These statements could be taken to suggest that you’re in the “big bore” whistle camp. Bigger relative bores generally means louder low octaves and stiffer 2nd octaves. Seems to me that this is a common tendency with American whistle makers (Burke etc) and in my experience people coming from non-ITM backgrounds, especially orchestral backgrounds, prefer these whistles.
I’m in the opposite camp, and my favourite whistles have the extremely easy sweet 2nd octaves that generally come from narrower bores, and the tradeoff of less-loud low octaves. For me, fine old Generations have the ideal balance, as do Sindts and Killarneys.
About Dixons, I got a chance to try 20 or so of the High D’s with plastic heads and thick alloy tubes at the NAMM Show a few years ago, there were subtle variations from whistle to whistle, the best were excellent. I think the thicker tube gives a darker timbre and a certain solidity to the voicing.
The story about Generation whistles seems to have again moved from the claim that you have to try a few to get that really exceptional one, to you have to try loads before you can get one that doesn’t sound terrible or play at all.
As I’ve mentioned before, that is categorically not my experience of Generation whistles. In over 40 years of buying Generation whistles I’ve never sought out that “special” whistle and have never had a Generation whistle that was unplayable, didn’t reach all high notes and into the bottom of the third octave, or sounded “terrible”. Maybe I’m just used to them?
I’ve recently gone back to playing Generation whistles on stage because they are the whistles that behave best for me, don’t take much warming up and don’t become overly loud “sound cannons” at the top of the second octave, and frankly I like how they sound. My “stage D” is of very recent vintage, is a very good whistle and was picked up at random from the shelf at Hobgoblin (Birmingham). I’ve recently stocked up on Generation whistles so that I can keep a set in a gig-bag, another for for sessions, in my melodeon cases and in a container the house, and bearing in mind those that get lost or given away. This included a number bought sight-unseen on E-bay.
Do I have any issues with any of them? No. None whatsoever.
A count gives 17 Generation whistles I have at the moment. Either I am the luckiest Generation whistle purchaser ever, the Oswestry fairies are making sure the good ones are sent to me, or there simply isn’t such an endemic problem with Generation whistles and people are repeating stories they’ve read or heard and embellishing them.
… and to answer the question. Just like there aren’t “professional whistles”, simply whistles that professional musicians play, there are no “intermediate whistles”, simply (as someone else also pointed out) intermediate players (whatever that means). Taste, fashion, keeping up with Jones’s etc all play a role alongside the places in which a whistle will be played and the purposes that a whistle needs to serve. Loud, quiet, session, church or busking on a windy street.
You’ll get all sorts of recommendations, but none of them mean much in reality because you’re the one with the ears to hear, lungs to power and places to play your whistles. You are the only one who can make that decision. I will say that price is not an indicator of how well a tin whistle will serve you, whether you like how it sounds, feels to play etc. and that if it is free of damage or intrinsic problems (no, I can’t diagnose it over the internet) the whistle you have is perfectly capable of performing at the highest levels … unless you require a different sound or more volume, things that come with other trade-offs.
If the budget is tight a dixon trad in brass will take you a long way. And the sweetone is a quieter calmer whistle which may feel confusing under the fingers because of its conical shape, but plays nice for beginning. While there are some purists that swear “it’s not the whistle it’s the player,” I’d say that some of the super inexpensive whistles are downright discouraging. Even if you will sound better after you play them for a year, will that year have been as much fun? If you have more to spend I’d suggest the Kilarney. I had a student with a Feadog. When I loaned her my Kilarney she was quite surprised.
And if your goal is to play Irish Traditional music with others or recordings, D is the way to go. There are computer programs out there that can change the pitch for practice with recordings at home, but most sessions are in D (though some in Ireland have gone Eb I’ve never run into one in my area. I guess we just have too many accordions to switch.
As for the folks who say x whistle plays better than whistle y because when they picked it up and tried it they liked the one in their pocket more I will say this. I have some of the “best” (whatever that means) whistles that have been made in the 90s and 2000s. The whistle from that collection I always like the best is the one I’ve been playing the most. Every now and then I pull out a great whistle and think, “Geez, this isn’t so hot. Maybe I should sell it.” After I play it every day for a week “I think I will never part with this thing.”
@Andrew
I don’t think Generations are terrible. Even the standard one plays okay but the paisley version plays better.
@Richard
That depends. I am not in the “large bore fan club” in general and I do like the normal Feadógs, my Clare and I love my vintage Generation D. Those all have smaller bores. My favorite whistle is my Carbony “lead tone” model (not that I’ll ever need the extra note but I got it used for a great price) which has a tapered bore and I have the Carbony “quiet” model with a rather thin bore. But the Waltons mellow D does not really play like a typical large bore whistle (it’s no Thunderbird ). Only the last two notes need ever so slightly more push. Barely noticeable compared to a small bore whistle. BTW - my Feadógs, the Clare, the Carbony and my vintage Generation all have a stronger bell note than my Killarney. Maybe there is something off with mine.
Thanks everyone for your informative input.
I have been lurking, researching and doing a lot of practice on my old oak. I’ve memorized the Isle of Skye and can do a somewhat credible job. Even warmed up I still have a problem with spit narrowing the airway and making it harder to blow half way through the song.
I promised myself I wouldn’t buy another whistle until I could play at least one song (I’m working on others ) and do a decent job at it. I just ordered a brass Killarney Whistle in D and I’m like a kid waiting for Santa to arrive.
I am thinking of getting a high B or a Bb whistle to use while learning new songs or when around others as not to annoy them. My dog especially doesn’t like any of the high notes, even when blown correctly. For that matter the high notes kind of hurt my ears as well. I mostly will be playing by myself. Once I get the hang of a song I can transition up to my D.
The only B’s I can find are online generations, or tweaked Freeman generations. The others I spotted were more than the Freeman’s.
I have a few questions: 1. Should I get a B or B flat Bb? 2. How big a stretch is the fingering? I handled a clarinet OK. 3.One of these days I’d like to learn the low whistles. That is the sound that really attracts me. I’m assuming the finger spacing on them is farther apart than The High Bb? If so I though this might be good practice for stretching.
Dixon Trad brass D - you’re a beginner - you may or may not stick with it - The Dixon Trads are cheap and consistent - I’ve got plenty of low D’s but only one high d - a Dixon. Good Luck.
The spread of holes on a Generation Bb is only about an inch more that the D. That is an inch further from top to bottom hole than on a D whistle.
The Bb whistle is not a “low whistle” (a rather nebulous term in itself), it really is very similar to play to a C or D whistle. I wouldn’t anticipate any issues, especially given your comments about paying the Clarinet.
As for Generation Bb whistles. They’re fine whistles, and cheap so that you’re not risking much. You mention the high notes on the D whistle and how practising with one can be wearing on your own hearing, let alone family members and your dog. A Bb can help with that, I often practise on a Bb, both because I wish to play one generally, but also because of the lower pitch whilst practising.
I bought a Tony Dixon DX006, the aluminum, in D and I’m quite pleased with it’s tone, precise sound of the notes, intonation, loudness, responsiveness to various air pressures, and playability through the full two octaves and a little higher. It’s not expensive.
As a long-time wind instrument player, I can’t see any problems with it. The only minor issue I have with it, sometimes, is that the air channel in the mouthpiece is one of the narrower designs, so you need to give it a blast of air to clear it out, just a little more often than the larger-throated mouthpieces. With a little warming up before playing, it sounds excellent, it really sings, it’s a keeper and it’s good enough to be there enticing me to improve my skill. If I want a different kind of whistle, like a Chieftain Thunderbird, for the more big-lunged approach, control and performance, I can do that , but the Dixon DX006 I can recommend to everyone.
A few posts above your post I said the opposite, that a student walked into a shop, picked up a Generation D at random (without trying it) and it was superb.
A few posts above your post I said the opposite, that a student walked into a shop, picked up a Generation D at random (without trying it) and it was superb.
I had a run through a dozen or more Ds in a shop during the summer and found each and every one of them nice, in facr better than I have found them in years. I didn’t need one but would have happily played any of them.
Yes, I also noticed that they are better now than a few years back. They seem to have replaced the worn out molds. But I have some that are truly and utterly horrible. They are all over the place. But often a new batch is shipped and they are all good. The ones I have that suck all have exactly the same flaws on the mouthpiece which were certainly caused by worn out molds.
Just to hear where I’m coming from, here are the whistles I take to gigs. All are “professional” due to being used in studio work (TV, film, spots, albums) and in live situations. The high keys- Eb, D, C#, C, B, and Bb all cost less than $10 each.
You’ll hear that I’ve chosen whistles with sweet clean high notes. Yes high notes are high, there’s no getting around that. And if, for you, high notes are by definition ear-piercing then you’ll never find a whistle with high non-ear-piercing notes. In other words you might be after something that can’t exist! But my whistles have as civilized high notes as I’ve heard on whistles.
Pretty sure! I had to check some alternate practice locations to drive at an answer here. I’ve practiced in the alcove at a schoolyard, beside a major roadway, and at the nearby university in a large room at the top of a stairwell. Estimating it combined or competing for volume with other sound sources; I can’t see how the whistle is lacking, though it isn’t the absolute loudest whistle made. I’ve played many whistles, I’ve even got sports whistles and have played flute since Pangaea split up, and being in a pub environment I’d be happy with this whistle. I’d expect it to cut through the chatter and work in a band setting just fine. It’s a soprano D, so that helps of course, they’re up there in pitch.
A Clarke Original C might be to your liking, too. Clarke Originals, on the whole, are pretty sweet and mellow with polite volume.
Way back when I started playing whistle, I came from an classical/orchestral instrument background, too. And over the past 20-odd years, I’ve owned a couple dozen whistles (Sindt, Burke, Killarney, Milligan, Dixon, Susato, Hoover, Generation, Feadog, Waltons, Clare, Clarke, Reyburn, Goldie, Freeman, Humphrey, Alba, and perhaps others I’m forgetting).
But as I learned, seeking the perfect whistle is a fool’s errand. After all of that, I’m back to one of the first whistles I ever owned: a Clarke Original D (with a bit of tweaking of the blade height to optimize the tone). It’s not the perfect whistle, but to my ears, it’s the best…for just $10.
). Only the last two notes need ever so slightly more push. Barely noticeable compared to a small bore whistle. BTW - my Feadógs, the Clare, the Carbony and my vintage Generation all have a stronger bell note than my Killarney. Maybe there is something off with mine.