Hello guys, i m Luck.
I’ve been reading this forum for long time and always found what i needed in terms of knowledge and reviews of whistles but now i need to make some questions since i am uncertain about what to do in this precise moment.
Next month i will be able to buy few whistles so what i am doing now is watching/reading/listening for hours and hours the whistles i would like to buy and i can’t make up my mind about what’s going to be the right choice, but let’s set some steps.
Forst of all, i ve been playing the whistle for a while now. I never really had any preparation in terms of music, i basically started playing it because i got closer to folk and folk metal and decided to buy one of those nice toys to spend my time and learn some songs to play with my friends but here’s the thing…it turned out that i really loved the instrument and started to play it non stop.
Since then i ve bought only few whistles so right now i own
3 (high)D whistle (feadog pro, walton’s little black, susato kildare V serie)
1 Bb generation
1 C Feadog
I thought about buying remaining keys to try them and today i got a Chieftain F (non tuneable) and i gotta admit, i really love it.
Next month i am surely going to buy a G, A, B, C and Low D whistle. I had no specific brand in mind but this chieftain i bought makes me think that maybe i am going to take a full chieftain set, if it wasn’t that i heard so many bad things about chieftain tuning that now i really need your help.
Right now i am thinking about buying:
A, G, B, C Chieftain ( i need suggestions about tuneable and non tuneable models)
and
Colin Goldie tuneable Low D (this is the only thing i am 100% sure about, i wrote to colin so i am waiting for answer)
Tell me what you think please, i am open to all suggestions!
Ps: i know, my english sucks 
I think that chieftains in the lower keys are great. Note that chieftain voicings vary greatly. The low whistles I commonly come across are the v4, the optima and the thunderbird. The v4 is quiet, airy and smooth sounding, not for all folks but it is great for recording. The optima is also on the quiet end but it takes much less air and sounds cleaner. The thunderbird is a nice and powerful whistle.
Regarding the mezzo (higher key) whistles, i think they are too shrill. The A and the Bb are good, but the C and the D are too loud since they share the same bore profile.
Regarding tuning slides, they would be useful if you plan to play with other musicians. Alloy whistles are also more affected by temperatures than other materials so you may want room to go flat or sharp.
About the low D i already know i want to buy a goldie.
About G, Bb and A yes chieftain was my first choice at the moment.
The C is probably the key i care the most, what would you suggest? I heard Syn C whistle is pretty good
my main problem comes with the budget there. I’d Buy a burke C whistle but the whistle + shipping cost is too much for me or i can wait another month and buy another good C
The C is probably the key i care the most, what would you suggest? I heard Syn C whistle is pretty good
my main problem comes with the budget there. I’d Buy a burke C whistle but the whistle + shipping cost is too much for me or i can wait another month and buy another good C
I might not have much experience with C whistles as others. I primarily use G whistles to play in C. Even the cheapie C Feadogs are “Da bomb” IMO.
That being said, I think the Syn C is a good choice if you are looking for the sound of a Burke. Syns are sometimes called the “budget burke” due to their similarity in tonal quality. The difference is in the upper range (not by much though) where the Syn becomes slightly chiffier. IMO, syns are well worth the money.
Thank you for your answers. they were very useful.
I have one more question about Chieftain whistles.
I see in the shop they offer a bundle of all fixed/tuneable whistles. The D, C, Bb and A are tagged as “NR” meanwhile the Low D, G and F are V4.
I know V4 whistles since i own an F but what i want to ask is if there’s any difference between the mezzos sold singularily and the ones in the bundle that are tagged as NR.
Tl;DR: Are all chieftain mezzo whistle NR models?
I had the tunable set (bought together) as V3 low D, F and G and NR A, Bb, C, D. I’ve since sold them all…
The V3 F I thought the best of the V3s, with the low D offering poor air efficiency (which the V4 may have improved?) and the G not quite so well tuned. The NR A was good, the Bb might have been even better but for requiring one or two trick fingerings at the top of the second octave, but the C and D got progressively more fussy about what they would or wouldn’t do above a (nominal/fingered) high B, with the D also way sharp and needing all kinds of trickery with rolled-up plastic and tape to get anywhere close to in tune with itself with the head pulled out enough to bring it down to pitch. In summary, absolutely not the ‘core’ whistle set I’d hoped and you appear to be hoping for!
I know V4 whistles since i own an F but what i want to ask is if there’s any difference between the mezzos sold singularily and the ones in the bundle that are tagged as NR.
No.
Are all chieftain mezzo whistle NR models?
The current ones, yes.
I see, thank you for your answer!
I have one last question about the low whistle backpressure.
As i said i have a chieftain V4 that i assume should be the equivalent of a goldie medium blowing (please correct me if i am wrong)
What i want to ask is:
Does this parameter (hard, soft, medium blowing) affect the bore of the whistle? if yes in which way?
Depends what you mean by equivalent. It might or might not take a similar amount of air (I’d expect the Chieftain to take more, but can’t be sure after the change from V3 to V4), but it’s going to feel quite different with very different tonal qualities.
Does this parameter (hard, soft, medium blowing) affect the bore of the whistle? if yes in which way?
Not the bore but the windway (taller for soft blowing and less tall on the same width for hard blowing so the softer blowers take more air at less pressure).