REVIEW: Hudson Wind by Peter Bonsteel

[dfernandez77]

It would be ridiculous to send a whistle over for it but I'd put the whistle where my mouth is, just in case anyone would ask the question.

Peter, I'm not one to look down on things, be disagreeable, or criticize those with high standards or a critical ear. I'll leave that to others (most of the time).

Incidentally, when I write "Now the difficult issue may be finding a whistler that passes Peter's muster." it's a good natured poke in the ribs. I know you take some heat for your terse and direct writing.

But I will disagree with you on one thing. We are given curiosity so we have the opportunity to sate it. There's little ridiculous in sending a whistle on a journey to share it with others and learn from their experience.

[bdh]

I'd be keen to hear anyone play the whistle. I think it's great that Phil Hardy is going to put up a video of it – those are always a pleasure to watch.

Last week I had Chuck Tilbury (GFM) send me one of his new Low F whistles, and I'm rapt with it. It's now my favourite low whistle. I'll post a more thorough review later once I've re-setup my recording equipment and the smoke surrounding this review clears. I'd like to be able to compare it to something else, but it's the only Low F I have...

So – still on track with this thread – what would people like covered in the review? Should there be a sticky post on "guidelines for reviews"?

[peeplj]

So – still on track with this thread – what would people like covered in the review? Should there be a sticky post on "guidelines for reviews"?

One of the cool things about doing a review is that you decide your format and your approach.

I think you'll wind up covering certain things no matter how you approach it, to even have a review. So I guess we can establish some topics that, at minimum, you'll need to hit: what the whistle's made of, how it's made, its overall look and feel, its tone, its intonation, its response, whether it's an easy, intermediate, or hard blower, how loud it plays, if it can be played cold or has to be warmed first... (there are probably more but I've not had any coffee yet today so I probably shouldn't be posting at all yet).

Have fun! I look forward greatly to your review!

--James

[shadeclan]

We must be getting better. Here we had a fairly emotional discussion and we were in control enough that Daletm didn't have to pull the plug. . .

In the meantime . . .

More reviews, Igor! More reviews!

[pjuuldk]

Not Phil, but Tony Hinnigan.

http://www.tonyhinnigan.com/moviedl.php?group=29#

Hudson compared with Sind and Copeland. Lots of other good stuf on the side.

Peter Juul

[brewerpaul]

Not Phil, but Tony Hinnigan.

http://www.tonyhinnigan.com/moviedl.php?group=29#

Hudson compared with Sind and Copeland. Lots of other good stuf on the side.

Peter Juul

Bump-- I liked Slowair's clips of the Hudson just fine and thought they gave a good impression of the whistle's qualities, but anyone who wants to hear the Hudson played by a genuine professional should listen to the Hinnigan clip.
Check out the Rose review too

[pjuuldk]

Check out the Rose review too

Yearh good whistle that Rose, right?

[PhilO]

Ok, so the NPL (notes per lungful of air) is the measure of backpressure, and the higher the NPL, the greater the backpressure? Or are there other variables in the mix as well?

Philo

[peeplj]

Ok, so the NPL (notes per lungful of air) is the measure of backpressure, and the higher the NPL, the greater the backpressure? Or are there other variables in the mix as well?

Philo

There is also resistance.

Some whistles don't take much air, and you can blow the air softly. Examples: O'Brien, Hoover.

Some whistles don't take much air, but you have to blow with more force. Examples: Overton, O'Brien narrow bore brass, Syn.

To me, backpressure is the force with which you blow.

Resistance is the amount of air the whistle will take, irregardless of how hard it much be pushed.

--James

[brewerpaul]

Check out the Rose review too

Yearh good whistle that Rose, right?

Yeah, it really is. If I have to get edged out by another wooden whistle (if only by a little ) I can live with it being a Rose.

[Brigitte]

To me, backpressure is the force with which you blow.

Resistance is the amount of air the whistle will take, irregardless of how hard it much be pushed.

--James

From what I understand backpressure or also can be called resistance is what you blow against to push the air column through a whistle. If you have a whistle with little or no backpressure/resistance you blow into the instrument and the air escapes quickly out of your lungs hence you may only make it through an A and/or (parts of) a B part of a tune. If you have a whistle with more or lots of backpressure/resistence the amount of air pushing through the windway is lesser hence you may be able to get through an A, B and another A part if not more.

Although many whistles need little enough air to allow circular breathing on them, the ones with higher backpressure make it much easier .

Hope this helps
Brigitte

[Loren]

Oh yeah, just rub in the fact that some whistle players we know can circular breathe while playing



Loren

[PhilO]

I guess I was just trying to get away from definitions and technical aspects and get to just the playing characteristics that one would notice upon picking up the whistle and playing it, so that one could readily identify the relative degree of backpressure and accurately describe that degree for a specific whistle. I take it that Tony has actually finally done that using the NPL measure. Thanks Tony. (...and Loren and James)

Philo

[dfernandez77]

I guess I was just trying to get away from definitions and technical aspects and get to just the playing characteristics that one would notice upon picking up the whistle and playing it, so that one could readily identify the relative degree of backpressure and accurately describe that degree for a specific whistle. I take it that Tony has actually finally done that using the NPL measure. Thanks Tony. (...and Loren and James)

Philo

Well....

I don't mean to be obtuse, but I think NPL only tells you how long you can play a whistle (air flow requirement), and little about backpressure.

I have a classic O'Brien for example that probably has high NPL, but little to no backpressure. It requires control and a low volume of air pushed through a big windway to play in tune. Quite the opposite of backpressure.

So I suppose "NPL" has it's place in evaluating a whistle, but it is not a good indicator of backpressure. And it looks like a fun game if you've a fistful of whistles, a couple pints of ale, and a blank tape in your video camera.

[PhilO]

I guess I was just trying to get away from definitions and technical aspects and get to just the playing characteristics that one would notice upon picking up the whistle and playing it, so that one could readily identify the relative degree of backpressure and accurately describe that degree for a specific whistle. I take it that Tony has actually finally done that using the NPL measure. Thanks Tony. (...and Loren and James)

Philo

Well....

I don't mean to be obtuse, but I think NPL only tells you how long you can play a whistle (air flow requirement), and little about backpressure.

I have a classic O'Brien for example that probably has high NPL, but little to no backpressure. It requires control and a low volume of air pushed through a big windway to play in tune. Quite the opposite of backpressure.

So I suppose "NPL" has it's place in evaluating a whistle, but it is not a good indicator of backpressure. And it looks like a fun game if you've a fistful of whistles, a couple pints of ale, and a blank tape in your video camera.

Perhaps it's I who's being obtuse...seems to be my week for it

Philo