as good as my blackwood Abells and is good for travel.

Philo

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 6:36 pm

jim stone wrote:I have both the Abell and the Copeland nickel.
I've played the Copeland brass, too.

The Abells are very beautiful, but they're less
loud than the Copelands. The Abells are very
lovely on slower tunes, but perhaps less
good on quick stuff--which is not to say
that they aren't very good. They are a bit
like classical instruments with less of
the roughness that one expects from
whistles.

Of the two my personal preference is for
the Copeland as an all round instrument
for celtic music. But both are grand.

Of the Copelands Ds I much prefer the nickel to
the brass.

What jim said!

~Larry

Jens_Hoppe · Post by **Jens_Hoppe** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 2:20 am

Another thing to bear in mind is that the sound of Abells can vary quite a bit from whistle to whistle. I have tried both an ultra-pure, very loud Abell D (think Susato), as well as a less loud-more overtones "chiffy" Abell D.

Parcour25 · Post by **Parcour25** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 8:02 am

Jens.... would Chris Abell be able to provide someone with a preferred type or style of whistle according to their expressed preference. Or is it sort of a random, luck of he draw?

I've heard about the variations in Abells...

Is the difference mostly between his synthetic and blackwood designs or within the blackwoods.. What are the top three variations, in your experience and which is generally preferred by experienced players? Would you find variations within a 3 barrel set or would the set be standardized. Thanks. (yes, I've been thinking about commissioning a set for a good friend)

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 8:08 am

Parcour, Chris is a delight to deal with. My suggestion is to call him, or write him, and ask.

After all, he's dealt with more Abell whistles than anyone else!

Parcour25 · Post by **Parcour25** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 8:51 am

I know. - Since the opportunity came up to gather a little background info on styles, I thought I would, - but why? Overthinking instrument purchases to this level of minutiae is usually wasted time. I'm just going to send the check and ask for matching ser. no.'s and tone, which might also be a waste of time because I bet this is a no brainer for Chris..... - my gosh, he's the premier flute maker on the planet! I'm just glad he makes whistles (even if they do sometimes crack - ouch!).

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 1:10 pm

Sounds like you've decided already, but I can't stop myself from chiming in on the subject of Abells. I guarantee you they are plenty loud enough (some might say too loud) for a session. I've posted plenty of samples on the Clips page if you're curious about the tone.

I have a chiffy model which I love. I've heard it played by someone else and listened to my own recordings, naturally. There is something very distinctive in the tone that comes across when the whistle is in your own mouth as opposed to someone else's in the room or on recordings. It's a fine thing that you obviously have to find out first hand. Frankly, I was less impressed with the tonal qualities when I wasn't playing it myself (nothing to do with playing skill or narcissism, Loren).

Since I play 99% of the time by myself, how a whistle sounds in my face is more important than how it sounds to other people. (Now, that's narcissistic.) (Reminds me of that joke: "It's so small, who do you expect to please with that? " "Me, madame.")
Tony

Jens_Hoppe · Post by **Jens_Hoppe** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 12:58 am

Parcour25 wrote:Jens.... would Chris Abell be able to provide someone with a preferred type or style of whistle according to their expressed preference. Or is it sort of a random, luck of he draw?

Sorry, I don't know, having never actually been in contact with Chris Abell. I've only ever tried other peoples' Abells. That being said, I would definitely imagine Chris being open for input from the buyer on what characteristics were preferred in the whistle.

Also, I don't know how much new Abell whistles actually vary: The pure/loud one I tried was one of his older models, and I believe the other one was considerably younger.

Jens