Hi guys:
I mostly play the flute and I usually have a look to the flute forums, but I ask for your help and advice. I am looking for a good D whistle for about 100€.
Can you help!
Thanks!
S.
A pretty open ended request, that. Skim the C&F list of whistle makers and you’ll find any number of “good” whistles in your price range.
You’ll also get a dozen opinions pro and con for any of them.
If this is your first whistle, I’d recommend doing yourself the favor of getting a “good” whistle in a lower price bracket. Can hardly go wrong with a Jerry freeman tweaked (in a range of keys) for about 40€
Just send me the 60€ as finders fee! 
Seriously, if you like the Freeman, great! You can always add a couple other keys and still come out ahead. If you don’t like it, you’ll not have wasted a hundred euros right at the start and you can still try something else.
Killarney every time. For me, they’re the best whistles out there at the moment, and they also happen to be only €74 (€79 with a pouch, which is well worth getting IMO). I prefer the brass, but some of my whistle playing friends prefer the nickel. They’re both good.
Thanks guys.
I had should mentioned that the whistle is not for me, but for a fríend. I have and play from time to time a Generations D whistle and I am quite happy with it, but my friend is looking for something different, since he does not feel happy with Generatios. Hence de request, I mostly play the flute and am a bit lost about whistle market.
thanks!
S.
I´ll have a look to this.
Regards.
s.
You are good doing bussines!!!
Thanks for your advice!
S.
It might be worth exploring why your friend doesn’t like the Generation whistle. Buying a more expensive whistle won’t turn a poor player into a good player overnight…
I have been buying and whistles for decades and have a very very good collection for comparison and agree that at the price Killarney is a winner. I have both the nickel and brass. I like the brass best, but honestly think the nickel is great too. My brass thing may just be a visual. They both play with smooth octave transitions and nice intonation. I had stopped buying new d whistles a couple of years ago, but couldn’t resist the Killarney. They carry well in sessions as well.
Another vote for the Killarney!
Killarney’s with pouch for $92 & free shipping anywhere in the USA at https://celticcrosswhistleshop.com
Delivery is 2 to 3 days after your order is placed.
Very happy with my brass Killarney.
I’ve not, in person, seen, heard or played a Killarney whistle and I would recommend a Killarney I’ll prolly pick one up next time I’m in Ireland though. I base my recommendation on what I’ve read about them and for the fact that they seem to be exactly like a Sindt whistle. Of which I have one and am quite happy with it. Plus they are made by a very good player and the sound speaks for itself. Also, some of the videos that Brian Hughs has recently posted are pretty convincing!
For me, although they do look like a Sindt, they don’t play like one. They’re much better.
For me, although they do look like a Sindt, they don’t play like one. They’re much better.
Not sure ‘better’ is the right term when deciding factor is one of preference. Sindts are made with more care and precision, if my two Killarneys are anything to go by. The Killarneys have a sweetness that’s absent from the Sindt and handle slightly different. And there’s no silly money involved. Better? YMMV.
You’ve probably expressed it better than I did. I was trying to imply an idea of it being a “preference” with my “For me, …”
I know, it’s just ‘better’, ‘the best’ and the like are such loaded, and essentially often meaningless, terms when the deciding elements is one of preference. And I think John Sindt deserves a bit better for his dedication, craftmanship and thought that went into his design than be called second in quality to the Killarneys, even if I, too, play the Killarneys perhaps more often than the Sindt.
I think you’re right. I also think I’ve inadvertently fallen foul of the “Pepsi rule,” even though it’s not what I meant. Ho hum.
Well gentlemen, I am now even more intrigued based on what you both have written. I’ll deffo be picking one up now. If only out of curiosity. Thanks for the insight!
I have both Sindt and Killarney whistles and enjoy them equally, while both whistles have their particular qualities and differ slightly.
Sindt has been making his whistles much longer in time and from the USA. Killarney whistles are relatively new to whistle world but made in Ireland. I think there was a necessity to have a whistlemaker in Ireland that could compare to the Sindt whistle related to playing Irish traditional music. The Sindt is as great as ever while the backlog in demand and cost has caused a bit of loss of favor yet still in production. If age is a factor then age is a factor so be it.
I commend any of the whistlemakers that can devote and spend their valuable time sleeked away in a workshop crafting the masterpieces day in and day out. I certainly don’t have the skill nor patience to conduct such craftsmanship.