Can anyone tell me about the Chris Abell Whistle set - quality, etc. I’m relatively new to the whistle world but played the recorder for a number of years. Being an Irishman I’m going back to my roots. Am also interested in a Low D if there are any recommendations, would welcome them. I live in China by the way, so access to stores is out. Thanks.
Chris Abell makes wonderful wooden whistles. I have tried an old Eb/D/C set of his, which took too much air for my liking, but I have also tried one of his newer sets, and they were the nicest whistles I have ever played (and I’ve played a few). They had a beautiful, slightly chiffy tone (nothing like a recorder, mind you), with average volume.
For your first low D I recommend a tunable Dixon whistle. It’s very easy to play (doesn’t take too much air, and the finger stretch is quite forgiving), and has a lovely, mellow sound. And it’s cheap!
Cheers,
Jens
[ This Message was edited by: Jens_Hoppe on 2001-11-30 05:58 ]
I think Chris Abell’s whistle designs work best in high d and high f. My favorite whistle is an Abell d (it’s back from second place to the Rose, because I heard someone else play my Rose in a session and the first octave was not audible).
Jessie
I’m immensely relieved to hear Jessie
say that! I’ve never played or seen
a Rose whistle and the idea that it
beats an Abell–which I think of as the
most beautiful wooden whistle imaginable–
filled me with anguish. Abell whistles
are very good, that’s for sure.
You can double up on tubes–the C and
the D tubes fit the same head, the
A and the Bb tubes fit another same
head.
But also it depends on what you’re
doing with them. If I’m performing
unamplified or playing in surroundings
that are at all noisy, a Copeland
nickle D is superiour.
Copeland whistles are remarkable,
in my view, cheaper than Abells,
and very very good. But I don’t
play them much in my apartment.
Very simply, I’ve thought that
the Abell and Copeland whistles
are the brands I liked best–this
reflects my ignorance, perhaps.
But the question is: what do you want to do with the whistles?
I like the Copeland low D better
than any other low D whistle I’ve
played–and I think even people
who disagree will understand why
someone might say that. Of course
we are talking money and time…
but it’s fun to dream. The Overton
low D seems to be a rival in
educated popular opinion.
When I wake in the middle of the
night and have a choice of reviewing
my lifetime of sins or considering
what I would do with 27 million
dollars–well, I prefer the latter, especially concerning
whistles (and sports cars and…).
I’ve owned an Abell C,D,Eflat for a couple years and love it. The quality is first rate, and more importantly, the artistry is first rate. If you’ve check out the web site at http://www.abellflute.com I think you’ll get an idea of the quality. Actually holding a brand new silver and blackwood whistle will take your breath away (it’s OK they don’t take much wind). I just received the A,Bflat set and am getting used to it. I was pleasantly surprised to find Chris had matched the set number from my older set, a nice unsolicited touch.
The different keys have somewhat different personalities, but they all sound very good to me. On issues of quality and accuracy of pitch, you won’t go wrong with these whistles. The sound is strong enough for most sessions (although there are louder whistles if you need to compete with an overzealous concertina player), yet sounds warm and melodious in more intimate settings. I also like the fact that they play similarly to the Susato (on which, in part, they are based). Not that they sound so similar; the tone is warmer and sweeter, it takes less air and produces slightly less volume, but the fingering and the way it reacts in ornaments is close enough that I can switch back an forth without many accomodations. It’s great to have a inexpensive, worry free stunt-double for keeping in the car, kayak, back pocket or whatever.
With whistles of these caliber (Rose, Abell, Copeland), quality isn’t the issue, the way you want it to sound is. As trying one out seems out of the question, you might listen to artists that play the different whistles to decide, and keep in mind the venue in which you’ll be playing. Also, several people have posted tunes featuring just about every whistle imaginable (without the distraction of many other instruments or the manipulations of production), if your computer has reasonable speakers, this might give you an idea.
Good Luck,
Mike
Thank you all for your help and encouragement on the Abell Whistles - I’ll go ahead with these. I just discovered this site yesterday, and its a wonderful way to get first hand advice, particularly as I live in China. Many thanks.