I’ll be attending the North Texas Irish Festival this weekend in Dallas. I’m a beginner whistler and wondered if festivals in general (or this one in particular) is a good place to find whistles for sale and what types might be available.
Deena
I can’t speak to your particular festival, but if you might be able to pick up a cheap whistle (I usually see Clarkes or Walton’s). I’ve never seen mid-range or high-end whistles.
I bought a Walton Mellow D two years ago at a festival for 8.95 (more than if I’d ordered mail order, but then you have to add tax, S&H…). The whistle had a great chiff sound to it, but badly out of tune with itself.
This last spring I tried again with Walton D, this one’s much better. The other one is in the hands of my 5 year old who doesn’t care about in-tune notes, just that she can play like Daddy.
That’s the beauty of whistles, they’re cheap and you can always get another. I probably wouldn’t spend more than $10-15 for a whistle at a festival, however.
-Tom
I’ve heard of some very nice whistles being sold by their craftsmen at fairs and festivals, and heard of people who bypassed waiting lists of some of the best known makers when they saw them at festivals.
I personally have purchased a few lovely ocarinas this way, but beware. Try 'em out before you buy them, and realize that you may have NO recourse if you bought a ‘whistle in a poke’.
Deena,
You might want to look at the Chiff&Fipple Whistle guides such as Expensive](http://www.chiffandfipple.com/Expens.html%3EExpensive) Whistle Makers. To be familiar with whats available and at what price. Some reputable vendors frequent the festivals and offer good products at reasonable prices. I have seen, Howards, Overtons, Chieftains, Burks, Thin and Water Weasels at festivals. Patrick Olwell runs a booth a couple of festivals in the DC-VA-MD area and his flutes are tops.
Generally, any reputable vendor will allow you to try before you buy, especially with the more expensive whistles. Having someone play a spritely jig, reel, or even slow air on one of their wares is a good draw to bring in customers. Usually they’re prepared with a spray sanitizer for the mouth piece when your done.
OTOH there are “Green Beer” types that will sell you pakistani brass tubing that masqurades as whistles.
So Festivals can be a mixed bag, I am not sure which types of vendors are at the NTIF; but, the knowledge you can pick up from Dale’s main Chiff](http://www.chiffandfipple.com/%3EChiff) & Fipple site should give you a good start and winnowing the wheat from the chiff.
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Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-02-25 16:14 ]
Your best chance of finding a better whistle might be if a couple of general music shops set up shop. In the main, you seldom find whistles over $10-15, but I have seen exceptions.
Last year at NTIF, I saw a few vendors with inexpensive-brand whistles: clarkes, sweetones, feadogs, etc. I believe one vendor had a complete line of chieftans in various keys, and this was the only vendor I saw with many non-inexpensive whistles, if memory serves.
Unfortunately, it looks like I won’t be making it out there this year…
Greg
[ This Message was edited by: Wandering_Whistler on 2002-02-25 22:14 ]
I’ve seen some very good whistles
at festivals here in St. Louis, including Copelands and Burkes. I think I must
have been lucky–but I’d be ready
for anything.
I would go to some on-line store like The Whistle Shop and print off a list of whistles and prices. Then take that list with you to the fairs/festivals.