Well, the trick, of course, is to learn not to squeek and squawk at all (at least not unintentionally). If one is doing a lot of squeeking and squawking, chances are the problem isn’t with the instrument. I love my high-enders, but I haven’t noticed that a bad note sounds any better on a Busman or an Elfsong than it does on a Generation or a Susato.
FWIW, a lot of high-end and mid-range whistles are HARDER to play well than the cheapies.
There comes a point, yes, when for a lot of us, it’s really nice to own some truly fine instruments. For me, there’s something really special about holding and playing something someone else made by hand rather than something that rolled off an assembly line. But I don’t think that point should be all that quickly reached, and there’s certainly no MUSICAL reason to hurry the process. Some of the finest whistlers in the world play Generations, Waltons, Feadogs, etc. And, much as I love my high-enders, there are times when only my growly old Gen will do.
Redwolf