I’m new on this forum and would like to, firstly, say hi (that is done) ! I’m a french guy who just decided to finally buy his walton’s D whistle and the CD and method for about 15 euros. I bought it yesterday and since then I’m trying to kill my neighbors by tearing apart their eardrums. The problem is that on the lower notes, it’s okay, but on the high notes above the high G, and strangely on the C natural, the sound is kind of “annoying”… And it really does not depend of the care I take with the fingering or blowing : it’s always a bit off…
The fact is that, on many forums, I can read that the Walton’s D is supposed to be terrible on the high notes. But, as I only play for about… 24h ! And even if I was quite used to play with a little recorder, I think I might be the only reason of these ugly sounds.
So my question is : is the Walton’s D terrible or am I terrible ?
In the first case, I’ll ask you what whistle you’d recommend. In the second, well… I’ll be patient.
I only have one stock Walton’s. It’s actually a C and I just can’t get it to play well. It has a fairly nice tone when I can get it to behave, but it’s not an easy whistle for me. I even spent some time trying to clean it up, tweak it a bit, but it’s not much better.
What is your budget? If you can really just get the cheapest whistle to start with, I personally found the Sweetone (or Meg) to be the easiest to play when I first started. Some don’t like the tone though, saying it sounds toy-like. I also got a Feadóg as a first whistle. It was a little harder to play, but overall I like it better.
If you can spend a little more, I would recommend one of Jerry Freeman’s tweaked whistles. I have a Mellow Dog and really like it. It’s a little more difficult to play than a Sweetone, but it’s a much better whistle. Most of his whistles can be had for around $40.
As for you being terrible - we all were in the beginning, so don’t worry. Like all things, it just takes practice and time. Fortunately I’ve graduated from terrible, to bad, to mediocre!
Hi Godzy. Though I have been an occasional member of these forums for years, I am mostly a dabbler in penny whistles (Concertina is main instrument, though the recent birth of my son has me more interested in the whistle (Harder for a toddler to destroy a whistle than a concertina, and way easier to replace). That being said, I will share what I have gleaned from the many helpful members of this board.
The basic problem with the Walton’s whistle is the same thing that is wrong with most of the cheapies; they are mass produced instruments that are built to be cheap… as a result, they often have small defects in them that really effect their playability. A good cheapie can be great, but most good cheapies are not born that way – They are tweaked by their owners (Or by Jerry Freeman… but you can search the forums for more information about him).
Now, as for alternatives… You have tons. The only real questions are…
What are you looking for in a whistle?
How much are you willing to pay for it?
The good news is that there are many very decent whistles available starting at not a whole lot more than the cheapies. You might want to look into Tony Dixon Whistles, Syn Whistles (And also Black Diamond), Susato (Admittedly a matter of taste), Parks Whistles and Guido Gonzato’s Whistles (The latter even has a web page showing how to make your own whistle). All of the above have decent reputations and whistles available for well under $100 US. I am sure I missed a bunch as well… Mack Hoover for example… Oh the list could go on and on. You can spend many happy hours browsing the various makes that people on this forum have experience with .
Alternately, I early mentioned Jerry Freeman… he has a bit of specialty of taking cheapies and tweaking them to turn them into gems. I don’t have any personal experience with him, but by all accounts he does great work and is a real pleasure to deal with.
On my budget, I’ll say that… well I also play guitar and piano. I mean that playing music is important to me. I don’t really care how much it costs, the only important thing to me is : is the instrument I buy suitable to me. I bought my first guitar years ago, it was crappy, I played it for a year then I changed to a more expensive guitar (not much though, just “above” the crappy ones), and I’m having a very good time with it. And I’m thinking that I don’t care to put money in an instrument for I know it’s going to be kind of a daily friend…
I know that there are whistle over 500€ (and yeah in fact that would be above my budget ! ) but I think they are also way above my level, so I do not need them to play (maybe in ten or fifteen years who knows). Well i think !
On the things I would like to play… I would like an echo-built in tin whistle ! No just kidding . I realized that the sound of the tin whistle is quite moving, especially without the echo. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe it in english, but let’s say that i’m kind of in love with the air-blowing sound it can make (behind the notes). And I think I would love to play airs and marches more than jigs. I’m more of a dreamer than a jumper…
You might consider Dixon or Impempe, good whistles and easy blowers for around €40,- but sounding like very expensive whistles. I have 3 Impempes (D, C and Bb), handmade whistles from Ian Turnbull, South Africa, €40 to €45 a piece I will never let go, beautiful looking, very good sound, very easy to play.
I have a Walton’s C that is quite playable. My first whistle was a Clare D, which is a very inexpensive whistle also. Most of my collection are cheapies, and my favorite is a Clarke Original in D. I have several Clarke Originals, all of which I have modified a little with the “thumb-mash” tweak on the top of the windway.
Having sampled my way around lots of inexpensive whistles, many good, some bad, I’d still advise some patience. I’ll let folks who spend more money on whistles than I do advise you on the higher-end ones. I’m very partial to my old Chieftain, fwiw.
Je pourrais te conseiller quelques whistles que je trouve excellent et qui ne sont pas trop chers… plusieurs personnes se spécialise à modifier des whistles existant comme des Feadog et Generation pour les rendre plus juste, plus doux à l’oreille, etc. Ils sont relativement abordable (aux alentours de 30 euros je dirais) et font amplement le travail. Tu peux commander facilement de l’Irlande des whistles modifiés par Cilian O’Brien par exemple…
Hi, Godzy! Welcome to the forum! I’ve been playing for almost three years now and haven’t really progressed all that much, but I enjoy it. The first really good whistle I owned was a Dixon Trad D. It has a great tone in the upper register and is easy to play. It didn’t cost too much, either. I will admit, though, I didn’t venture much out of the fist octave when I first started. It took me awhile to develop any kind of breath control for the higher notes. Glad you’re enjoying this extension to your musical repertoire.
If you are practicing every day, please tell us in a week how much that whistle has improved in sound quality in 7 days.
What do you plan on playing with the whistle? I bet there are a lot of French Folk songs that would sound great. What do you play on your keyboards and guitar?
Whistles are popular in Brittany (Bretagne), a celtic country in the north west of France where traditional music is very important.
@Godzy, practice and be patient, don’t put too much money in an expensive whistle now. There’s a french forum about whistles and flutes, not as exhaustive as C&F, but you’ll be welcome.
@ Liam : yep, I think that breathiness is the word !
@ Markbell : speaking of tweaking, I just tweaked my walton with the tweak you speak of. The difference is HUGE on the stability of the notes. And better, I now have a third octave ! Well let’s say a half-octave because above G, it’s really defeaning ! My cat was ready to attack me when I tried the A…
@ Mutepointe : wilco ! see you in seven days (if i’m not shot by an angry neighbor first :p). My plans on the whistle are firstly to play old moving airs like the south wind or greensleeves, or Braveheart and LOTR kind of stuff. On the Waltons booklet sold with the whistle, there’s a song named Eleanor Plunkett. I just learned it today, that was really cool (and possible thx to the tweaking). Maybe in a while, I’ll try songs with a faster pace. But first I’d like to really deal properly with the cuts and the slurs.
@ Bran Ruz : i’ll go there too thanks for the url !
@ everybody : thank you very much for your advices on the whistle. For what I read, there is no need to rush for a new shiny fancy expensive echoe-built in whistle so I’ll practice… and then select carefully my whistle . Thank you guys !
Sorry for the delay, but I got sick and then had a looooooooooot of things to do so… But in the end, to answer the question “Has the Walton improved”, well NO! ^^
It’s still deafening in the higher notes. I couldn’t wait and so I bought a whistle that dfernandez77 was advertising. And by the way, I was so happy of the euro/dollar exchange rate, lol. The whistle is in PVC, with quite a nice design and the difference in the sound is HUGE ! I mean, it’s a little harder to blow than the Walton but the sound quality is really (to me) way better. And the silent mode is quite appreciable too !
I have a bunch of old Waltons. The Golden Tone C is an exception - as fine a C as you’d ever need but no longer made. The Mellow Tone D is fine. I suppose you could get a real bad whistle, but I’ve never had a real bad “cheapie” although I’ve had a couple of real bad high enders. Ain’t that a kick! Anyway, in terms of recommendations, it depends on what you want to spend. Without going into real expensive (yea wonderful) whistles like Copeland and Abell, I’d recommend the Burke brass, Sindt, Susato (this will bring out the hordes). These are real consistently dependable. However, if you want to spend considerably less, try Generation, Faedog and Clarke. I love them all and never had a problem with them; hordes will again assail.
) but I think they are also way above my level, so I do not need them to play (maybe in ten or fifteen years who knows). Well i think !
