Hi everyone, I am a beginning whistler and I am looking to buy a decent whistle, (perhaps in the 20-30$ range). What would you guys recommend? I prefer whistles that have a very pure sound.
-Thanks
Dixon Trad in D, for my money.
I’m a great fan of the Clarke traditional, though I find that out of the box, they’re too breathy. All of my three Clarke traditionals have the “thumb-mash tweak” applied, where I push the top of the windway down a bit to reduce the breathiness and improve control.
Welcome to whistling!
Mark
Hi Mark, “thumb-mash tweak”
Please explain a bit more or point me to the words and pictures.
On the original topic of the thread I’ve been through this myself recently and settled on a Dixon Trad. I also have a Dixon DX001 One Piece Polymer which has very similar air requirements and an almost identical mouthpiece to the trad but is a bit less expensive and has a sweeter tone.
Cheers
HS
Just grab the whistle with your thumb on top of the fipple blade, and push it down a bit, gently and evenly, to reduce the height of the windway.
I second that!
A Freeman Blackbird, a little over $30, but not much, is a very sweet, pure whistle.
i just posted this to a different thread (?), but if you like the clarke, i can recommend the Shaw… it’s a handmade version of the clarke (thumb-mash tweak already applied! 
; i think new they sell for about $40, but Doc has them at the irish flute store for $20…
i have the dixon polymer c/d set, and i don’t like it at all–it has the most tricky breath requirements of any of the entry-level whistles i have. good for practicing/learning, not so good for sounding/playing well.
i have the freeman tweaked mellow dog; it’s a good whistle, if a little bit on the loud side. but i think any of Freeman’s whistles would be fine for starting out on. or…
you could try to tweak a whistle yourself. buy a feadog/generation/oak pennywhistle for $12 and search this board for tweaking… i think there might be a link off of the main page to this site as well? basically, you just get some putty and fill in under the windway of a cheapie to strengthen the bottom d…
good luck!
eric
Thanks for the advice guys. I went ahead an ordered a Dixon trad nickel. I searched for sound clips online and I liked it just a little bit more than the Freeman Blackbird (which also sounded great).
I’m in the NYC area, so I was thinking of taking lessons with Bill Ochs, has anyone taken lessons with him? Does he have reasonable rates?
Many of us have been in the same situation.
As a beginner, you worry about getting a good whistle to learn with. You know there are good, inexpensive whistles out there, but you doubt if you could tell a good player from a bad one.
If you are really lucky, you find an experienced player nearby who can demonstrate a wide range of whistles and help you pick your best match. Not that lucky? Then I see two approaches.
-
Buy and try several inexpensive whistles. They won’t all be bad. (Check the many posts on this forum about how to clean leftover plastic out and do other simple tweaks.) Pick the one whistle that sounds and works best for you now. After a few months, try them all out again to see if your improved skills make another whistle the best choice.
-
Buy a whistle known for consistency and good value. You will get several suggestions here, but my 3 favorites in that category would be a Dixon Trad, a Mellowdog or modified Gen from Jerry Freeman, or a Hoover Whitecap. Mack Hoover has a website at http://www.mackhooverwhistles.com. Mack does make whistle bodies, but you can take an inexpensive body (a Feadog for example) and put a Whitecap on top. The Trad and Mellowdog/Gen whistles have a more traditional sound. The Whitecap has a sound that’s more pure. Several people have compared it to a Burke.
OOPS! Looks like I was too late in posting. Rather than delete this, I will keep it around for future searches. This topic comes up every week.