I just did a little PRO-FILE of the old Chieftain mezzo Bnat,They are no longer made so if you want to see and hear one,you know where to look.
Phil
Sounded so lovely, one can’t help but wonder why you stopped making them?
Philo
I loved the video of the canals and the narrow boats, it brought me back to a trip I made a couple years back and what a dream it was to play on one of those canal boats. Thanks.
Agreed, dogday rocks!!! You oughta start making some video diaries.
And, why on earth did you stop making those utterly beautiful sounding whistles?
Yes,I should make more vid diaries as I really enjoy being out and about with the camera,the area I live in is surrounded by beautiful counrtyside and only 25 mins from central London.I 'll do another when the weather improves.
As for the Chieftain Golds,yes they were as are a great instrument BUT nobody wanted them at the time and I had to sell all the remaining stock to an American distributor at a knock down price just to get the outlay back.All in all we made around 200 in various keys and most are in the the USA.I think now that they have been discontinued, people will hang on to them,I don’t see many for sale.
Luckily,I kept a whole set from low D up to high D for myself and I find myself playing the Bnat all the time.Bnat is a wonderful key to play in as it’s not shrill and has a mellow low reg.
I do recomend that if you see one of any key up for sale anywhere that you grab it.
I’m just on my way out to Abbey Road recording studios to have a meeting with Chief Wanganui aka Tony Hinnigan about upgrading his website…he is in with Michael Nyman scrapping some more cello…mmmmmm Beatles nostalgia.Might take that vid with me.
All the best
Phil.
Nice. In my non-Irish-music life I’m a big fan of Michael Nyman. I had the pleasure of seeing the Michael Nyman Band in Ann Arbor a few years back; it was a great show.
Are you finding the PRO-FILES helpful?
Chief Wanganui is PRO-FILING the 3 Feadog high Ds on friday.
Phil.
I like the videos themselves, yes, but I wish you had an RSS feed for the videos you post; it would make it very easy to find out when you posted a new one.
Note that nearly all blogging software does this automatically so you could just get a blog somewhere and post an entry whenever you put up a new video.
I will be checking in on Friday as I am sitting by my mailbox waiting for a Feadog Pro D and a standard brass D. I find the Pro files very useful. It has pointed out some whistles I would like to have and some I won’t be buying.
Ron
I keep seeing this “Feadog Pro” being mentioned - what is it exactly? The Feadog website makes no mention.
I can tell you that there is hardly any difference between all 3 whistles in sound quality or playability.All 3 headshell are plastic and from the same mould,the origional has a brass body,the next has a nickel plated body and the PRO (now where have I heard that before) has a nickel/silver plated body…thats it.I think the prices are different but Tony will advise on details later.
I must say I was dissapointed with all of them ,they do look nice but.
Phil.
Phil - I am one of those new players that listens/lurks a lot in the shadows. I have an awful lot to learn - the point of why I have particularly found your Pro Files so helpful. Before they were arranged in the folder as Pro Files. And all the other videos on your site.
You see - I live in an area of central Kansas that is bereft of Irish Music players. Kansas City (Missouri is the larger city - as odd as that must sound to someone not familiar with the area) is home to great Irish parades and a yearly concert, but is 2 1/2 hours away. So my chance to hear whistle music played the way it should sound is very limited. I listen to CD’s certainly. But I get no input of fingering, or idea of what the artist is doing to produce the tones, timber and ornaments. Sounds nice, but no input.
I have been playing whistle (playing at? - LOL) right about a year. I do not read music notation of any kind, so all my playing is by ear. I had found your website since Spring of last year, and am on there going thru all the videos constantly. It has been a great benefit to me! What inspiration as well. I play for my own pleasure, and I love it!
I have just arranged for my third fine Busman whistle and commented to Paul, that I had just been on your site and listened again to Hinnigans playing (many - many times over the past months) of your Busman copy. What wonderful playing - what a master! I can play Boolavogue a little - I would not even know what the tune was without your site. Some day I hope to be able to finger out the Dowd tune played on the Busman. Don’t know what the tune is though.
I found Flook through your website as well. And this March 16th, I’ll be sitting in the auditorium at Kansas State Auditorium listening to Karen Casey and Flook perform.
So, I’m just a small example of the effect your site has. It may be interesting to the seasoned players - it is essential to me! And after the Busmans, my other favorite whistles are my Cheiftain old style G and Kerry easy blow D. Your reviews of competitors always seems fair and balanced to me. Ah - if only our politicians and newspeople could bring this off!
Thanks very much for the investment you make in time and assets to bring the pleasure of Irish music to us. I think you get far too little credit for your involvement and fairness in including all makers.
Richard Doyle Green
Abilene, KS
Thanks Richard for your kind words,it’s people like yourself that I do it for,we were all beginners once,enjoy your journey.
There will be more TUTORIALS when I return from Australia and New Zealand.
Looking forward to get some vids from down under.
Phil.
ps please remember that you can email Tony Hinnigan for any personal whistle advise, tony@tonyhinnigan.com
Your welcome Phil. Have a safe and productive visit in Aus and NZ.
Thanks for the info about asking at Tony’s site. I have been looking in on his site quite often. I even like his - gasp - Quena playing. The man is a real master.
I’ll “line up” a couple important questions for him. At my playing level I could wear him out with too many questions I’m sure! LOL.
My first whistle was a feadog. I wanted to like it but it was too squawky/buzzy/hard to control/etc. I have a new feadog the I often play when I want to play whistle. It’s not any better than the other, but basically one day I decided that I was going to learn to approach it on its own terms, and now that I can (mostly) control it, it sounds to me like the classic whistle sound I’d heard on so many recordings, moreso than any high end whistle I’ve played or heard. Not that I think it’s better, but from what I’ve seen so far, if you want that old school sound, you may just need one of these old school instruments.
It can be daunting for a beginner, or even a slightly-beyond-beginner player like me, but it can be a rewarding experience when you get familiar with the whistle.
Edit: Not that there’s anything wrong with high end whistles, either… I’ve been coveting the Songbird for a long time… Just haven’t been able to justify buying any more high end whistles.
Hi Phil, What brings you to Oz? Regardless, I hope the visit goes well. Btw the weather is currently hot and humid 
Phil Hardy deserves praise for his web site, it is a constant amount of work and he does it well. It’s a bloody good site. Led me to a Bleazey hiD that I find is a simply great whistle. Good luck on your trip down under.
Hey Mitch,I’ll be down in Sydney from the 30th jan for 2 weeks,I have a relative in Woy Woy where I’ll be staying but hope to show my wife around abit and maybe attend any sessions going (please advise).I’m all for meeting a few folks and talking whistles and music and getting some sun.The wife understandibly wants to see Roo’s and Koala’s so a trip to a wildlife centre is on the cards as well.
We’ll also be touring the south island of New Zealand in a camper so if there is anyone there who wants to link up that would also be very cool.
I don’t have dates for NZ yet but somewhere around the 13th looks promising.
If anyone has any good ideas for things to see and do in either country ,please email me at phil@kerrywhistles.com
Phil.
ps ,I’ll be stopping over in San Fancisco on saturday the 28th for an evening just to break the journey and in LA on the way back on the 21st feb,I’ll be staying with Eric Rigler in Torence for a couple of nights.
I think the best “Feadog”, and one of the best whistles I have, is the O’Briain Improved D.
Phil, see what you think of that one.
I do agree with the comment that Feadog is not one of the easiest whistles on earth but is rewarding when you learn to control it.
Now, have a great time on your trip.
Oh, and how about that Chieftan Gold Bnat?..
Mary
Hi Phil, There’s a few good sessions about. The Harp in Tempe is usually a good bet for a Sunday. I’ll do a bit of a reccy and see which ones are cooking - get back to you in a few days. Perhapse some of the other Ausies on C&F know some good sessions closer to Woy Woy.