Hi,
Anyone tried one of theses? what are they like???
Thankyou:-
Tony Fletcher UK
They are pretty quiet and breathy. I like mine quite a bit and play it alot. I got it from Shana Quay along with my Cillian OBriain(sp) improved whistle as a free with purchase deal. I like it better than the improved whistle. To each their own.
I would not describe the Doolins I have tried as breathy. Look at archives of the newsletter. There’s an article by Dale about a Doolin that I sent to him. There is also information about it in the C&F inexpensive whistles page. It’s a very nice Generation-style whistle, and the production is much more reliable than Generations.
Jessie
I guess I got a lemon. Lots of folks like theirs, but mine was unplayable. I did the sticky tack thing, etc, but I couldn’t get anything more than the sound of air blowing through it. From what the others are saying, maybe I just got a bad one.
I like my Doolin one piece-it’s a nice,traditional sounding whistle,pretty mellow sounding.I also have the two piece,which i hardly ever play for some reason or other-too many whistles?( NO!delete that last phrase!)I must compare them sometime.Mind you,i have done the standard 'bluetack thing on the one piece.
I have a Doolin - free with a purchase from
Shanna Quay.
Having tried it - it is a quiet whistle.
However it keeps the whistles in the dark whistle drawer company!
Not a whistle I can recommend - sorry!
I really like my Doolin 2pc; beautiful tone, with just the right amount of chiff. Really sings up high. Only thing is that the breath req. is too low for my liking. Other than that, it’s a great whistle.
I think of my 2 piece as a car/purse whistle, but not for making music at home or in session. Its perfectly good for practice in a situation where, if it was destroyed, I’d shrug and move on.
The joint between the top and bottom has loosened over the past couple of months, making some of the notes less reliable. Maybe a twist of teflon would help there.
I’ve been using a Doolin for a month or two now, so I’ll do my best to help you out.
As you are aware, the design follows the basic Generation style of construction. The fipple has a flattened section on the underside which stops the whistle rolling off the table…sorry, I couldn’t resist mentioning that!!!
The tubing has a rather “unfinished” texture which I find appealing, and it won’t slip around like a nickel plated whistle sometimes does.
When played, the whistle reqires very gentle input of breath, or the sound can break up: this explains why it plays quite quietly. As others have mentioned, the tone is quite soft, more full bodied than my Hoover, but less sweet; less focussed than my modified Cillain O’Brian, but more gentle on the ear. It is a very easy player provided you can avoid overblowing.
I have a drawer full of inexpensive whistles which I have found uninspiring, but this one has a certain charm and character which draws me to play it again and again.
It may not have the power to cut through a loud session, but is great to use elsewhere, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend one to you, in spite of the apparent risk of getting a poor example: hardly a problem exclusive to the Doolin!!
Good luck from a fellow UK whistler, and BTW, the other whistles I mentioned for comparison are both wonderful to use…the choice is yours.
Best wishes, Adrian
While it plays very well and has a great tone, my Doolin has considerably less back pressure than other whistles of that type (Generation, Oak, Feadog, etc.).
On 2002-11-25 08:08, tyghress wrote:
The joint between the top and bottom has loosened over the past couple of months, making some of the notes less reliable. Maybe a twist of teflon would help there.
I once had a telescoping Laughing Whistle that had one joint that was too tight. I contacted Noah Herbison on how to adjust the fit of the joints, and these were his instructions:
“It’s pretty easy to loosen or tighten the joints. To loosen them, just take the bottom section off. You will notice that the end that fits into the middle section is flared slightly. Just roll this against a hard surface like a countertop, while applying gentle pressure. Try this a few times until it is just right. If it is too loose, stick something into the end, push gently, and twist all the way around. I use a pair of closed needle nosed pliers, but other hard things would work.”
You might try both expanding the ‘inside’ tubing end and constricting the ‘outside’ tubing end of the two sections using these techniques. May tighten things back up.
Edited cause I left a word out, and it didn’t make sense. May not anyway.
“It takes a long time to sound like yourself” --Miles Davis
[ This Message was edited by: CDon on 2002-11-25 23:58 ]
Never heard anybody play a Doolin Whistle. Doolin Banjo, now that’s another matter entirely. Heard wayyyyy too many of those.
Here’s a sound clip of my Doolin. Pardon the buzz I get at one point. (I just wanted to show what it sounds like when you overblow a Doolin. Yeah, right! LOL!)
http://pw2.netcom.com/~ridseard/bruach3.mp3
My last Doolin ended up painted green and in Sandy Skogland installation called “Green” in the Apex Gallery at the School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City! I hope it sounded much better with all that green spray paint! It liked it the least of all my whistles. It was a good way for it to go!
Nice clip,Ridseard.One listen is worth a thousand words(or something like that!).
I have one but don’t have any observation that hasn’t been said. I did think it was unplayable until I got board unput… too much air, they said. Made the difference. It’s a sweet little whistle but takes some work.