I just received these as birthday presents from my wife along with a new LBW.
The Burke DBSBT is amazing and instantly became my all time favourite high D. I far prefer its warmer darker tone to that of my DASBT, which is still a terrific whistle.
The main point of this post is about the nickle Faedog D. It cost a fraction of the cost of the Burke, looks extremely nice but the frightening thing is how well it plays when compared to the Burke! The tone is very different of course to the Burke but it plays like a dream. It is so much better IMO to any of the brass Feadogs I have owned. I did the putty tweak, which has made the tone clearer and even brighter. It is without doubt for me the best high D out of all of the cheapies I have ever tried.
That’s surprising to me to hear that about the Feadog. I’ve tried two of those nickel plated ones and found them much less to my liking than the brass. The brass Feadog is among my favorite two or three whistles to play but the nickel just seemed to be an inferior sounding whistle to my ears. My main complaints were that it wasn’t as responsive as the brass and also, any note beyond the upper register F# was shrill and uncomfortable to listen to. Shame though, it sure is a sharp looking whistle.
Glad yours worked out for you.
Happy Birthday, Adrian! I didn’t know leprechauns had birthdays.
I agree about the nickel D Feadóg, it’s a great little whistle. Bright, chiffy and aggressive, and easy-playing if you can tame the high g and above. It’s the one I carry to sessions where playing a more expensive whistle will earn you the evil eye from the trad police. The nickel C Feadóg is pretty nice, too.
Personally, I can’t hear any real difference between the nickel, brass, and painted Feadóga that isn’t due to individual variation. And the Feadóg Pro with the heavier barrel feels nice and hefty, but has the same Feadóg sound.
The LBW is a sweet, quieter little whistle, and nice too. You’re a lucky leprechaun.
Adrian, I just began using my Burke brass session D again, after a long hiatus after I messed up my unprotected ears playing high A and Bs on an Irish tune.
The Burke is simply a great whistle, and I love it’s “dark” sound, as you said. I would call it “soft.” It is very playable and forgiving for those who lack 20 years whistling experience.
Makes you wonder, what could one do with a Burke AND 20 year’s whistling experience??
I intend to find out!!
I’ve been banging on about nickel Feadogs for yonks. They are absolutely flippin’ brilliant. Consistent quality, very well in tune tubes (to my ears, anyway).
I’m sure I can hear a difference between the nickel and the brass - but that could be my imagination.
I play D and C nickel Feadogs as my main whistles. I also have a Feadog Pro, which is like the nickel D but with a slightly heavier tube.
Oddly, I found the holes on the Pro to be less smoothly finished than the standard nickel - a bit rougher for sliding notes up…
I just wish Feadog did as wide a range of keys as Gen do. I’d kill for nickel Feadogs in Eb, F and G (and A and Bb for that matter)!
I’ve noticed that roughness, too. The two tubes have the same outside diameter (12.8 mm), but the thickness is different (0.375 mm Feadóg, 0.525 mm Pro). So maybe that accounts for the holes, with the lack of chamfering more noticeable on the thicker tube.
Yeh… although, I’m not convinced the tubes are exactly the same outside diameter. Try swapping the heads around between a Pro and a nickel. When I did that, one of the heads was too tight to slide on the other tube properly, and the other head was way loose.
Yes, I’ve done that, too. Several of my Feadógs are Frankenstein hybrids of Pro and non-Pro tops and barrels, a result of switching them around to get the best sound. And they don’t always fit exactly. But first …
I’m sure my measurements on my whistles are correct, using a nice digital caliper accurate to .01 mm. I just double-checked my brass and nickel Feadógs and Pros, and they’re all 12.8 mm OD. The painted Feadógs are a bit wider, from 12.9 to 13.0 or so, depending on the thickness of the paint. But the bare brass underneath is 12.8 (partly visible at the mouthpiece end).
The heads are, however, a different story. They range from 12.85 mm to 13.00 mm inside diameter at the open ends, tapering to 12.65 mm to 12.75 mm about 5 mm inside. So some may be snugger or looser than others. I can’t see any systematic correlation between the head sizes and the particular whistles they’re on, so maybe this is just due to manufacturing / molding variation. And the Pro and non-Pro heads look identical to me.
If I put the painted non-Pro tops on the Pros, they are a bit loose. But I suspect that’s because the plastic has stretched a bit because of the paint thickness. The tops from the nickel Pros and non-Pros seem to fit each other just fine.
I’m not sure what to conclude from all this … except that I really need to get a life.
The tone is very different of course to the Burke but it plays like a dream. It is so much better IMO to any of the brass Feadogs I have owned. I did the putty tweak, which has made the tone clearer and even brighter. It is without doubt for me the best high D out of all of the cheapies I have ever tried.
