I’m looking for a new high-end Bb, and I wanted to get the crew’s take on favorite high/mezzo Bb whistles. I grew up on a Freeman tweaked Gen Bb, and I’m more into the chiff than the sweet (i.e., a burke may be too sweet). And I’m in the desert, so I generally avoid wood (but maybe not delryn?). Thoughts? And has anyone played a Bracker A or Bb (besides Hans) and can comment on that? I didn’t see anything come up in my search. Thanks.
O’Briant
John Sindt Bb and just wait it out on the waitlist.
Doing it. But man that’s a long time to wait…
There’s no wait time on eBay… well maybe wait time to earn enough money. 
Good grief. The wonder is that John doesn’t raise his prices and keep the margin himself (wait – did I say that out loud?).
The Bb body in my Syn set.
David
I recently bought a Chieftain Bb tuneable, with a c nat thumb hole, and it’s an amazing whistle. The tone is full, it has bite and chiff, and is loud enough to session with. Is it delicate and bird like? Nope. Is it bright and complex? Yes, and fast, non clogging, and fun to play.
If I was to buy a Bb off the rack it would be a Goldie first, and a Chieftain second.
There are several non-wood well made Bb whistles I’d recommend. Start with Goldie. Reyburn makes a nice one in brass. Gary Humphrey too. These will all be more trad than pure. Plenty of chiff in all of them. Ian Turnbull of Impempe makes a wonderful all aluminum Bb and has two versions, one softer sounding than the other, both tending to have a little noise in the tone. This will be the lowest cost, non-wood, non Freeman other than Parks. Carey’s Bb is big and loud and a good whistle if you like volume. Tommy Dion works in delrin and pvc as well as wood and makes very under-rated instruments. Gene Milligan makes a really nice delrin Bb too. Don’t forget about David O’Brien up in Canada either. He makes solid whistles in brass, wood and delrin including a really nice telescoping brass whistle that fits in your pocket.
I’m sure there are others but all these are excellent instruments and all will be more trad than pure. The first three will be the most traditional sounding, in the order listed, IMHO.
Any of them will likely make you happy.
ecohawk
Thanks Ecohawk – the Impempe whistles sound intriguing, and I’ve thought about Tommy Dion and a Milligan (and I’ll look into the David O’Brien). I’ve never tried a Reyburn high/mezzo whistle, but someone wrote in a post that their high D was a little tempermental tonally re breath control – I know YMMV, but thoughts?
Interesting – I’ve never heard of a Chieftain with a c nat. I’ve owned a couple of low Kerry Pros, and they clogged a lot, but sounds like the Bb doesn’t.
Yeah, for some reason the lower keys of some alloy whistles tend to clog more, at least in my experience. However, it might not be a problem with the whistles in general, but corrosion, and the toothpaste trick might solve that.
In the Goldie/Chieftain/etc sort of family of whistles, I’d recommend a Lofgren, if that’s what you’d like. They are cheaper than either, I think, and frankly, I like them more. I don’t have one in Bb, but I have a Goldie in soft blowing low Eb, and in the past I had some that were in-between medium/hard blowing in low D, low F, low G, Bb, and C and I have the alloy Lofgrens in low G and soprano D (waiting on an A), and I like them much much better. I can’t imagine the Bb being disappointing if both the low G and soprano D are so spectacular. Oh, and unlike chieftains, they are actually made by one person (who is also a good whistler), not a factory.
If you like Chiffy sort of Gen tone, the Sindt is really in my opinion the best choice for that, but it’s been mentioned, and it’s not easily obtainable, and I don’t think worth a kidney, either. There are other great whistles out there, too.
I got one of the relatively new Dixon “Trad” whistles in Alto A, and I like it very much, especially for the cheap price I got it for secondhand. It’s quite similar to a Gen Bb, maybe too similar, if you are wanting something quite different. The tone is less clear than a Gen, just a tiny tad bit more smokey, but it plays very similarly, and the sound is what I would consider in the same “genre” of sound as a Gen Bb. They make them in Bb, also, but I’ve only tried the A. I don’t know if the Bb and A use the same bore size, or not. If they do, they might differ in playability between each other. But, if it’s like the A, then I’d say it’s a good choice if you like Gens, as I think they are similar in many ways, and it fits your description.
The Syn is absolutely fantastic in B and C. I got a set of Bb, B, C, and D. The D seems to me to take a hard push for that key, and the Bb seems to take a very light push. However, if a lower key like Bb or A is boughten, I heard that you can get a head that takes more push, so this factor is not so present. I think they are one of the most underrated whistles around, at least in B and C they are. I always avoided trying them, thinking they might not be so good, but I got them and they are one of my favourite whistles. I kind of see them as a sort of combination between some of the qualities of a Burke and Sindt in some ways. The tone is full and what I would consider on the clear side (at least concerning complexity, smokeyness, raspiness, etc), yet at the same time chiffy, and sort of has that playful blippy quality of a sindt/dixon trad/freeman.. I think it has a good mix of the more “traditional” whistle qualities, yet with a strong full tone like some of the other high end whistles around. Not sure if you’d like it or not, but I am a huge fan of them. I generally like the Gen/Freeman/Sindt/Dixon Trad type of whistles (if I were to choose one overall sound), and while the Syn is different from that genre, I still loved it. It mixed the qualities I like out of those whistles, with the fullness I like in others. So, if your tastes are like mine, you might like it as well. I can at least say the B and C are my favourite whistles in those keys, more than Sindt, Burke, Freeman, etc, even. That’s saying a lot, too, as I like all of those very much.
Yes. I have both (two bodies for one head) and chose the Bb over all my other Brackers for a solo performance of huge personal significance just days ago.
I sold all my Chieftains when I got my Brackers. While the Bb was a good whistle in many respects, it was (like all my smaller Chieftains) hampered by the need for ‘trick’ fingerings towards the top of the scale. And IMHO also quite simply outclassed (as I’d say for every size-for-size comparison) by the Bracker! To which I might just add that the only reason I can see why someone (not me!) might prefer the Chieftains would be for their breathier tone where the Brackers also have fullness, bite, chiff, volume, brightness, complexity, quick response and clog-resistance but come with none of the negatives that so disappointed me with my (3 x V3 + 4 x NR) Chieftain set.
Which of the two bore sizes do you use? If I recall correctly, Hans offers two for that key. Isn’t there a narrow and wide bore?
I took part in the Bracker Whistle Tour, and thought his soprano D was fantastic, but the low D didn’t suit me well. Is the Bb you have pretty similar in playing characteristics to the high D?
Standard (15.7mm) bore. All my Brackers are ‘standard’ bore, or as near as possible when I’ve got more bodies than heads.
Is the Bb you have pretty similar in playing characteristics to the high D?
I’d say so, yes. One of the things I like about them is the continuum from size to size, where the different characters of the different pitches are revealed more by subtle change of sound than conscious technical adjustment, and Bb’s obviously much closer to high D than low D. So it’s only when you get down to the low D/Eb head (and possibly the E/F) that they start to take significantly more air, with all the smaller ones retaining that freeblowing, but comparatively endless, controllability you’ve probably noted in the high D.
Thanks for chiming in, Peter – I know you are a Bracker fan, and I hoped you would. I’m glad to hear that you would characterize the Bracker as chiffy – Hans’ Bb and A clips on the webiste sound that way, but I’ve heard other samples that sounded more sweet. And feadoggie echoes your comments on clog-resistance. Late last night I bought the standard 15.7 bore Bracker A/Bb set (from a fellow chiffer who was reading the thread) and I’m looking forward to getting them immensely. Once I come up on the low/high d Bracker tour in a month or two (or three – come on, people) I may have to buy me some more Hans.
I think you and I are on the same page, Sirchronique – I read through your earlier thread re Bbs in the flavor of the gen. I’ve never played a Syn, but I’ve heard other devoted fans praise them. I may have to pick up an A/Bb set.
I neglected to ask – how does one get in touch with Lofgren? I know he has his devotees here and I’ve read glowing reviews and listened to clips, but I don’t find a website etc. And what does a Bb run? Is there an A/Bb combo available? If you know – thanks.
I think you and I are on the same page, Sirchronique – I read through your earlier thread re Bbs in the flavor of the gen. I’ve never played a Syn, but I’ve heard other devoted fans praise them. I may have to pick up an A/Bb set.
You would likely need to get in touch with Erle Bartlett (Syn Whistles on the board) to get that duo made.
IMO, if you get in touch with Erle Bartlett, you would be as well ordering the full monty set - A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, Eb and E - 8 bodies with one head. (I bought this set to get the B body and not regretted buying it for a moment).
David
Got it – thanks for the info David.
You are right. His whistles are very inexpensive, for what you get. At very least, I’d say the B and C are certainly worth adding. The bodies are not expensive at all to add, although I do think the wide range of keys on the same head do make some keys more ideal than others, so it’s hard for me to make general statements that apply too all of the keys, especially regarding playability, which does vary from body to body.
And Marc Löfgren doesn’t have a website, he can only be reached through email. There is some waiting involved (I’m still waiting on an A I ordered quite some time ago), but once you get it, you will realise it was well worth the wait. Very professionally made, excellent tuning, the C natural note sounds strong and clear, and they play nicely (He can work with your specifications on that to some extent).