Hi all,
just starting to fantasize about a wooden whistle - there’s something sweet to the sound 
So, I just wondered if anyone would like to share their experiences on wooden whistles, preferably in the mid-range of price ~$50 or lower(?).
Intonation, backpressure, range, sound “timbre”, control etc…
In particular, has anybody tried this one:
http://www.sweetheartflute.com/whistles.html
The ‘“Adler” Irish whistle’ half-way down the page…
Best regards,
Eivind
It has been commented here–try a search, the new function works great.
However, I’ll warn I didn’t read much to make these German Eagles soar…
On the other hand, there are quite positive recent reviews on the new Sweetheart 'Professional" made of birch laminate, which should qualify as the mid-range you’re after, eventhough the budget is higher than your target.
See http://www.sweetheartflute.com/whistles.html
Watch out this new page of Sweetheart’s site seem to display quite poorly with my Explorer versions; try Netscape–thanks AOL…
edit
To be honest Eivind, most wooden whistles come in at a lot more than that. They take a lot longer to make than metal ones, so makers have to charge more (but the wood fans amongst us agree they’re worth it). Probably the Sweetheart is the only one that comes close. There’s also the Bleazey but quality is questionable.
Hi Eivind!
I was just wondering where you usually get your whistles from?
Emilie
(in Sandefjord!)
I would rephrase Nick’s comment as, midrange wooden whistles cost more than midrange metal or plastic whistles. My experience with inexpensive woodies is that they’re crap. I haven’t tried one of Ralph’s tweaked Adlers, but the untweaked Adler and Weltmeister that I’ve tried have been awful – out of tune, screaming in the upper octave. The old model Sweetheart is in tune, but very unbalanced across the octaves.
I would recommend going up in price, to the new Sweetheart, or, if you like to play aggressively, a Bleazey. At 80 pounds for a boxwood, it’s a steal. I’ve got two of his whistles, one boxwood, one blackwood, and they’re both wonderful. I much prefer both the sound and playability of the box – the blackwood has a tamer sound, plus a tendency to clog.
I have to agree with those who say that either 1) there is no mid-range wood whistle worth speaking of, or 2) wooden whistles need to be judged on a different price scale than other metal or plastic whistles.
I have limited experience with wood whistles: I own
a rosewood Sweetheart C (quite recent vintage, and a pleasant instrument: $95);
a very old (like twenty years old) Sweetheart D (excellent, till you try to go above g’, cost $30-40 back then), and
a brand new wood laminate Sweetheart Professional D (outstanding all around whistle in every respect: $135).
I also spent a lot of time comparing Water Weasels (PVC) and Thin Weasels (rosewood). I have to say, both Weasels were nice instruments, but I preferred the Water Weasel by a small margin and bought it for my son. The margin in price wasn’t so small, though. I believe the Thin Weasel goes for something like $120. Tyghress has a post in which she includes 3 MP3’s comparing four whistles, including a rosewood Sweetheart Professional ($195; Ralph Sweet says there’s no difference in sound and feel between rosewood and laminate) and a Thin Weasel. My opinion: I think the the Sweetheart is the clear choice if it comes down to a $15 difference (for the laminate model–not as pretty, but a wonderful instrument).
In a way, it’s a little unfair to compare the laminate whistle to a wood whistle, since a laminate is, from the standpoint of composition and care, pretty much in the same category as a plastic. It does look like wood, and there’s plenty of wood in it, but it’s impregnated with phenolic resin so it’s really a hybrid.
Charlie - this is good to hear. Phil’s quality control is dodgy - I played about a dozen of whistles (6 high Ds, low Gs and low Ds) and only one high D was good and one low G was a real winner - the rest were not up to standard. I agree too that his boxwood sound best. Sounds like you got one that came out good - a good Bleazey is a good whistle at a reasonable price.
If you can afford it, go for the Rose blackwood - quality, sound, tonality are all of the highest order and guaranteed.
Actually, Thin Weasel D’s are going for $280 now. I was a little disappointed with mine initially, because I thought it was too much like the Water Weasel to justify the difference in price. Now I simply think the TW is one of the finest whistles out there. There is quite a bit of variation between them, some have that edge that I love, others don’t.
This is also good to hear (in a manner of speaking). I had only heard second-hand of Phil’s spotty QC, it’s nice to have it verified, plus I feel lucky that I’ve gotten two good ones from him.
The Rose is too pure and sweet for me, but a lovely and well-made whistle, and plays like a dream.
“Actually, Thin Weasel D’s are going for $280 now.”
$280!! Yikes!!
That’s paying for the wood, not the whistle, which I can understand if you can afford it. That definitely puts my wood laminate in the mid-range for price–if you count laminate as wood. Quality-wise, the new Sweetheart is right up there, and at $135 it’s well worth it. (Brewerpaul tried one and liked it a lot.) I had no idea that the premium for wood had gone up so much in just a few years.
I am simply in love with my O’Riordan concert whistles. They bodies are kingwood, and the headjoint is out of delrin. No problems with clogging, great tone, good volume, and as balanced a whistle as I’ve heard across the octaves.
The price is VERy fair compared to many of the other woods out there: The D concert is $125.00 and the extra C tube $60.00. Granted, the wait might kill you (3+ years at present) but these are NICE whistles!
B~
You hit the Mother Lode with those, Brian!