whats your preference? Seems like everyone on this forum owns an expensive crafted whistle. Any traditionalists who prefer inexpensive ones?
Peter Laban of ‘‘They’ll Be Good Yet’’ http://www.uilleannobsession.com/extras_peterlaban.html prefers a store bought Generation. He is a member of C&F and a real traditionalist.
I don’t own an expensive whistle. If one fell from the sky I wouldn’t mind. I have too many other interests and obligations to spend big money on a whistle when my current whistles do me just fine. My most expensive whistle is my Susato D. For how many instruments of all types that I do own, I have very little money in them. I’ve been lucky and many of my instruments have been gifts. One day they will be gifts to other people.
What constitutes an expensive whistle? Many of us own several whistles, some cost $10 some up to $400. I don’t own any whistles that don’t play well, have several that cost less than $30 and several that cost more than $100. I don’t consider any of these particularly expensive. What is a traditionalist? Traditionalists such as Mary Bergin and Paddy Moloney have recorded using whistles that cost less than $15 and more than $100. Are these traditionalists playing expensive or inexpensive whistles? Are they still traditionalists if they play expensive whistles or are they a traditionalist only if they play inexpensive whistles?
I don’t prefer any whistle based on price alone.
ecohawk
Price determines whether I can try it. ‘Quality’ determines whether I keep it.
NB: I use the word ‘quality’ as shorthand for many things including suiting my style.
The whole ‘traditionalist’ spiel is a red herring.
Yes, and the expensive vs.inexpensive spiel is a green donkey.
Of course factory mass produced whistles are sold at much lower prices than individual hand-made whistles, as a lot less man-hour work goes into them. Fortunately I think we have no whistle making sweat shops!
But any production method can have quality problems. But in a factory setup these may never be addressed, whereas an individual whistle making artist will likely spot them and address them.
Fortunately I think we have no whistle making sweat shops!
Why do you think Megs are made in Asia?
an individual whistle making artist will likely spot them and address them.
Yes, in an ideal world. There are however indications that in reality this may not hold true in all cases .
The most expensive whistle (except for a couple like Copeland) is still cheaper than the cheapest flute! It’s all relative… Oh yeah - don’t even talk about trumpets (or oboes, bassoons, etc, etc, etc)!
&
I agree. Just take a look at the cost of a high end handcrafted recorder. A nice soprano recorder would cost more than any Low D whistle I know of (which would compare to a tenor recorder).
I much prefer my Burke or Copeland whistles to any mass produced cheap models. The timbre/intonation is far superior. That said, I do find occasions to use my whistles like my Generation Bb, Honer Low G, & Soodlums C but they are few. I also carry around a Walton’s Mello D that I converted to a 2-piece whistle to make it more portable, but the intonation just isn’t very good and the sound isn’t exactly stellar either.
It takes hundreds of hours with instrument in hand to get anywhere near competency. If holding a fine, handcrafted instrument enhances the experience and encourages you to play, then the expense is really very insignificant. (Do the math).
I prefer my O’Brien, Burke and Mellow-Dog, but I don’t sound any worse on my stock Gens. They all have their charms.
My favorite is a Mellow Dog. I got it after I heard David Cantieni playing one. I’m definitely done shopping for D whistles.
I have a low G from Carbony. I like it. It plays well in ensemble with harp, which is what I got it for. Sounds nice on it’s own, to my ears. But then again, there aren’t really any cheap low-g whistles, are there…
I like quality. I’ve noticed particularly with guitars, the cheaper ones don’t get played, and eventually get sold.
I have inexpensive whistles. They sound good,but, I almost always reach for quality.
My Overton & Burke High D get a lot more play time than my Walton. . . And the Walton is a great sounding whistle!
Think high end whistles are bad? Go on over to Mandolincafe.com and take a look at the price of even modest mandolins. Real classic, historic ones can end up bringing HUNDREDS of thousands.
Well, I never heard of Lloyd Loar designing and signing whistles either. But if he did they would have a Virzi tone producer in them.
My mandolin was made by a local luthier and friend. It was a bargain compared to say a Dude or Gilchrist. But yes I could buy quite a few whistles for what it cost.
Price dynamics in the whistle market are the same as they are in the mando market. Supply vs. Demand vs. What the market will bear. In the sixties mandolins were cheap. The major makers stopped making them. Bluegrass was on it’s death bed for a variety of reasons. No demand. Things changed and suddenly there were players, demand but no new mandos. The price of old ones was bid up never to return to earth again. Craftsmen started making them new and matched the prices in the marketplace. Problem is that imports are coming into the country at market prices and the quality isn’t there. So do you buy a Loar(brand)/Eastman/Kelly/etc. or buy a bench built mando? Same question - expensive vs. imexpensive. You can make music on both.
Same for wooden flutes. Want to talk about bassoons, cellos? If there are more and more players coming up and they all want old instruments (folk lore is a powerful motivator), the price of the old ones will go up greatly.
Feadoggie
We are very lucky to be able to buy wonderful whistles for $20-50.
I know for a fact that if I owned the worlds best, most expensive whistle, I couldn’t make it sing. No skill yet, and money isn’t going to change that.
Yep, whistlers are lucky.
Most expensive whistle: £15 Dixon trad. It gets played the most as the usual session/ceilidh whistle, but several other much cheaper ones sound better when played solo.
Cheapest whistle: £0 (home-made with found materials).
I doubt if I play well enough to get my money’s worth out of a high-end whistle, but it’s academic as I can’t afford one.
My money’s worth:
A £100 whistle played for ten 2-hour sessions @ £5 per hour
= very good entertainment value, and every additional session is free!
Or played for 1.000 hours @ 10 pence per hour,
or for 10.000 hours @ 1 penny per hour.
All possible with an instrument which has no wear!
When is it your round?