Thanks for helping me to sort out the different beginner/low-end whistles.
Now, I have another question for you. I’ve noticed that many of the models come in both brass and nickel versions. If you were going to buy a D whistle, and you had the option of buying brass or nickel, which would you get and why?
What’s the difference between the two?
P.S. Metal whistles I’m considering at this point are the Clare one-piece, the Walton Mellow D, the Oak, and the Generation G (for the kids). I’m leaning toward the nickel for whichever ones of these I get, but am not sure.
Brass is warmer and a bit softer in sound;
nickel is brighter and a bit louder.
It is very much a matter of taste–
what matters is getting a good whistle.
I guess I would prefer a good nickel
whistle in the inexpensive whistles,
but it doesn’t matter much.
brass is a little bit cheaper, usually. I don’t think the type metal makes much difference, so long as it plays in tune and has a decent tone…
The Generation nickel Eb I own is slippery to the point of distraction. Other nickel whistles I own aren’t like this.
My nickle Oak is also very slippery - very pretty to look at but a tad slippery to hold. Also, it has a “buzzing” in E and D that no amount of tweakage has been able diminish. My son has Walton’s Mellow D which sounds very nice in the lower octave but seems very tempermental in the upper octave.
I have, and will always be, a staunch fan of nickel whistles, especially generations. I've found that the gen nickel models are generally less prone to the quality control issues than are their brass ones.
~Firefly
Hi Gary,
I have aan Oak nickel “D” whistle and I noticed that it also has a buzz in E and D,
I wonder what causes that? Maybe cockpit trouble, not the plane but the pilot! But it didn’t buzz when I first got it… Jon
“There was never a good knife made with bad steel.” Benjamin Franklin
Brass or nickel…I think it comes down to personal taste but, the slippery nature of the nickel instruments puts me firmly in favour of the brass variety. Even if nickel whistles sound better than brass ones (which is debatable) they aren’t much use if you spend most of the time fighting to keep a hold of them as they slide around in your fingers. This might not be too big a problem when playing slow tunes, but with fast ones it can be a real hindrance to playing well.
Mick
Jon C: My Oak has always buzzed. When I first got it I noiced some flashing around the windway which I very carefully trimmed with a razor and polished shiny smooth with a Dremel; alas, it didn’t help. I tried the sticky tac trick; no luck either. I tried adjusting the position of the head but that didn’t effect the buzzing. The only thing that does help is reducing the breath pressure on E and D which likewise reduces the “buzzing” but its still very obvious. At the suggestion of somebody on the board I tried a Walton’s LBW head on my Oak body - it actually works quite well but sounds more like a Walton’s LBW than an Oak.
Getting back to the original topic now. I do like the shiny nickle look but they are slippery. I can’t play very fast but I do see how this could be a problem for some players. Also, for some players (like me) nickle does tarnish quite a bit around the tone holes (and where your thumbs go on the back) which does tend to reduce slipperyness around these points. How much your whistle tarnishes tends to do with body chemistry or so I’m told. Honestly I can’t here any real difference in sound between brass and nickle. Besides, the so-called “nickle” whistle is really nickle plated brass tube anyway - I can’t see that a nickle plating only a few thousandths of an inch think could alter acoustics very much.
On 2002-02-16 12:58, garycrosby wrote:
Besides, the so-called “nickle” whistle is really nickle plated brass tube anyway - I can’t see that a nickle plating only a few thousandths of an inch think could alter acoustics very much.
I assume you are speaking specifically about Generations. My Copeland nickel is, according to Michael’s website: ‘an alloy of 18% nickel with brass’ and may indeed possibly affect resonance acoustics.
I prefer brass, personally, I find it more forgiving than nickle.
I’ve never had trouble controlling nickel
whistles, but if you do, you do. I
just have sticky fingers.
Yes, I think brass is perhaps more
forgiving. I do think, though, that
nickel often makes a real tonal
difference–both on the inexpensive
and expensive whistles I’ve played.
I care more about that on the
expensive whistles–much prefer nickel.
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2002-02-16 20:50 ]
Hmmm...you learn something new everyday! I've never had a problem with nickel being slippery; I wonder why that seems to effect so many other players...
And as for body chemistry - you really don't get fingers more corrosive than mine! I once had to have all of the keys on my oboe replaced because my sweat or something ate through them! But then again, I also find that corrosion is much more of a problem on my brass whistles than my nickel ones. Perhaps I'm just contrary!
~Firefly
Firefly I also found this interesting about the slippery brass!
The only nickel instrument I have is the Walton C that I like very much, including the slick feel of it. I had the opportunity to try out a brass Walton C, and thought it was horrible. Of course this could be just the one instrument, but the two nickel C’s have been lovely, and the one brass was just awful…at least this key of this manufacturer.
With my brass D I’ve wavered on its care and sound. I may be influenced by what other people have said about the matter, so take this with a grain of salt, but I had been keeping my D polished and cleaned for about a year before throwing in the chemical covered towel and letting it ‘go natural’. A fellow I met in Maine said he had NEVER cleaned or polished his D, inside or out!, and that the sound just kept getting better and better.
So I stopped cleaning it a few long weeks ago. And I think he’s right. I don’t think its quite as. . .um. . .brassy. This really came as a bit of a surprise to me.
Does nickel change over time? I think that wood probably does as the material absorbs bore oil and moisture from the breath.
tyghress–I’ve experienced that same weird phenomenon with my brass whistles as well.
When I first got my Clare 2 peice dealie, it sounded very “rough” and, frankly, kind of icky. After I’d played it for a week or so, it started sounding a lot better. My Generations have done this a little bit too, but not to the same extent as with the Clare…
[ This Message was edited by: TelegramSam on 2002-02-17 14:03 ]
I came down on the side of Nickel last time this issue was discussed, but have since been playing brass whistles as much or more.
I agree that Nickel gets slippery if your fingers sweat, while Brass will discolour around the fingerholes & thumbs. So Brass gets that lived-in look really quickly, which I now find rather attractive - shows the instrument has been played and loved. Some Brass whistles (e.g. Waltons) are varnished, which personally I dislike.
Spray coated whistles like the Black Feadog are a third option, not slippery while retaining their original good looks. Or go for a plastic/polymer whistle like a Susato or Dixon.