Even since I bought one second hand I’ve been of the opinion that the Abell is the greatest whistle on earth. $350 new is steep, though.
A while back my wife bought me a Burke DSC composite. Not being an expert, it took me a while to appreciate the gem I had in my hands. My eyes were opened when I realized it wasn’t a toy, and needed more puff than I was giving it. Some brief thoughts…
This whistle sounds like wood. It begs to be played fast. It is very resistant to squawking and squeaking.
It’s not as loud as the Abell. And the sound seems a tad “thinner” (this may be simply a volume issue that the brain mis-reads).
Now, at $150 it’s not cheap, and it’s made of bakelite, not blackwood and silver. But it’s a whistle that I’d recommend for anyone. In the areas of playability and tone and in-tune-ness, one could make arguements for either one being superior. The holes are smaller on the Burke. Some might argue that this makes half-holing more difficult. Ironically I find it makes it easier because I don’t have to move my finger so far to get to the half hole position.
If money is an issue to any degree, there’s not question that the Burke is bettre value.
I also have a Burke aluminum whistle that was made a couple of years ago. Seems Mike has improved on a good thing.
Only negative point is that the glue that holds the two-part head together seemed to dry out and the two parts came loose. I fixed it with black tape.
Having said all that, if someone offered me a free whistle and I could choose an Abell or a Burke DCS, I’d take the Abell.
Edit: The above is not intended as a comprehensive evaluation, just some ramblings.
Handmade whistles, more than Burkes, vary from instrument to instrument, even when made by the same maker. I have a Copeland brass C that is the best whistle I have ever played. I have an Abell Madagascar rosewood d that is the second best. That said, I have played Copelands and Abells that I didn’t like. I think, when you are talking about the best of the best, it’s an individual whistle thing.
Burkes play reliably well. There is much to be said for that. I find the tone a bit sterile, but not as much as some thinner-walled whistles (Sindt, etc.).
Jessie,
Sterile is a good word to describe my older aluminum Burke. Not grossly sterile, just somewhat. Good whistle, but lacking something in the tone. That’s where the new model is so much better.
I think Mike produces a very consistent product.
I’ve played expensive whistles that were no better than a good, well tweaked Generation. You don’t necessarily get what you pay for.
Tom.
I have a bakelite Burke. It is an okay whistle. I like my Susato better than the Burke, though the two are similar. The Burke is quieter. The tone is round, and as Jessie said, it is a bit sterile.
The proof is in the pudding, the Burke doesn’t command any unusual attention when I play solo. I am glad I got my Burke used, if I had paid full retail for it, I would not feel like it was worth the money. Other opinions are welcome.
To each his own I guess. I place a lot of value on a whistle that is in tune with itself and doesn’t require a lot of breath adjustment to keep notes in tune. Abell and the composite Burke are high in that department. Susato not so great, although they do vary.
If that’s the baseline criteria then Burkes will fit the bill. In addition, Sweetheart Professionals and Reyburns are bang on. Plus (I’d say) in “wood” and metal, better voices than the Burke Aluminum and Composite.
I think Burkes really shine when you want a forgiving and easy player, consistent from whistle to whistle, with a pure voice. Many good players really like them - can’t argue with that.
Interesting comment. Sweetheart Pro model in tune? For me it’s only in tune after some heavy duty tweaking, including shaving about an eighth of an inch off the end to bring up the bell note. It’s a whistle with great tone and volume and wind resistance, but even after tweaking I have to be careful not to overblow the upper end of the upper octave. I like to be able to lean into the upper end, and that just sends the Pro way sharp.
My Pro D is dead on in both registers, no tweaking. I’ve not heard of anyone else whose wasn’t.
In my experience -3 Sop D Burkes and 2 Sop D Sweetheart Pros - they were all bang on in tune.
All had medium to low backpressure, which wasn’t friendly for leaning into either register.
But every whistler plays different in one way or another.
Cheers,
“Taint the gun, tis the man doing the shooting”
Harry Flashman
Hmm, sounds like I’m taking it on the chin a little here. Let me suggest something. Take the Sweetheart Pro and play into an electronic tuner. Adjust the slide until the bell note D is in tune, using normal breath pressure. Now play the upper octave A or B. Let me know if you can play those 2 notes in tune.
BTW, I love my Sweetheart…whistle, that is. I’m not saying it’s a bad whistle.
I have a Silkstone Alloy D and two Burke Alluminum (C and NB-D) and I do prefer to play the Silkstone. I know it is not a whistle that gets much attention but I think it both plays and sounds better - for me. The Burkes are high quality so I think it is a subjective thing. The C is very breathy and the NB-D feels to small in my hands. The Silkstone feels very balanced and plays nice. It can yell a bit in the second octave but it is controllable. Nothing is as smooth in the second octave as my Lon Dubh - again, for me.
Patrickh: Interesting comment…I have played a lot of Burke whistles and I have never played one that could be termed ‘breathy.’ I have never heard anyone refer to them as breathy…I wonder if there is something wrong with that particular instrument.
Best.
Byll
Ultimate #1 whistle, eh? Whew…very tough question, and highly subjective. I looooove my Rose, the tone is superlative, although my Water weasel is slightly less finicky during octave jumps and jumps to D" and above. My Sindt D rocks also, and I’m very attached to my Busman for it’s sound in the bottom octave (very warm).
In other words: My answer is… I can’t give you an iron-clad answer.
Just shows you how subjective this all is. I sold my Rose (and two sets of O’Riordans) because I didn’t care for the overly pure tone. I still have a few ultra-pure sounding whistles, but I don’t really play them. My Abell blackwood d and Freeman tweaked Generation d are the ones that get played (actually, I practice a lot on the C version of each because they’re not so piercing to my ears).
Tony
My #1 favorite whistle is no doubt my Busman. Although I haven’t played an Abell (maybe for a moment or two at a gathering). I also thought the Rose was too pure for my tastes. Water Weasels are very intuitive to play, much like the Busman, but do have a bit of plastickyness in the sound. Burkes seem very user-friendly, but a bit sterile, as others have been saying. O’Riordans are very nice and quite distinctive, with an interesting nasal overtone, but are a bit fiddly in the breath control department.
But forget all that. I can fiddle with dozens of whistles, and appreciate their differences, but when I play my Busman, I inevitably think to myself, “oh, I forgot how easy this is to play, and yet how responsive it is and how much character it has…this is fun! Maybe I’ll try throwing in a little twiddle here…let’s try it a bit faster…whee!”
Now that would be an interesting sight. But don’t the fiddle strings scratch up the finish on the whistles?
I prefer whistles made from wood. My favorites are Busman and Greenwood whistles. I came to that conclusion after playing the following other high-end wooden whistles: … uh… hmm… I guess those are the only high-end wooden whistles I’ve played. OMG! What if they’re not the best? WhOA is me! … On second thought, I think I’ll stick with trying to get the best sound I can with the whistles I have. 
The Greenwoods I’ve tried were very nice, but another of those I felt a bit too pure for my tastes. Very gorgeous though, as are the Busmans, I forgot that in my list of advantages!
Now I’ve never played one in my life, but for some reason I find myself absolutely sure that a Swayne would be the greatest whistle ever. Yes, I’m as confused as you are.
I have a silver copeland D that I bought here, in fact.
I guess it’s a great whistle–I just played it in an acoustic
jam, not ITM, much, but everything else. The thing is
wonderful. What a sound! But it’s a beast–it can be shrill at the top
of the second octave, it squawks if I overblow, must
be careful. It’s the real thing, warts and all,
lovely.
Also acquired here, years ago, a Copeland low G
which is, I think, the best whistle I’ve ever played.
No warts on that one.
I keep feeling that the Abell whistles really want to play
Mozart. I thought the Silkstone whistles ‘sterile.’
Never really played a Burke.
I think the Sindt D is some sort of super whistle for ITM.
It blends wonderfully with other instruments and it has
surprising volume.
I didn’t think the design worked as well in other keys.