Hello Everyone,
I’m starting to learn the whistle and I’m thinking about buying an O’Briain New Improved High D, do you recommend it for a beginner?
Thanks
Nuno
Absolutely - even for a non-beginner. That was the next step for me after an off-the-shelf Feadog. As you’ve undoubtedly learned from looking at this site, you will soon be collecting whistles of every key, made of every material and by every maker you can (or can’t) imagine. An Improved is a good addition to every arsenal of whistles.
Susan
Now Susan don`t get me wrong, I am not disagreeing with you, exactly. The improved is a good whistle, though not to my liking, but may be hard for a bigginer in that it takes quite a bit of breath controll to play. My choice would be a Jerry tweaked Shaw. Why not save a little money and start with a whistle that sounds like an Irish whistle. 
Tom
I love Blackbeer and Susan, but I personally would reccomend to start off with an assortment of chapies as a first whistle(s). Among those, include a Sweetone, a Clare, and an Oak. You’ll get a better idea of what you like that way. Also, the book written by Bill Ochs is wonderful.
http://www.thewhistleshop.com is the place to go.
I have to agree with Tom regarding the O’Briain Improved and it’s breath control requirements… I still class myself as a beginner, only started playing the whistle last September. Started with a Generation, then a Faedog, and only later did I buy the O’Briain Improved.
I’m glad I went that route…I think I’d have become quite discouraged if I’d had to cope with precise breath control techniques as well as learning the fingering and jumping between octaves, and then fretting about rhythm and such. I still have trouble with the “Improved” popping and squeaking for the first five minutes or so after playing other whistles (especially the untweaked Shaw high and low D’s!), but then as I said, I still class myself as a rank beginner.
hope this helps, Nuno, and welcome to the board!
I agree with the general assessment. I love my O Briain improved (it has a wonderful sound), but it scarcely takes more than a whisper of air to play, and it jumps octaves easily if you give it just a little too much, which could make it a very frustrating whistle for a beginner.
One of the great things about the whistle is that the cheapies can be astoundingly good…there’s no need to buy a high- or medium-end whistle unless you really want one (lots of the pros play cheapies out of preference). Buying a bunch of cheapies of different brands and styles (or, for a beginner, at least a couple: one cylindrical and one conical) is a highly satisfying introduction to the instrument, and you wouldn’t be “short changing” yourself at all. Another advantage is, when you do decide to buy a more expensive whistle (assuming you do…most of us who get bit by WHOA ultimately end up with a few at least), you’ll have a better idea of what type of whistle suits you best.
Redwolf
I would say a good “starter set” of inexpensive whistles would be an Oak, Waltons brass, Clarke original, and a brass Generation, all in D.
As you venture into the midrange (around $30) whistles, I’d add Syn, Susato, and / or Dixon.
Later I’d get a full set of brass or nickel Generations, just because I like having whistles in a bunch of keys available.
–James
I agree with Tom and others about the Improved. If your looking for a whistle like a Feadog (plastic mouthpiece/metal tube) Jerry Freeman’s Tweaked Generation is a great choice. Easy to play and sounds great.
Regarding the O’Briain’s Improved–absolutely! Another good beginner whistle is a Sweetone–it’s very easy to play. But the O’B has more of the “trad” sound that you might want if you want to learn ITM. Enjoy!
I’m just remembering the joys of my first whistle (Clarke original C) and then experimenting and discovering over time through a bunch of various whistles - Soodlums, Waltons, Feadogs, Generations, Shaw, Susato - to my first and still revered high-ender, a Thin Weasel cocobolo D. Most were D and C and a few Bflat (Gens and Susato). It was a joy finding and playing all of them through the years, and at about average $5 0r 6 a pop.
That’s why, as a beginner, I’d urge a little more experimentation with all the above in your own good time. It’s fun. You decide what you like.
Regards,
PhilO
As a rank beginner who’s already accumulated three whistles in under two weeks, I’d advise going with one of Jerry’s tweaked whistles.
Here are my experiences so far:
Dixon (tunable, but not the brass slide model): This is the first one that arrived. It’s not too hard to play, but it’s the worst for jumping from the first octave to the second when I get carried away–which I do a lot. I like the tone, which is what I would call “complex” rather than “pure”.
Clarke Original: This one arrived several days later. It requires tons more air than the other two. If I play it right after playing one of the others, it feels like I’m going to run out of breath in about one second. It’s the most stable of the three. I don’t squeek much on it at all. Also, the tone (timbre) across the octaves is the most consistent of the three. However, the tone is what I’d call “plain”. It’s not very interesting (to me, at least) unless I play it pretty hard and use a lot of diaphragm vibrato.
Feadog: This one just came in last Friday. In the beginning, it was horrible. It squawked in the upper part of the 1st octave, and most second octave notes didn’t resemble musical tones at all. I’ve begun a little tweaking of it on my own, and it has become somewhat playable if I play really loudly in the second octave. The tone is a bit like the Dixon’s. I think that when I finish the tweaking, it will sound quite nice.
I think you’ll probably save yourself some initial problems with quality control by just getting one of Jerry’s mods. They may cost more, but I bet having one for your first will save you some pain. The Whistle Shop http://www.thewhistleshop.com/ carries his tweaked Generation, Sweetone, and Shaw. I often see the Generation recommended, but if money’s a problem, I’m sure the Sweetone is at least playable. There’s a thread on it here at http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=11424&sid=dc406dc413604d2e7d1bb5edc8dd459c
Of course, once you have that and know what the playing experience should be like, you can begin your accumulation of cheapies to see what kind of variety there is. After that, it’s apparently a steep downhill slide into WhOA.
I agree with what everybody said but I vote for a Clare D. A jerry Generation or a Jerry Shaw would be great but more expensive. I would also say that shortly you will want a complete set of Generation Brass AND a full set of Generation Nickel whistles. Don’t go buying a high end whistle until you have at least one of each of the low end whistles. A good generation sounds as good as any high end whistle if the person playing it knows how to play it. When you do go to a more expensive whistle consider a Hoover white top or an Alba Q1.
By now you can see that we hardly ever agree on anything. This should tell you something about how subjective a whistle choice is.
Keep whistling
Ron
My vote for Syn. Very easy to play, a bargain for the price.
Well, take your pick, Nuno! Although there are those who obviously disagree with me about the Improved, I didn’t notice mine requiring any more air. Of course, some might say I’m just full of hot air so it would be a cinch for me to play…
First get one, then another, and then try another…
Susan
I have an Eb “Improved” and like it a lot. I think the Syn is easier to play, but any of the whistles mentioned in this thread would be a good starter whistle. Just beware of Generations; the good ones are great, the bad ones are fhorrible. If getting a Generation, Sweetone or Shaw, i’d recommend going with one tweaked by Jerry, because this way you’re sure you’re not getting a dud.
I think the problem most people have with the O’Briain is the opposite of that. I.e., they overblow too easily. I don’t think that’s really a problem, just a minor issue with whistles which have a low air requirement.
The O’Briain would make a fine beginner’s whistle, although I think you would get the most bang for the buck with the Susato VSB Kildare ($14.50).
Darn! I must have WHOA really bad. I thought this thread was about a new whistle maker named Fisrt and I was going to ask how you pronounce the name and how long the waiting list is… 
Well now, that depends on what the meaning of “is” is…
Tom
Exactly! It has extremely LOW air requirements…and for some beginners, that’s a problem because they have trouble staying in the bottom octave. It’s a feature I like in the O’Briain (it’s incredibly responsive), but something that could be very frustrating for a beginner with a tendency to overblow.
I think of it a little like teaching someone to ride a horse. You don’t put a beginner on the most sensitive, highly responsive, horse in the stable…the one that’s going to zig out from under him everytime he shifts his weight without thinking. That may be the perfect animal for an experienced rider, but it’s going to be, at the very least, an extremely frustrating animal for a beginner to learn on. The O’ Briain improved is easily the most sensitive of the whistles I own, and I’ve heard enough people complain about it “squeeking” (which it shouldn’t do unless it’s being overblown) to think it’s probably not a great beginner’s whistle.
An exception might be someone who really needs a whistle with very low air requirements. For instance, a friend of mine who was stricken with a serious lung ailment a few years ago wanted to take up the whistle, but her air flow is still so impaired that she has trouble sustaining a note on just about all of my whistles other than the O 'Briain improved and the Hoover Whitecap. She really needs something that takes the barest sip of air.
I also agree that, until a beginner has a firmer idea of what he likes in a whistle, he can get a lot more bang for his buck by buying a few different kinds of cheapies. The improved isn’t exactly an expensive whistle, but for the same price you can get several “low-enders,” and I would think that would provide a more satisfactory initial experience.
Redwolf
I didn’t expect so many replays… I thank you all for your advice.
I didn’t mentioned but I already have a feadog D that I bought in England about 3 years ago (I’m from Portugal). My choice for the improved was because I wanted to order a whistle in tune (my feadog isn’t). Although I’m a beginner whistler I play the guitar for about 10 years and it sounds really bad to me to play out of tune.
I’ve heard the sound of the ‘Improved’ and I really liked it… I’m going to read all your replies again, than I’ll make my choice.
I’m buying the Bill Ochs guide as Cranberry suggested.
Nuno