I’ve done some searching but haven’t found much in the way of a direct comparison between the Freeman Bluebird and the Killarney. Would anyone who’s played both care to compare the two?
How about the blackbird? Close enough for you?
Go for it! I have enough of a sense where the Blackbird and Bluebird differ that your comparison will be helpful. And others may find it useful, too.
I have both, and prefer the Bluebird.
They handle very similarly, but the Killarney is slightly more pure. I’ve found that the chiff of the Bluebird is easier to hear during a session than the pureness of the Killarney, which is hard for me to hear well (despite them having about the same volume when played alone). I also feel like the tuning is slightly better on the Bluebird.
To me the Killarney has a more metallic shrillness to it while the blackbird has a more clean, rounded, and fuller tone - more robust if you will. Both respond well and sound nice to my ear but if I had to grab only one out of the two I would have to grab the blackbird as I have the most practice in with it.
A new experience to me is dealing with the Killarney’s efficient use of breath. It’s a little too efficient for my tastes and I find I have to silently exhale through my nose at certain places to keep from turning blue. You can go a long way on one breath on a Killarney - for better or for worse.
I’ve not played a Bluebird or Blackbird but when I compare my Killarney to my c1980 Feadog MK1 it’s very much as you describe. I wouldn’t call my Killarney shrill, but the 2nd octave has a subtle metallic edge to the tone. The Feadog has an absolutely pure 2nd octave, and the low octave is rounder, darker, and “woodier” than the Killarney.
So what’s the Blackbird/Bluebird thing? Evidently not the same whistle in two colours, like red and blue Generations?
I agree, but when comparing the Feadog MKI with the Killarney, the Killarney feels far more nimble, certainly in the second octave. Though I love my MK.I, I don’t like it for the quick tunes, I mainly use it for the slow, moody ones. The Killarney I use for the quick and happy ones
Bluebird and Blackbird are two differing whistle heads from the Jerry Freeman stable. (haven’t heard much from Jerry lately.) More info here on its origins .
If I recall, MTGuru, and perhaps Gumby were at least somewhat involved in the development of the Blackbird (haven’t heard much from MTG lately either.) Info on the Blackbird is part of the following. The search function is your friend. 
Best wishes.
Steve
perhaps Gumby
But it was under an alias… Or at least an alternative identity/personality.
Best wishes.
Steve
…and to me it’s not noticeable, or an observation I would’ve made, unless I was comparing whistles, playing one right after the other.
If Jerry could make the blackbird with a metal head (for longevity and aesthetic sake) I would probably never want any other whistle… in the world… forever!
I don’t have a Bluebird, but I do have a Blackbird, a couple of Mellow Dogs and a tweaked Gen, all from Jerry. I’ve have them years, and I last played any of them some years ago. In the end, I find that these whistles are very predictable in what they do, which is a good thing - they do what you tell them - but there is something - a liveliness, a sparkle - which I find missing in the Freeman tweaked whistles. The Killarney gives me that in spades. I find that the range of sounds that I am able to create with my Killarneys (D and Eb in the nickel silver or whatever the material is, ie not the brass, which I’m just about to buy) is enough always to keep me satisfied with the whistles.
I would say that I am pre-disposed not to like tweaked whistles, mainly because I’ve usually not been satisfied with them over the years. Having said which, and despite my fondness for my Killarneys, the whistle of all the whistles I have (many!) that is my go-to whistle is a tweaked whistle - a Cillian O Briain tweaked high D whistle. It really is the ultimate for me.
As ever, YMMV.
I think you pretty much summed up my own feelings about this Ben. The O’Briain is high on my list as well, with the Killarney. The makers of those are players and they make a player’s instrument.
I said similar things [to what you are saying in the post above] when I received the Potter whistle recently and playing that yesterday brought the whole subject back in my mind. There’s a sense of restriction or narrowing the band of sound. The first impression may be nice and clean but after a while it’ll have you yearning for some life. In the past I have referred to ‘foolproofing’ the whistle in the context of Jerry’s output.
That said, I have kept the last one of the Blackbird prototype heads I received and stuck it on a Generation tube. That combination is still knocking around the house for quick tunes that come into my head. And in that configuration it makes a handy enough whistle. But I am told that the ones he has been sending out since are quite different. So, indeed, YMMV.
I’ve just ordered a brass body Killarney to go with my nickel D and Eb Killarneys. 
I’ll be interested in what differences there are, if any, between the brass body and nickel body Killarney.
Do let us know Ben!
Dew lettuce snow Ben…
Best wishes.
Steve
Will do! 
Twill dew!
After the reviews here, I ordered a Killarney. They emailed that I would receive it in three weeks, but two days later it showed up in my mailbox way out West in Colorado. Under promise; over deliver is good customer service.
I’m very happy with it. Crisp & “metal” sounding rather than round and “woody” sounding. Clean, not wheezy, which is, of course a matter of preference.
It’s super-fast and responsive, as fast as other small bore whistles like my Freeman tweaked Generation. The second register is very clean and I am even able play C-nat and D in the third register, something I’ve not had much luck with on other whistles without getting pretty shrill. I’ve been working up Eilleen Curran, and the high C-nat is so easy to half-hole cleanly and accurately. Also, the two-finger oxxooo C-nat in the first register is accurate.
The low register isn’t bad. At first I thought the low-D was a bit weak, but it responds to a little more pressure, and then offers up a little chiff.
This lack of shrillness is really great for practicing at home and I anticipate will work well if the session isn’t too loud. I have a Gene Milligan that works well in that case.
Ah, so the “Bluebird” is a tweaked Generation.
I assume the “Blackbird” is a tweaked something else.
More clear, to me, would be if he called them what they are.