I recently bought a nickel plated Feadog. Wow! These guys have been doing some R&D, I think. The only tweaks needed were the gummy tack in the back of the head, and loosening up the head for tuning adjustment. Even the balance between C nat. and C# is good, provided you give a little less blow to the C nat. I did put a wee piece of tape over the uppermost hole to flatten things a bit, but IMHO that was optional and it may come off after I’ve tooled around with it a while. This is the first cheap whistle that I’ve played on stage. It’s the only one that played well enough. When I was up there last night I felt like it was playing itself, at times. The sound is chiffy (a little “bite” at the start of each note). The low end is strong (for a whistle) and I’d give the overall tone high marks, comparable to a good Generation.
Has anyone else noticed that Feadog have upped their game recently? Or did I just happen to find a good one?
The thing cost me about $15, I think (at the North Texas Irish Festival).
Final comment: Another appealing feature is that you can PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH!! My more expensive units all have very short “beaks” that force you to rest the thing on your lower lip. This forces me to divert some of my limited powers of concentration towards keeping it there.
(Edit: I just went to another thread and found that what I have is a “Mark III” model, which is reputed to be inferior to the Mark I.)