I know there have been threads in the past about Carbony whistles, however, I am under the impression that the design of them has undergone some improvements since some of those old threads, and I’m interested to hear what people think of them, particularly more recent ones. So, I wanted to make this thread to review the alto G I acquired, as well as to discuss these and perhaps hear all of your thoughts on them, for any key, should you have any.
Between the poor reviews I’ve read, as well as the absolute crap YouTube videos of them that I turned up in a search (all posted a long time ago, aside from the Folkfriends vids, which are recent), I think these whistles undeservingly have a bad rap. I recently made a post about them in the “Irish Low Whistle” Facebook group, where most posters spoke very highly of them, and after recently receiving one in alto G, I’d have to concur with their assessments- It is an extremely top notch whistle, in every regard.
A bit of a review of this G whistle, from my perspective, which differs greatly from many older reviews I’ve read:
The volume balance between the octaves is, without any doubt, the most even of any whistle I’ve played, ever, by a wide margin. The top notes speak easily and evenly, up to the high B (probably beyond, if you wanted), and the whole whistle has consistent volume throughout. Not only that, but the top notes have a quite unique “texture” to the tone, which I find most interesting. The lower octave also has an interesting tone, somewhat clear, but round, and with a sort of “earthiness” to it. I had to analyse the tone pretty closely to notice, but there is a minute bit of breathiness to the sound, but it intertwines so nicely with the root tone that the mind doesn’t interpret it as the type of breathiness you’d get on an MK, clarke, or chieftain, but just a sort of soft and subtle padding to the overall tone. And, again, the volume is consistent from top to bottom- no screamy high end. The playability is also consistent, with the only note that requires a /very/ slightly different pressure is the bottom D, but it doesn’t have a noticeable accompanying drop in volume. The overall volume of the whistle is neither quiet nor loud, but quite middle-of-the-road, overall. It wasn’t whisper-quiet like I’d read in reviews.
It also didn’t have horrid tuning, like I had read in reviews . Also, the whistle is really quite responsive, both in regards to note transitions and ornamentation. It plays in the sort of way I like soprano whistles to play, but in a low G. It has pretty low backpressure, but doesn’t consume a great deal of air. I never really had to think about air consumption while playing, and phrased tunes as I normally would. Personally, I don’t like a huge amount of resistance in a whistle. Ah, and the whistle is tuneable.
Normally I’m not someone who even factors in “comfort” as being an important quality in whistles. You hold it in your hands and cover the holes- I’ve never played a whistle where this is a problem. You put it in your mouth and close your mouth- not a problem with any whistle I’ve played, regardless of mouthpiece shape. Well, despite not caring much about such factors, I must say this is an extremely comfortable whistle to play. Ultra lightweight, well shaped holes, comfortable conical shape, and perfectly shaped beak. You almost forget the whistle is there. Really very comfy. So, if you obsess over those things, you’ll like that aspect of it.
Anyway, I like everything about it, so I’ll stop the review there. It is comfortable, consistent throughout the range, responsive, and in-tune, and has a very lovely tone, and I really like how it sounds and reacts in the high end of the range. Oh, and even though I bought it used on eBay (for a steal, I might add), the maker told me it has a fully transferrable lifetime warranty, and that if anything goes wrong he will fix it and return it swiftly, which is another plus, despite the fact that they seem quite sturdily made. From what I can tell from the YouTube videos from years back, these have changed a good bit. They sound quite weak and very bland-toned and stuffy on those videos. However, that’s not at all the case with this one.
Has anyone here played a more recent one, and what did you think? I’m also interested to know if the sound and playability is pretty consistent for the other keys, as I’d be pretty sold on this brand if the soprano and low keys were both like this G. Interested to hear of your experiences and general thoughts on these, particularly more recent ones, as well as your observations on the soprano whistles and lower keys. I notice they have three different models of D whistle, and I’m interested in learning a bit more about those, too. Please discuss. 