Feadog nickel and Feadog Pro!
The standard nickel Feadogs seem to sound and feel a tad better than the plain brass. Maybe the plating adds a fraction more substance to the tube or something. The Pros (definitely a heavier tube) are just excellent.
Apart from that, Clarke original or Shaw if you’re not afraid of providing the air they need.
I totally agree about the LBW. I hated mine. Actually, I’ve never had a Walton whistle I liked. They all had stray bits of plastic swarf in the head and were poorly moulded… And they all sounded dreadful.
I love my Oak. It’s my favourite quiet whistle. I also think the Walton’s little black whistle has a decent sound (their metal ones I don’t like at all).
I have a feadog and it’s simply horrible.
~Crysania
I have all these cheap whistles many times over and never play them in public. I would order a whistle from Burke and go from there. If you want a good instrument, you have to pay the money. Otherwise, purchase five Oaks from the Whistleshop, tweek them with wax, and then choose one as your high D. If you’re not happy with one of those, then order from Burke. He has the most consistent whistles. But you’ll still be out $50 from buying cheap whistles. In order to get a playable set of whistles in various keys, it’ll take you many years and many orders.
JP
hmmm… all nice suggestions yes indeed…
But… if you really want a cheap whistle… Try using your lips! 
All things aside, I think learning on a Clarke Original D with the wooden block is a grand idea. After a good while on that, then start getting into Generation style whistles. After that, just experiment untill you find what you like. Although I think it’s possible that it will take a good amount of time before you find the right characteristics you’ll want in a whistle. IE, back pressure, chiff, clarity/breathyness, response, etc.
I guess I misread the topic…
I like my Meg D very much. Easy to play, not a lot of chiff, and isn’t the loudest of the loud, but it’s a good whistle in my book. I also like the Feadogs. Brass, and the nickle plated one I have is good also. I like some of the Generation whistles in brass, G, F, Bb. I also like the Waltons C whistle in brass. Just my 2 cents.
I have tryed all but the oak and acorn,
whistles can be a crap shoot, there are good and bad and indifferent in all brands,
what you decide will also be relative to where you are going to play your instrument,
for a session environment i would not hesitate in recommending a feadog or a generation,
for home a sweetone or a clark original, or waltons mellow D,
I love the sound of a clare,
If you are performing with a mic, any are fine
its kind of like choosing which of your children you like best, cannot be done, they all have their own personalities, for some tunes you will prefer the chiff and responsiveness of of a feadog, others you will prefer the sublties of a clark, and many in between,
the happy compromise i would recommend is either a feadog, with the cleanup and putty tweak or Jerry Freemans tweeked generation I have 3 waltons mellow d whistles, all are lovely, sweetones are fairly consistant, and a good buy i prefer these to the meg,
I dont believe there is an easy answer to this, only personal opinion with the whistles each of us own, but for $10 a pop, its not a huge investment to try a few…welcome to WHOA
regards
David
The Clare D is a nice Generation style whistle.
The Walton LBW is metal, but painted aluminium rather than plain, laquered or nickel plated brass.
If your Feadog has a mark III head (the current one) then they are pretty consistent from a quality point of view. The putty tweak steadies them a bit, but Feadogs do need a bit of practice with breath control before they start to sing. The ones I’ve tried with the older heads I couldn’t get on with.
I was surprised to see in the Tourist centre in Killarney last year they had Feadog gift packs containing whistles with the Mark II heads…
I agree totally with John Palmer.
There are no bargains in the modern world. If you want a whistle to be proud of, you have to pay for it. Save up for a Burke. They’re sweet, the second octave is easy, and they are very forgiving for the beginner.
While I agree that you have to spend some money to get good stuff, there is a less expensive way to get a great whistle.
You can get Whitecap from Mack for $30 and put it on a cheapie (mine’s on an Oak), and you’ll have a great whistle.
Admittedly I’ve never played a Burke, and may end up getting one someday, as I love their tone. However, spending less than $50 for a great sounding, easy playing whistle is a viable option for a new player not yet ready to put out $150.
It took a few days to get used to the Whitecap. The breath requirements are different than what I was used to. But now I just love it.
It may not be a Burke, but it’s less than 1/3 the price.
Jason
If you want to pay more for an upscale whistle my suggestion is a Humphreys. Cheaper than a Burke and a marvelous whistle. I got a D/Eb set cheaper than the Burke D.
Ron
Jason Paul,
I agree. I have a whitecap on a Feadog body, and it makes a whistle far above the cheapies–and you can get it without robbing a convenience store.
I bought an Oak C that is horrible – shrieks rather than shift octaves. I like my Feadog, but since I tweaked a Clarke original that’s my high d of choice. I have an O’Briain low D which is a very high quality whistle and in a whole different class from the cheapy high whistles I’ve been playing. Mack just sent me a whitecap and I’m looking foward to putting it on the Feadog tube. A Burke or a Laughing high d may be in my future.
Doug
I just recieved a Jerry Freeman tweaked Generation D in brass, and I absolutely positively love this whistle. for only $37.00 plus shipping… Makes me feel like an arse I bought that Burke DAN for $150.00… No offense Mike. 
I posted a small clip of me playing this very whistle on www.whistlethis.com if you’re curious to hear. Same name as on here. key_of_D
-Eric
As I told in another thread here: I’m happy with my Clare D.
Clarke, Feadog, and Walton’s Little Black in that order. I lurvs 'em all!
Cheers,
Bill