Having just recently broke my favourite whistle (a Burke composite low-G) clean in two I am INCREDIBLY BUMMED!!! Mr. Burke has agreed to replace the barrel for me…for a small fee.
I’ve been contemplating ordering another whistle from him so this now gives me the opportunity and motive. I really love the sound of my composite!! I’ve also played the aluminum and composite side by side and can hear pretty much no difference. I have never played nor heard any of the brass ones.
My questions are…for those of you who own a Burke composite AND (a brass OR aluminum)…
How does the composite sound compared to the brass?
How does the weight of either brass or aluminum compare to composite?
I’m leaning towards the brass hoping it sounds as good as the composite and also hoping it has a bit more weight/heft/non-breakability to it.
I find that the composite has the most mellow sound of the three materials, the aluminum the purest. For the D, I like the wide-bore brass the best. It has a slightly more complex and traditional sound than the other two. Mike has started offering these again. They’re all pretty pure-sounding whistles, though.
The WBB is a heftier whistle; it’s certainly not gonna break. It’s heavier-walled than Gen/Clare-type whistles, but will still dent if you abuse it.
I played a WBB D and Al D side by side and couldn’t tell the difference. The brass was heavier than my composite C. I never cared for the composite C, the ONLY Burke I can say THAT about. The sound just didn’t ‘do it’ for me. I don’t know if its the fact that it was the C or the material though.
I understand L.E. McCullough plays a Wide Bore Brass. I’ve got a Brass Pro Session. I really like how smooth it is over the octaves. The resonse pops. and the sound is pure.
I have both the WBB and the session pro brass and I find that I really prefer the session pro because of the delrin windway. I have to treat the WBB with JetDry to keep it from clogging. The session pro never clogs. Both sound quite nice, but the session pro brass is my preferred instrument. I keep the WBB in the car for practicing at stop lights…
I’m not crazy for the WBB C either. I think C is about the most difficult whistle key to make well. When I was first whistle shopping, I got a Clarke D because it was the best of the D’s. When I got a C, I got a Clarke because it was the least bad. I have the entire line of Water Weasels, and the C is my least favorite. I’ve got Burkes in brass, aluminum, and composite and in several keys, and the C and low-C are my least favorite.
That said, the Thin Weasel C is one of the best whistles I’ve ever played in any key. I know another TW will be a hard sell for you, Tyghress but the C is worth it. (There’s a lot of variation in them, so you might tell Glenn what you’re looking for)
if i’d to choose out of alli whistle makes, i’d choose a burke, they’re very pure and sweet whistles . but i don’t like alli whistles that much.
i also believe the burke bbw is to airy, not so pure, but if i had very large hands i’d prefere this whistle over my bbps, wich i believe has a very sweet and happy tone. so i believe all the burke brass whistles have a happy tone.
i prefere the composite whistle above all, even over wooden whistles. there tone is full, complex,and gives you that grounded feeling wich i never find in metall whistles or any wooden ones
Very interesting discussion. I’d been thinking of posting basically the same question myself, sometime in the future. It seems to be pretty much of a consensus that Burke offers one of the best combinations of quality and price available. Next time I go looking I expect I’ll go in that direction.
You’re killin’ me, Chas! I haven’t had a new whistle in . . . THREE WEEKS. Geez, I’m slowin’ down! Okay…I have one one my wishlist ahead of a new C, but seeing that my fave C (believe it or not, a Walton) just cracked its head, a new Weasel might be in order. . .
Tomorrow I’m heading out to the PO to get the composite repaired and hopefully it will be coming back to me with a buddy. I’ve decided to try the Low-A in aluminum and then maybe a B-flat in brass after that…
John: I have an Alpro A and find I am using it, more and more…It is an example of Mike’s latest mouthpiece technology, with the Delrin fully creating the tip of the mouthpiece. Playability is near perfect - no quirks - with more than two octaves totally usable. The whistle is an exceptional value.
Cheers.
Byll
I have a Burke C AlPro and it’s one of my favourite whistles. It’s beautifully responsive and I love the tone. It’s one of a handful of whistles I bonded with immediately—love at first toot. Right up there with my Copeland low D, Abell D, Grinter low F and a couple of Overtons. Plenty other whistles I’ve grown to love but these knocked me out straight away.
You are accurate, Brett…Mike actually uses both types of mouthpieces on his current models…Some have metal out to the ‘end’, some are totally delrin at the tip…I own both types…Both work equally well…
Best
but the C is worth it. (There’s a lot of variation in them, so you might tell Glenn what you’re looking for)