Dear whistle afficionados,
I might need an Eb (high) whistle. It should be tunable, reasonably loud and not too expensive (not more than 100 Euro). What would you recommend?
- claudine -
Actually, the Generation Eb whistle meets your criteria (tuneable if tweaked). And only 5 or 6 Euros from bigwhistle.com. If it’s for a one-time gig, that might be a good choice.
The Susato Kildare high Eb also meets your criteria, and is quite loud. ~27 Euros from bigwhistle.
The Dixon high Eb in ABS also looks fine. Also ~27 Euros at bigwhistle.
How does one say “good luck!” in Letzebuergisch? 
i dont know how much a Euro is worth in USD, but i would reccommend a Burke.
1 Euro = $1.36 US at the moment. So a nice Burke or Overton, for example, are somewhat over the stated limit.
I have a Generation Eb, with a Hoover Whitecap, that is an unbeatable combination.
If I were building this combo from scratch, I’d get the brass Gen Eb. I have the nickel plated, and it was a chore getting the plating sanded down to fit inside the Whitecap head.
Mark
I’ll second the Whitecap on a Gen tube. A very sweet sound across the entire range. For the money, I don’t think you will find a better combination.
Mine started out as a Whitecap on a narrow D tube, but it fits perfectly on a nickel Generation Eb tube without any modification. I generally prefer the bare brass, but the white top on the nickel looks great.
Generation nickel with a Walton mouthpiece. Out of those two the Gen would probably be my first choice as it is simply perfect. The other favorite of mine is the Susato. They are both hard to beat.
i just checked the price of a tunable Overton and it’s almost 200 Euro. The instrument is certainly worth that price, but as this is indeed for a one-time gig, i really don’t want to spend so much money.
Dixons are nice and cheap, i have 3 polymer tunables and like them. Now i don’t know if i should prefer the aluminium or the brass whistle this time. i need something quite loud as i am going to play a little solo part with a wind band.
As for the Generation & Whitecap, where can I buy that? or would i have to put it together myself? i would rather have a ready-to-go whistle.
For Eb whistles easy to get, without much wait and in your price range, I would recommend a Cillian O’Briain tweeked Gen/Feadog Hybrid (inexpensive - get from www.whistleanddrum.com) or a Ronaldo Reyburn (in your price range, really nice).
Other alternatives that are either hard to get or outside your price range include a Water Weasel (used - hard to find) or a Busman (if you can spend more - lovely wood whistle).
You need loud, you need Susato, one of the loudest whistles out there, cannot be beaten by many others but Chieftain or Copeland (which are far more expensive) as far as volume is concerned; you can play without a mic. I just played one at an outdoor fair and it could be heard miles away, incredible.
Well, if you really need loud, then I guess I would also say Susato. But I tend to think that an average volume Eb does pretty well in most situations because of the higher pitch. (Mind you, I have not played this key in a loud setting – unless you count a waterfall. 
)
And a Susato is easier to get in Europe, I am sure. If you go this way, look around for the O ring tweak that is talked about in another thread. I did this to my D Susato and I think it really helped the tone. Easy to switch back and forth to see if you like it.
If you are interested in ordering from the United States, you can find Whitecaps at
I vote for the Gen nickel, a Humphreys or a Cillain O’Briain.
Ron