Hi ! I’m new on the board, though I have already read a lot of topic in it …
I have played whistle for a year, I have bought a Dixon High D and then a Kerry Songbird. I’m very happy with this one !!
I would like to buy now a mezzo C whistle. I was going to buy another Kerry but I’m afraid that it will be different from the Songbird and need a lot of wind …
I have read a lot of things and comments about Overton, Kerry … but they don’t reply to my question… Since my main problem is breathing, what whistle does need less breath in high octave ? I mean in that range of metallic whistles …
A whistle such as an Overton, Chieftain, or Harper requires a smaller volume of air to reach the second octave, but an awful lot of pressure. At the other extreme, a Clarke or Shaw requires little pressure to reach the second octave, but you have to move an awful lot of air. Some require somewhat more of both, like Bleazeys and Susatos, some somewhat less of both, such as Oaks or Hoovers. In the middle are Burkes and many of the less-expensive brands.
Hi Nicole,
Brigitte here, I usually answer the emails to Overton. I had not seen your email this morning before I left for work, it can take sometimes a few days for me to answer emails as I have a proper job besides the work I do for the Overtons (Colin at home). I will answer to your questions when I am back home.
Regarding the backpressure of an Overton I like to correct Chas a little bit. As every one is made individually by hand every one can be made to different specifications. If you do not mind ordering direct from Colin and want an easy blower no problem, if you want a harder blower then also no problem or something inbetween… But I can let you know more in detail when I am back home in a couple of hours.
Hi Brigitte ! I see you love cats too ?
With my Songbird, I have no problem to get the upper octave, my problem is more that I’m often obliged to take breath … I looked at the movies on the Kerry website and was crasy to see how long the players are able to play between two breaths !.. is that possible to adjust the posibilities of the whistles when they are hand made ?
Oh, I also saw that there was big holes or small holes ? What difference does it make ?
I supposed that it was the same … But I do hope that I will improve my breath with pratice and not only the fingering … I’m obliged to skip a lot of notes to play a quick song …
Hi Nicole,
it is tough to answer from work but just regarding the breath requirements, the small bore C does not take so much volume of air…
yes I do love cats, and the cat is the reason why Colin lives in Germany
Not to stirr up anything but I think you should know that quite a few of the movies on the Kerry Website are showing Overtons being played made by Bernard or Colin, and it can be hard to tell what is what if it is not explicitely said like with the Cillian O’Brians or Mike Grinters instruments. I will come back later as the phone is ringing here a lot…
Sorry ! I was just telling that I didn’t found answers on the board of this forum …
I have also emailed on the Overton website but read that it would take long to get a reply and that’s why I was also lurking here …
yes, I have just discovered Colin’s page and Jacques !! I didn’t see it … If you have the time, come and visit my website … I’m a painter of animals but I’m especially drawing cats, cats and cats !!
Take your time to reply … i can wait a few hours … and I read that it can take several months to get an Overton so I’m trying to be patient …
Welcome, Nicole…
I’ve been through several C whistles, and Mike Burke’s composite C is one of the finest on the planet…at least that I’ve played. It’s a special instrument and when I play it at gigs, concerts, and small sessions, I always hear threats of theft from other whistle players. I bought mine used from a fellow C&Fer. It’s very sweet, clear and pure, plays very easily, with decent volume. Its tone has a unique personality with depth.
And youghal can scowl all you want, but my Susato C sounds wonderful when run through a good sound system with a touch of reverb. I use it fairly often in performances. It actually has a nice tone, plays easily, and is dead-on accurate with a little more volume than the Burke. It’s good for moderate sized sessions when someone pulls out a tune in Dm.
I’d be happy to e-mail you a .WMA track of the Burke Composite C that I did during a recorded rehearsal with the band. It’s an air I wrote as an intro to Julia Delaney, named “Mist O’er The Shannon”. It’s not a large file…about 450k. Actually, this was the first time we tried it, so it’s completely ad-lib, but came out so good, I had to re-learn it…then named it.
I remember in one of the old Lunasa ones (not sure if it’s even one still on the site) that the whistle player even announced that he was not playing a Hardy whistle, and it’s pretty obvious that Phil didn’t make Pierre Bensusan’s guitar. Seriously, those videos are intended for insight and inspiration. His product demonstration videos are elsewhere on his website.
Tony Dixon also has c whistles. Harp and Dragon has a non-tunable c for $20. and a tunable c for 30.
Another inexpensive option would be a Generation. Go thru the whistle shop for these I’d say. For the price it may be worth throwing in a couple more while you’re at it because of the postage paid for just one whistle. The high F is pretty cool as is the Bb. -mike
I have a whole set of Generation whistles, they’re all satisfying as far as cheap whistles go, although my Bb i find far too breathy in the second octave, and its not a pleasant sound at all. i’m not sure if this is a fault in the whistle, or just because its a cheap whistle, so in my opinion, give the Bb a miss (go for the Eb- it’s far far better in my opinion, as its my favourite out of the generation whistles).
I’ve got a stock Gen Bb that must be over 25 years old and it sounds great (to me, anyway). It’s very well loved, having a distinctly chewed mouthpiece and several large dents below the Bb hole where a small child decided to batter it against a climbing frame, but it’s still sweet and mellow and I love it.
I had an Eb too, but I’m not sure where that’s gone. I beginning to suspect that the aforementioned small child knows more about its whereabouts than he is letting on.
my generations Bb was bought recently.. maybe the older versions were better, also, considering my generations Eb is about 15 years old or so, it does seem to be a trend that maybe the more recent generations are not as good as the older ones?
That certainly seems to be the consensus around here. Received wisdom is also that generation quality control is rather variable and that there can be a big difference between a duff one and a keeper. Maybe I just just lucky with my Bb.
I’m not sure how old the Eb is. I don’t even rememember how or when I got it, but I reckon it must be around the same age as yours. I was never that keen on it though - it sounded a lot harsher than my gen D - and I never used to play it much.
I think luck plays a big part when you’re buying a generation whistle.
is that possible to adjust the posibilities of the whistles when they are hand made ?
