Convince me...

Whistle
1

Someone convince me not to buy a Bleazey high D in boxwood. I am a beginner. The Dixon Trad is still more whistle than I can handle. The Bleazey will be hundreds of times better than me. I have no need for it now, or even when I improve really…

On the other hand, it’s pretty and I want one. :poke:

2

On the other hand, it’s pretty and you want one!

JD

3

What else would you do with the money - feed the kids? :stuck_out_tongue:

Best wishes.

Steve

4

It would bleaze us all very much to see you have it.

5

IMHO,to have an instrument that you love and can grow into makes for a remarkable musical love affair. You play better and enjoy the process so much more! Also i believe boxwood produces an fantastic tone. Was i suppose to say something to convince to not to get the boxwood whistle? oops, my bad :wink:
janmarie

6

I cant comment on the high D Bleazey, but I do have a low D made from damson wood. I will assume that they share characteristics, and hope that this post is helpful. But do bear in mind that I only have the one Bleazey whistle, and it (or indeed I) may be atypical…

Reasons to buy:

    • Beautiful tone.
  • Beautiful wood.
  • Excellent craftsmanship.
  • Strong low notes (including low D).
  • Sweet high notes.
  • Does not need high breath pressure or flow.

Reasons not to buy:

    • Wood requires caring for. Check out the care required and make sure you are prepared to do this.
  • The second C_awk_ on mine may be iffy with the suggested oxoxxo.
  • Small holes make half-holing harder.
  • Breath requirements are finnicky. I find a small window between the second and third harmonics of the D,E, and F notes. I assume this is to do with the compromises needed to give the top and bottom responses meantioned in the ‘reasons for’ section. I need to keep practising on the Bleazey continuously. I dont mind this - monogamy is supposed to be good for whistlers (and I have that information from two completely different contexts :smiley: ). It did and does require perseverance. If I spend too much time with an easier whistle I go backwards with the Bleazey. I do not regret being owned by a Bleazey whistle, but their were times when I almost did.
  • I ought to send it back for re-voicing - but that means being parted from it. And what if re-voicing changes all the things I like about it?

Edit: a spelling mistake.

7

…especially Bleazey!

Steve
www.upreeds.com

8

I meant first and second harmonics. :tomato:

9

well it wasn’t G, A & B :smiley:

10

Congratulations, you have all spectacularly failed in the task I set you. Can’t you guys even follow simple instructions? I said convince me not to get it. :swear: :smiley:

11

Make someone else buy it for you.

12

I’m not even gonna try and talk you out of something that I think you should do…Tha’t be plain nuts!


Mick

13

Convince you “not” to buy it? Okay … I bought a Bleazey ( don’t recall the wood) and hated it! Didn’t like the tone – nothing about the whistle was pleasing to my ear with my playing. I eventually gave it away … to a fellow who loves it.

14

Have you thought of a Swayne in boxwood they are nice - or a blackwood sweatheart

15

Well I can think of one reason not to buy the boxwood whistle - the £40 surcharge on the price for boxwood.

Personally I have 2 Bleazey D whistles, in yew and cocobolo. Given the number of people that have tried to buy my cocobolo whistle, I think that the mopani whistle (being closer to cocobolo in structure) would be better than the boxwood, and £40 cheaper.

David

16

If you get the Bleazey, I’d recommend not playing the Dixon for some time – like 6 months to a year after you’ve gotten the Bleazey. They’re polar opposites. The Bleazy has a huge, fat sound and needs to be played with reckless abandon. The Dixon is a whistle that really requires little air, especially in the lower notes. Adjusting back and forth between them might be challenging for advanced players, and would certainly be very difficult for a novice.

That said, I’d recommend getting the Bleazey. There’s nothing else like it, except possibly a Copeland.

17

I traded my Bleasy olivewood high D as it was a wee bit too loud for me at the top even for my tastes. Apart from that it was a great whistle and I enjoyed the complexity of tone and the slight resistance.

18

Have you actually played one of these? That would be a good first step. If you’re a beginner, it would be a good idea to have an experienced player play the whistle for you so you can see how it’s supposed to sound.
Just because it’s pretty isn’t a good enough reason alone to buy a whistle. I’d hold off until you’re at least an intermediate player and can make the most of a “better” (subjective term there) whistle. Trust me, there will be plenty of pretty whistles waiting for you… :smiley:

19

That’s actually a good point. I’ve never played it, but I have heard the Bleazey played, and I really like the sound of it. I also like the idea of a whistle with higher backpressure that requires more push (perhaps that’s unusual taste for a beginner, but I like to blow hard. Errr, that didn’t sound right…) Perhaps I should invest the 300$ in additional lessons instead…

20

if you like to blow hard, then the trad is not the whistle for you. it has a totally weak bottom end–it jumps right up into the high octave if you even think about blowing hard.

i haven’t played a bleazey, so i can’t comment on it, but plenty of makers make whistles that you can “lean into”–i would recommend the milligan (you can read the posts here) or the goldie… i just checked xe.com… at 145L the Bleazey comes out to about $223… the milligan is only $185 and you can get it in dymondwood (low maintenance!) or cocobolo…

but honestly, you might like any of a number of whistles that are available; any one of them will let you “blow hard”-er :slight_smile: than the trad. i just bought one of mr. busman’s whistles on ebay, but it hasn’t arrived yet–after it gets here i’ll weigh in on it as an option as well. :slight_smile: i think he’s right of course, but why wait? buy one now, trade it for another… i’ve tried 4 different wood whistles so far (and already traded away 2 of them :slight_smile: when mr. busman’s gets here it will be the 5th… then i’m going to have to sell one of them to cover my credit card debt… look for it here soon on this board. :slight_smile:

anyway, good luck to you! :slight_smile:
eric