I know the more experienced whistlers out there have their preferences for Brass or Nickel, but I can’t really hear any tonal variation with my untutored ear.
To me the difference seems to be that the (cheaper) brass bodies get old looking quickly, while Nickel always looks brand spanking shiny-new, and never has a gunky uneven layer of varnish applied to boot.
In short, apart from the few extra pennies in price, I would now go for Nickel every time.
Could anyone please explain the benefits & drawbacks of each material? And if you feel up to it, why anyone would choose an unfinished Clarke (Original or Sweetone) over the smart enamelled variety, when they look so, ahem, scruffy?
Sometimes you wanna look scruffy, I guess. For one thing, you’re not always compulsively polishing/cleaning/trying to maintain the new appearance. For another, it gives the impression of extensive use, like “Wow, this guy’s done a lot of playing! He must be reeeaaalll gooood!”
I prefer brass because I find nickel sort of slippery under the hands. Also the brass quickly settles down to a nice dull “patina” - I suppose you could call it scruffy, but I like it.
If you don’t like scruffy, brass is always more fun to polish than nickle. Of course the painted ones come in so many colors, you can get a different color for every holiday.
I have only polished my Burke Brass Pro D once since I got it about eleven months ago.It now has a weathered look, and I’m really affraid to look inside. And it has never clogged, gummed up or noffin’ since I got it.
Tone wise, I prefer brass to nickel. Both, to me; have a bright sound to them, the brass has a bit more body to the sound with a crisp clarity. With the nickel being thinner and rounder in tone.
Mark
PS. I can’t tell you about enamelled whistles I don’t own one.(edited)
“In any corner of the earth where solitude and imagination go hand in hand, people learn soon enough to love music.”
Stendhal (1783-1842) Life of Rossini
[ This Message was edited by: MarkB on 2001-11-05 19:03 ]
You can actually buy “blackeners” for brass that chemically treats and colors the metal. This is similar to what gun owners call “blueing”.
The blackener that grainger sells doesn’t require heating.
I haven’t tried it yet and I’m not sure about the safety of the material around the fipple area but the blackened metal could make a really nice looking whistle.