Can anyone answer the following questions for me? (I sent an email to Michael Burke with these questions, but haven’t heard back from him.)
What is the difference between the Brass Pro Session D whistle and the Brass Pro Narrow Bore?
What is “old style”?
What is wide bore, narrow bore and intermediate bore? What determines a choice of one bore over another?
Does brass hold any advantages over aluminum, or is it personal preference?
Thanks,
Giles
On 2002-01-02 13:11, Giles wrote:
- What is the difference between the Brass Pro Session D whistle and the Brass Pro Narrow Bore?
The Brass Pro Session D has a wider bore, which means a larger inner diameter, and it will be louder.
- What is “old style”?
Before Mike came up with the Pro line, the tuning slide was simple, without the architecturally inspired O-ring configuration on the Pro ones.
- What is wide bore, narrow bore and intermediate bore? What determines a choice of one bore over another?
It refers to the inner diameter of the tube, and volume determine preference. The small bore would be very sweet, but not very loud. The wide bore would be very loud, but perhaps not as sweet, and the intermediate bore is a compromise.
- Does brass hold any advantages over aluminum, or is it personal preference?
It’s a personal preference.
Jessie
Thanks Jessie, I’m slowly getting educated.
Giles
The Pro Line whistles also have a fully Delrin encased windway, which makes them virtually clog proof - Very nice indeed.
Loren
Hello, Giles: I own 6 Burke whistles - an AlPro set of 4 in hammer dulcimer friendly keys, (D/C/A/G) and a Brass Pro D/C set. I agree with every post on the subject I have read so far. Mike Burke is a treasure - both to deal with - and in the quality of his instruments. Sometimes he gets overworked and takes a bit of time to deliver product and return e-mails, but the guy is an engineer and holds down a large day job. He always comes through in the end.
I find that my brass and aluminum Burkes have different sonic characteristics. The brass are more traditional sounding and have more chiff, subjectively, and the aluminum whistles are more pure in tone. Neither is better, but they are different. The aluminum whistles are exceptionally light in weight, but do not come across as fragile.
While not horribly afflicted by Whoa, I do own about a dozen whistles. I find myself coming back to the Burkes again and again. They have an ease of playing and octave shifting not often found in my other instruments. The delrin airways are a stroke of genius.
Good luck in your choices. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions you might have.
Cheers.
Byll
The old style Burkes have a sharp edged blade like most whistles do, but the newer ones have a very blunt blade.
I find that my old style wide bore brass Burke to be a better choice for tunes which require agressive playing, while I prefer my new style aluminum pro session for slower tunes.
Actually the “old style” brass Burkes also had a comparatively blunt blade (the two I’ve had did anyway).
One important difference that no one has mentioned is that the newer Burkes with the delrin lined head also have a delrin blade. I think this makes a world of difference in the sound. The old style with all metal blade were much sweeter sounding (especially on the high notes). The old style is not as loud as the newer Pro models though and it does clog more.
-Brett
One important difference that no one has mentioned is that the newer Burkes with the delrin lined head also have a delrin blade.
I’ve never seen one made like that… my aluminum pro session was made in May of 2001 and it doesn’t have a delrin blade.
Only half the thickness of the tubing has been beveled to make the blade of my aluminum pro… the bottom half has no bevel at all, which creates a kind of air dam that gives the whistle a fair amount of back pressure.
If you have any photos, I’d like to see what the new design looks like.
My old style wide bore brass was made in November of 1999 and it has chamfered finger holes… something I wish my aluminum pro also had.
Also, the full thickness of the tubing was beveled to create the blade of my WBB… maybe Mike changes designs more frequently than I had believed.
I do wish he had more photos on his website… and the ones he currently has don’t do his whistles justice.
On 2002-01-02 17:24, raindog1970 wrote:
One important difference that no one has mentioned is that the newer Burkes with the delrin lined head also have a delrin blade.
I’ve never seen one made like that… my aluminum pro session was made in May of 2001 and it doesn’t have a delrin blade.
Hmmm…I’ve only had one of the Pro Aluminum models (which I either sold or traded…can’t remember which now), but I’m almost positive it had a delrin blade. The fipple, lining, and blade were all one piece of delrin that fit inside the aluminum.
But, since I don’t have it anymore, my memory could be playing tricks on me. Anyone else have one with a delrin blade?
-Brett
On 2002-01-02 13:11, Giles wrote:
Can anyone answer the following questions for me? (I sent an email to Michael Burke with these questions, but haven’t heard back from him.)
What is “old style”?
Does brass hold any advantages over aluminum, or is it personal preference?
I recently emailed Mike with a quite similar question and received a reply within a few days. I did say in a post once that I’d had trouble getting him to respond to emails, but have not had to wait more than a few days in the last six months or so. I think he (and other whistle makers, like Glenn Schultz and Ralph Sweet, who have both been very responsive to my queries in the last couple of weeks) do a pretty good job, considering the amount of mail they must receive.
I specifically asked Mike about the difference between the old-style wide-bore brass and the AL PRO. His response was that the Al pro would be brighter than the WBB, and that, since the windway is half metal and half delrin, the WBB would clog more readily. I warm it up a bit and have not had any problems, though I do treat my whistles with jet dry.
He also said he has a few old-style WBB’s left.
Charlie
Both of my recently acquired Burke Pro whistles have Delrin fipple/windways and metal blades. The blades appear to be entirely beveled.
The finger holes are not visibly chamfered, but they do not feel sharp, so I suspect the edges have been lightly ‘broken’.
The whistles are Brass Pro-D (October 2001) and an Aluminum Pro-F (December 2001). They are beautiful to the eye, and the ear, and are a joy to play. Mike Burke is my hero.
By the way, in my experience, he has always answered emails within a few days.
Eric
…though I do treat my whistles with jet dry.
As in the dishwasher additive? How do you treat them?
Scott T.
Scott, I clean the whistle first by running hot water through, then dry with a rolled up paper towel or a clarinet swab. Then I put 2 drops of Jet-Dry in a cup of tap water and rinse the entire inside of the whistle as best I can. Shake to remove excess liquid. Allow to air dry before playing.
I have a Burke soprano d AlPro, that I recently acquired from another player, and a Low D AlPro I’ve had for a few months. Both are outstanding. Great volume, excellent tuning, and in my opinion, very nice tone characteristics. (Personal preference) The “all delrin windway” works as it is intended and does not clog. I enjoy both whistles very much and would recommend them highly.
The Low D came after a two month wait. I was frustrated by the wait primarily because I had been told they would be shipped withing a few days. But now, knowing there might be a 2 month wait, or even a 12 month wait, I’d still order again. Mike usually responded to my emails within a day or so.
Scott, I clean the whistle first by running hot water through, then dry with a rolled up paper towel or a clarinet swab. Then I put 2 drops of Jet-Dry in a cup of tap water and rinse the entire inside of the whistle as best I can. Shake to remove excess liquid. Allow to air dry before playing.
What is the benefit of doing this, Nancy? Is it just to help with the cleaning process or does it help prevent clogging? Can it be done on any whistle?
Cheers
Gerry
I use undiluted Jet-Dry in the windway of all my whistles, but it’s especially helpful in whistles with metal mouthpieces.
It virtually eliminates the clogging caused by condensation… but it doesn’t taste very good. 
On 2002-01-02 23:17, Bretton wrote:
I’ve only had one of the Pro Aluminum models (which I either sold or traded…can’t remember which now), but I’m almost positive it had a delrin blade. The fipple, lining, and blade were all one piece of delrin that fit inside the aluminum.But, since I don’t have it anymore, my memory could be playing tricks on me. Anyone else have one with a delrin blade?
-Brett
Brett,
I checked my AL Pro whistle and it does appear to have a delrin blade. I got it 17 months ago. The date looks like August 2000. The Brass Pro I got a little later Sept. 2000 has a brass blade. Both whistles are excellent. I’m sure Mike makes modifications in his design over time, so maybe the newer AL Pros now have metal blades.
Best wishes, Tom