What is a good whistle?

ennistraveler · Post by **ennistraveler** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:45 am

Whatever instrument you play, there are the ones with good reputation. For bluegrass mandolinists, there are Gibsons, Flatirons, Gold Tone, Michael Kelly, etc. For fiddlers, there are Italian and German fiddles, for guitar players Martin.

What are the most well-reputated tin whistles? And what is it that makes them so good?

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:26 am

Abell
http://www.abellflute.com/whistle.html
(wood)

Copeland
http://www.copelandwoodwinds.com/
(metal)

These two are probably the whistle equivalents of Martin in the guitar world...works of art as well as great sounding/playing instruments, each with its own uniquie "flavor."

O'Riordans are another obvious one to include but they're difficult to obtain.

However, there are lot's of other (cheaper) great choices:

Overton
http://www.overton.de/texte/overtonuk.html

Michael Burke
http://www.burkewhistles.com/

and my favorite:

Humphrey Whistles
http://webpages.charter.net/raindog1970/

That should be enough to wet your whistle...

-Brett

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:30 am

The best whistle is the one that you like the sound of, can play well, that you will stick with, that you will play regularly,and is within your budget.

Ron

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:39 am

Arrggh. (<--sp?)

This is a good question. One we have covered, in not so many words, about a zillion times. Make that a zillion and a half. When I hit reply, I was intending not to contribute anything meaningful, but I have changed my mind. (The baby is sleeping, I have a few minutes).

In whistledom, a good reputation is based on consistency of product and reasonably decent customer service. It could apply to anything.

Among the uninitiated, a given relative beginner will say something positive about a whistle or a maker and then other beginners will think this information is true. People will get on the bandwagon and order them and since they are better than Generations, they'll agree that they are great whistles (or great makers), all the while spending their money on the easiest-to-get, not-so-great instruments. It's frustrating.

Anyway, here I am, still talking. Ok...some thoughts on the best available whistles (it wouldn't be right to talk about the worst, and I have left out some that are in between), in no particular order:

Lon Dubh: too hard to get (made in Ireland, carried by Whistle and Drum), not made of blackwood anymore because the maker doesn't like working with it (I am afraid that other woods will crack, because they are thin-walled and a rosewood one I had did crack, variable in volume (each one I have tried has been different), but other than that, absolutely phenomenal. Sweet, precise, expressive, gentle, resonant, perfect. Not much of a reputation because there aren't enough of them out there.

Chris Abell: Used to be great, now tend to be too loud and unfocused. Lots of old ones sing beautifully. I have tried to get a new one to match my old one in playability (as a backup) several times and have not been satisfied. Chris is a nice, humble guy.

Copeland Woodwinds: Mike is a great guy, capable of making incredible instruments. Standardization of production and desire, from a business standpoint, to catch up with a long waiting list, caused inconsistency and too little time spent on each instrument, but they caught up with the waiting list and are now available to spend more time voicing each one, which Mike can do to individual requests.

Michael Burke: Bit of a factory. Reliably good whistles with excellent playing characteristics. Totally cold in appearance. Some keys can be had in a reasonable amount of time, but they will make you wait years for ones they don't feel like making, even though they are in their catalog. The higher keys play better than the lower ones.

Gary Humphrey (our very own raindog1970): Excellent, sweet little whistles that are similar to, but better than, Sindt whistles. Ideal for people who like the look and feel of the inexpensive whistles but want one that plays better. Gary is one of us and is a really nice guy. I don't like the smell of brass (tubes), but most people don't have a problem with brass.

John Sindt: Waiting list has gotten a bit long, but consistently sweet whistles, though not so well-balanced in weight (mostly metal mouthpiece and thin tube).

Colin Goldie Overton: For those who blow hard, these are strong, powerful, rich whistles that have an attractive, streamlined appearance and can travel anywhere without worry. Colin and Brigitte are wonderful.

David Boisvert: His finishing used to have issues and the whistles used to arrive dry and in need of oiling, but I believe he has fixed the issues. His whistles are very much like concert O'Riordans and David can tailor the volume to your requests.

Pat O'Riordan: can't get 'em. Joanie plays them, she sounds great on them. She has a reverb machine. They are fine, reliable, strong, but there are warmer whistles available.

Glenn Schultz/Thin Weasel: they vary quite widely in intonation and tone, but they are usually loud and can be wonderful.

Paul Busman: A modified Thin Weasel design, quieter, good intonation, BEAUTIFUL first octave and decent second octave, a bit of a clogging issue, but incredibly resonant notes that make up for it. Paul is one of us and is a great guy who loves his wife, which I love to see.

Jon Swayne: Beautiful instruments, almost impossible to get, a bit too loud, but rich in tone.

Sweetheart: Reputation is basically a factory, by their own admission. The new line of "professional" whistles is VERY LOUD, but not as loud as the previous design. If you need a LOUD whistle, this one is a good one.

Fred Rose: Sweet, attractive whistles, but some are too quiet for playing with other instruments. Some aren't.

Hey, that was fun.

ennistraveler · Post by **ennistraveler** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:50 am

I really liked the Michael Burke whistles. The others, Overton excluded, looks more like low whistles than high whistles, am I right? I'm more interested in playing high whistles, as my lungs are not huge.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:51 am

All of the ones I mentioned are high whistles. Some of them make them in low keys, too.

toughknot · Post by **toughknot** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:08 pm

RonKiley wrote:The best whistle is the one that you like the sound of, can play well, that you will stick with, that you will play regularly,and is within your budget.

Ron

I agree and that is what I base my choices on, as I haven't played the" high end" whistles as the cost puts them (for me ) in the luxury category and out of my reach.
My picks for high whistles
Waltons Mellow d , the c and regular d
I have a full set of Generation red top brass and am happy with all.
Low whistle. I have only played and owned a Shaw low d ,Shaw low g , Old style Cheiftain low d in aluminium and the Cheiftain Gold Low d.
I find the Cheiftains to be excellent in make , sound , volume and responsiveness.

Hope this doesn't contribute to the burying of the truly valuble reviews and comments of those more qualified.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:41 pm

Another good, fairly inexpensive choice: Syn. Moderately loud without being overwhelming, easy to play (does need solid breath support, but less backpressure than an Overton or Chieftain), good, fairly pure tone. Since extra bodies are inexpensive (~$5 US a body) this is a good choice for a set - Erle makes bodies for his aluminum high whistles on every semitone from E down to A. (E, Eb, D, C#, C, B, Bb, A). Not sure what this equates to in the guitar world - well-made professional-quality instruments (without a lot of excess decoration) at a decent price.

I like the one Chieftain I own (high Bb) - but it has a tendency to clog until it's completely warmed up. This seems to go across the board for others I've tried. Play characteristics and tone are very similar to Overtons. I believe the Chieftains are factory-made, rather than hand-made like Overtons, but quite frankly I'd be happy to own a complete set of either make.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:58 pm

toughknot wrote:I haven't played the "high end" whistles as the cost puts them (for me ) in the luxury category and out of my reach....I find the Cheiftains to be excellent in make , sound , volume and responsiveness.

Case in point.

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:32 pm

I have no response to that. (see the movie thread.)

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:56 pm

For a collector, what ever you want.

For a player, one that is a decent value for the money, is well balanced between octaves, has a volume suitable to your purposes (session or apartment), effortlessly reflects sustaining notes, bending notes, ornamentation, doesn't get easily moisture locked, has the tonal qualities that are pleasing to you, and is of materials that are well put together, durable and to your liking. Finally, one that requires amounts of air that are acceptable to you.

Obviously the above can mean different whistles to different collectors and players. Jessie did her usual good job of laying out the field.

The whistles I play regularly over time are Burke blacktips, O'Riordan Travelers, Abell delrin and blackwoods, and Copelands.

I prefer metals, plastics and blackwood which, as Jessie said, is more stable than most woods.

You should also be aware that you may change your opinion of certain whistles especially if you don't spend a lot of time playing a particular whistle all at once. Different folks have different "bonding" times with various whistles.

Of course, it still blows my mind when my teacher sits there with that stinky old tarnished and tattered $6 Walton or Generation and makes incredible music - never seems any problem with balance, tone, volume, responsiveness, clogging, etc.

Enjoy,

Philo

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 2:24 pm

Nobody mentioned Alba yet these are my favorite.

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 2:27 pm

IDAwHOa was right. I can't stay away completely.

DCrom wrote:Another good, fairly inexpensive choice: Syn. Moderately loud without being overwhelming, easy to play (does need solid breath support, but less backpressure than an Overton or Chieftain), good, fairly pure tone. Since extra bodies are inexpensive (~$5 US a body) this is a good choice for a set - Erle makes bodies for his aluminum high whistles on every semitone from E down to A. (E, Eb, D, C#, C, B, Bb, A). Not sure what this equates to in the guitar world - well-made professional-quality instruments (without a lot of excess decoration) at a decent price.

I'm one of those rank beginners, having started whistling at the beginning of the year, but I have accumulated the following:

high D:
Clarke Original
Hoover Whitecap Feadog
Hoover Whitecap Oak
Hoover Whitecap brass
Oak self-tweaked
Generation Jerry-tweaked
Dixon tunable PVC
Whitney brass
Syn aluminum
Sindt brass
Burke aluminum narrow (black tip)
Busman Delrin
Busman bloodwood
Bleazey blackwood
Sweet blackwood
Serpent Village Smithy steel

high E:
Hoover CPVC tunable

high C:
Burke brass wide (black tip)

low A:
Hoover Whitecap aluminum tube
Hoover custom bamboo

low G:
Shaw - Jerry-tweaked (gone in trade for the Syn and the Hoover brass)

low D:
Jubilee practice whistle

I got to play a few others at the June WC Chiff Gathering.

At the moment, the whistle I play most turns out to be the Syn. For my purposes (slow airs only), it's just about perfect. It has a relatively complex tone--not as reedy as the Busmans (Busmen?), not as pure as the Burke D. There is absolutely no buzzy-breathy quality to the sound.

It's easy to play. The octaves are extremely well-balanced. It's marginally quieter than the Burke, but takes less air. It can take a fair amount of blowing--but doesn't require as much as the wooden whistles or the Delrin, and it can be played very expressively. Slides sound great, and when notes are raised or lowered by changing breath pressure, the changes are very clear. It's also possible to get that nice little "pop" by slamming down on a note.

Of all my other whistles, it's closest to the Burke, but not exactly the same.

If that weren't enough, the tube is very thick for an aluminum whistle--about as thick as the Busmans, so it's extremely sturdy. While I might otherwise choose to play the Burke more often (which will tell you about my preferred sound), I worry more about damaging it, so it's always in a case--even when it's sitting on top of the computer to keep warm. On the other hand, the Syn, like the Busman Delrin, is always out in the open. When I'm in the mood for pushing hard, I'll grab the Busman, but most of the time, now, it's the Syn.

Oh, and it doesn't seem to have any clogging problems, although my office can get pretty chilly and I often fail to put it back on top of the computer between tunes.

If I could own only one whistle, I wouldn't feel too bad if this turned out to be the one. (Of course, I still have to try a Humphrey.)

While the Busman bloodwood, the Bleazey, and the Sweet are all excellent whistles, I don't seem to care for the wood sound as much as I expected to. I like the sound of the Busman Delrin better than that of the bloodwood. All three of my wooden whistles and the Delrin require pretty aggressive blowing, whereas I can lay back a bit more with most of the others. The Syn is particularly relaxing to play, but it also produces a very satisfying (to me) sound.

Jay-eye · Post by **Jay-eye** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 2:27 pm

JessieK wrote: Paul Busman: ...... Paul is one of us and is a great guy who loves his wife, which I love to see.

As always, Jessie, your reviews are nothing if not thorough!

Well done...

j.i.

Joe_Atlanta · Post by **Joe_Atlanta** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 2:30 pm

Although a newbie whistler, I have played music for 40 odd years, the last 15 as a full time bassist. Reputation as a "great" instrument usually comes from great players having established a certain sound for a certain type of music. Players want that sound so they buy the instrument that the masters use create it. It's always an eye opener to attend workshops with these masters and listen as they recreate "that" sound on your instrument, no matter the brand or quality. As Jaco Pastorius said, "The sound is in my hands."

PhilO wrote:For a player, one that is a decent value for the money, is well balanced between octaves, has a volume suitable to your purposes (session or apartment), effortlessly reflects sustaining notes, bending notes, ornamentation, doesn't get easily moisture locked, has the tonal qualities that are pleasing to you, and is of materials that are well put together, durable and to your liking. Finally, one that requires amounts of air that are acceptable to you.

BINGO! And all that is aimed at getting the music that is in you out into the air. Of course sometimes the voice of an instrument seduces you and you're willing to ignore some playability issues.