Hi, based mostly on hearsay I’m under the impression that Copeland high-D (and maybe other keys) have changed from time to time over the past few years (mainly their voicing - balance between octaves, how much air/pressure it takes to hit high A & B, etc…).
Assuming this may be the case, has anyone who’s played older Copeland high-D’s tried one of the more recent ones (in the past 6 months or so), and could you tell any difference?
I’ve had a couple of Copeland high-D’s in the past and am considering getting another sometime in the near future. I’m wondering if I should order a brand new one or maybe try to track down an old one.
Mine is an older model (3-4 years), but I recently got it revoiced to take less air (much better, thanks very much), so I am afraid I can’t tell you much about the evolution of their “standard” whistles. However, I am certain you can tell Jim/Michael which characteristics you would like in your whistle, and they will make it like that - it’s not as if they’ve lost the ability to make whistles in a specific way, or anything.
I have both an older (i.e., not numbered) brass Copeland D and a new (about five months) nickel one. The older one is very good. The new one is one of the two whistles that I play every day and is one of the best on the planet. (The other is a Delrin Abell D). That said, you may find with hand made whistles that there is more variation from whistle to whistle within a given period than from period to period; or not. See?
I’ve sort of given up collecting and only want whistles I love to play every day; therefore, if I decide that whistles are more important than my daughter’s college education, I’ll probably just complete sets of Copeland and Abell and be done with it.
I have an older nickel high D (no number) and a newer brass one (with a serial number). I bought the nickel one about six years ago (chronology is not my strong suit anymore) and the brass one was a recent purchase from a board member. In a blind test I can’t tell the difference between the two. The tone and breath requirements are virtually identical. I recently received a low F and a low G from Mike and the tone on these instruments is sublime. I visited his shop a few months ago and saw that his quality control is good. I don’t like buying a pig in a poke but Copelands are great instruments and Mike is a peach of a man who deserves every success, and your business.
