Hi all, I’m new to the whistle forum. Just wondering, I have been playing whistle for about 15 years on and off and have never ventured past the cheapest varieties such as Generation. However, I am currently playing a whistle which seems to have no name other than a label which bears the writing - ‘D Tin Whistle Irish Made’ which you can hear on clips and snips or my website below. Does anybody else play this sort? I once concidered buying a more expensive Burke or something but any sound files I heard often sounded too much like recorders rather than whistles.
What’s a good middle-the-range whistle that still has that ‘whistle’ sound?
I notice the likes of Liam O’Flynn still play Generations.
I think it’s a Walton’s, A.K.A. Soodlums (formerly). Yeah, they’re pretty well-known. There are different varieties. They make a wide-bore model, which is now called Mellow D, or something, and they make a popular aluminum whistle called the Little Black Whistle.
Some of their whistles have a different label, but the first one I had was labeled, generically, as you describe, but it came from Walton’s.
Liam O Flynn used a Burke during the Planxty concerts last year, after the opening set (starting with The Glen of Aherlow on whislte, sounding somewhat uncomfortable on the burke) he used the Generation for playing tunes and the Burke for playing notes behind songs only.
That makes sense…I thought the first whistle he was using on the DVD looked much like a burke, but then today I was noticing what looked to be a red plastic fipple in the darkness of the stage lights and part of the Generation label - most of it looked worn off - and to tell you the truth, there really didn’t seem to be much difference tonally.
Walden, the Mellow D sounds familiar now. I think that’s what I have although it’s not stated on the label. Its bore is wider than a Generation too.
One of your own obviously?