Has anyone just recently bought a whistle or set of whistles from David Boisvert or Greenwood Whistles?
He appears to make batches in his own time and puts them up for sale when he is ready. He sometimes posts a notice here, a search may shed some light.
How recent is recent? I purchased a beautiful plum wood whistle summer 2013 and its a gem. Plays beautifully and can honk with the best of them. I changed photo hosting websites and haven’t moved all my pics but here is the plum whistle. End of 2014, more recent, a friend of mine had “repair” work done on another brand whistle with Boisvert doing a wonderful repair. Try his website or call him and he is a member here on Chiff & Fipple… reedbiter
http://www.greenwoodpipes.com/
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/authorization-for-plum-wood-day-on-august-27th/87682/1
Talk about wood whistles on the threads and see what / who shows up. 
Deja vu? “we have all been here before”
Annual promotion by proxy. The website does say available 2015.
When I clicked through to the website and saw whistles available from1 february it was clear to me we were replying to another feckin sockpuppet. Delete the whole thing, if you ask me (which I am sure nobody will anyway).
I know not what a sockpuppet might be! I was simply asking if anyone had ordered a boisvert whistle— as I have, an am eagerly awaiting delivery . Frankly there are too many unkind folks on this site.
I contacted David asking him to add my name to his interest list. He responded this January indicating that he was going to make a batch of whistles and would soon have several blackwood whistles available. In addition, he had two or three whistles in stock made from other woods.
He apologized for the delay in responding. He had some personal issues that interferred with his ability to make the whistles on a more regular basis, but he had plans to get several instruments made in the near future. Needless to say, the delay in responding to order requests has been due to issues that were a much higher priority than whistle-making.
He contacted me earlier this week to let me know that my blackwood whistle was nearing completion and would be shipped within the next week. My suggestion would be to e-mail or call David expressing your interest. There may be a delay in responding, but David is a man of high-integrity. If he can make you a whistle, it will be one you can cherish.
Tinwhistler.com used to play with me in a band. He got a Boisvert whistle that was outstanding. When I got one on his recommendation he agreed it was not playable on stage. It took six months to get a refund. These are facts, not opinions.
Issues? I got the same story ten years ago.
I believe you because the same thing has happened to me and friend of mine a number of times over the many years I’ve been dealing with Irish-instrument makers. The trouble is their maddening inconsistency.
Some highlights (lowlights?)
-back in the 1980s a certain flutemaker got popular. All of his flutes that I and some fluteplaying friends tried were wonderful. A friend ordered one, waited for years, and when it came it was quite mediocre, many notches below the ones we had tried.
-I played an excellent C uilleann chanter by a particular maker. I ordered one, referencing the one I had tried. When mine came it was horrible. It was nothing like the other one (we compared them side by side) having a different bore etc. When I complained to the maker he said “I thought you might not like it. I was experimenting with a different bore on that one.”
-I played a few excellent D uilleann chanters by a particular maker (a different one). A famous piper we all know personally recommended the maker to me. He has two chanters from that maker that play identically. A local friend has three chanters from that maker which play identically; you can swap the reeds between them. I ordered one. The first trouble was the maddening wait: I called from time to time and got various excuses, then when I called one time the maker said “oh, your chanter has been done for a long time, it’s rattling around in a drawer here”. Wow.
Anyhow when it came it didn’t play well at all, in particular the crossfingered C natural wouldn’t work right. The friend with three chanters from the same maker brought his over and when we compared them sure enough mine had a different fingerhole layout and the reeds that worked in all of his didn’t work in mine. The most stunning thing is that I had stressed a number of times that I wanted the same sort of chanter that these other people had (due to my bad experience with that C chanter) and the maker assured me that he was completely satisfied with his pattern and that he never varied from it.
Makes me think that chanter had been rattling around in the drawer 'way longer than he let on, and became “your” chanter only when he got your call.
In fairness to makers in general, and in the interests of a statistically complete sample, do you recall how often you’ve placed an order with a maker and:
a) received exactly what you wanted, or
b) got something even better?
Consistency is the single hardest aspect of whistles making in my experience.
I would also observe that “success” is frequently the agent at work in the quality decline we witness with some makers.
It’d be a different world if instrument makers were able to make a living producing instruments on their own schedule and only make them available only when they are done with them.
Waiting lists are evil things, generally.
Whistle makers are people. They have lives like other people. Things happen.
I owned a Boisvert/Greenwood whistle. And it was a very good whistle. It played very well and felt great in the hands. It was just too quiet for what I was doing at the time. I did not need another “house whistle”. I wouldn’t expect every one of his whistles to play or sound quite like mine or like a Greenwood whistle of anyone else’s for that matter. They are handmade. Maybe not quite one at a time but … Pipes are his focus from what I gather. Pipes are created between his batches of whistles. Or rather, batches of whistles are made between sets of pipes. Things change when time passes. Sometimes we learn and we grow too. Or not.
Feadoggie
Panceltic piper…
the most consistent whistle maker has been Mr. Abell…in my opinion.
Whistles are like children, every one is different, no matter the heritage or parentage.
My buddy (tinwhistler) has a web site where he evaluates whistles. He evaluated one from a maker (let’s call him X). I tried that whistle and fell in love with it. The going price for that whistle was under $200. I gave tinwhistler an Abell in exchange. The going price for that Abell was then $400. I had zero confidence that I would get the same quality from X that tinwhistler got and I put my money on it. I never regretted that exchange.
I have both used and new Boisvert whistles key D. They play differently but they play very well. Types of wood may be the factor.
I hope everyone is talking about new build whistles which reflects the whistlemaker, while once a whistle gets floating around in the used (secondary) market there is no telling what previous owners have done to adjust or modify the way a whistle plays. Carving, hacking, OMG! Everyone’s playing style differs and tweaking may vary drastically for whatever purposes.
Buy new whistles and be happy. Know thy maker.
To be fair, that whistle I traded you wasn’t made for me, so the maker didn’t give it any special care or spend extra attention on it because of my review site. I just happened to meet up with the maker at NTIF, and he had a roll-case of whistles, and I got one. Admittedly, I did pick the one I liked the best 
But if I hadn’t gotten it first, anyone at the festival could have taken it home.
Since I already have a few from the maker, and I’ve always regretted selling you that blackwood Abell way back in the day, I’ve always considered it a good trade as well, even though that particular whistle was of a superior quality.
Hiya folks,
I’m not on very often, but I thought I’d take the opportunity to respond to this briefly. I’m not entirely sure who “E=Fb” is. But it is possible that his account is accurate, I don’t recall this exact scenario. I have no claim to perfection. I only do the best I can.
I have made some awesome whistles. I have made some I would like to throw in the fire…though I have never* knowingly sent out a whistle I wasn’t proud of. I do my best to stand behind them. I admit that my communication is sometimes poor…though I find the 6 month claim strains belief. I have been the victim FAR TOO OFTEN of folks who are not serious buyers or players who want to just “test drive” a whistle. Then they make up an excuse to get their money back. PLEASE NOTE… I am not making an accusation here towards “E=Fb”. He may very well have gotten a whistle that was unsuited for the stage. But MY negligence is not a certainty.
I have learned to have a thick skin when it comes to the Chiff and Fipple…thus one of the reasons why I rarely log on. But I am also a believer in democracy.
I have earned both positive and negative comments regarding my work and my business interactions. I can’t please everybody, nor can I swing and score 100% of the time. I can only do my best.