Fred Rose whistle arrived!

Whistle
1

Like some other people around here, I have been waiting a few months for a Fred Rose whistle. Well, it arrived today and I am very impressed. It plays like a dream, like a combination of a good Abell and a good Thin Weasel. It has a beautiful pure and full tone and is easy to play in either octave. With subtle curved turning on the outside, this blackwood whistle is beautiful to look at. It has nicely gold-plated bands and a brass tuning slide. It looks very much like an Abell, but this one has variations in outer diameter as opposed to a straight outside wall. The part of the mouthpiece that goes into the mouth is curved like a Thin Weasel, though. It’s comfortable to play. I recommend this whistle to anyone who is looking for a high end whistle.

:slight_smile: Jessie

(the edit is a fixed typo)

[ This Message was edited by: JessieK on 2001-10-06 13:18 ]

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I just got mine too, and I wholeheartedly agree with Jessie:

The Rose is a wonderful wooden whistle. The tone is pure and full. No, it’s not real breathy sounding - very little wind noise - but it absolutely sounds like a whistle to me and not a recorder.

I think the pureness of tone would help this whistle carry fairly well in a session, even though it’s not what I would call a loud whistle - it’s very nice for playing around the house and I doubt one would get many complaints.

The workmanship appears to be top notch and Mr. rose included a very sharp looking box (not wood) plus a custom shaped carry pouch with one slot for the headjoint and one for the foot - nice!

I had to wait longer than expectd for this whistle but I’d say it was well worth it. The cost about $200 U.S., depending on the exchange rate at a given time, and I’d say it’s well worth the money.

Anyone else out there expecting one soon?

Loren

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Sorry for the typos, the board is not letting me edit my post for some reason…

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Hey, Jessie! I’m really happy for you!

5

How much do these cost? Anyone care to post pics?

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Sorry, I can’t post a pic, but there should be one somewhere on the C&F site in the expensive whistle section - Mick posted a review with pics a while back.

I already posted the price earlier in this thread…

Loren

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I’m glad to hear that the Rose whistles are rolling in at last! Congratulations, Jessie and Loren. :slight_smile: Now I know you guys will finally understand why I like this whistle so much and why I’ve have been so enthusiastic about it; I won’t feel so lonely now. :slight_smile:

Avanutria, as for pictures, well, here’s one I made earlier…

Mick

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I’m waiting on a Rose whistle…
It was due in mid-August, and then Fred emailed me to say he was running a couple of weeks behind. I haven’t heard anything for about 5 or 6 weeks, but maybe he’s been working to finish up the whistles rather than spending time emailing people. :slight_smile: Maybe mine will show up soon too. -brett

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Brett,

I went through the same thing, delays and such. Fred did e-mail me requesting payment once the whistle was ready. Took about another month to get the whistle, with shipping and such.

OTH, if you’ve paid in advance, perhaps you’ll have it anytime now. Hope you get it soon - you’re gonna love that whistle man! :slight_smile: I’m really, really impressed with mine - and I’m one picky SOB =;^)

Mick,

Oh yeah, I’m totally into this whistle. I can definately understand why you like yours so much. Now if Fred would just make a Low D for us…

Hey Tony, I can’t believe you didn’t love Mick’s Rose whistle! I find the Rose really easy to play and I dig the tone.

OTH, I find the Abells I’ve played/heard (in person) a little bland sounding. This seems especially true (to me) when hearing the Abell playing with other instruments (live), like in a session or playing duo with a flute or guitar.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the Abell D whistle - Jessie assures me that some of them are phenomenal sounding - it’s just that the ones I’ve heard up close lacked personality. The Rose OTH seems to have a unique tonal quality that I rather like.

Hmm, I’ll have to see if I can get to one of the infrequent sessions around here and have someone else play this Rose during some tunes, so I can hear it from “the other side”, if you know what I mean. So many of these instruments sound quite a bit different on the “receiving end”, don’t they…

Loren

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This morning Richard and I did a sound test (I play whistles numbered one through whatever, he closes his eyes and picks which sounds he likes best). This morning there were five. On fast stuff, he liked the Abell, tweaked Susato, old silver Copeland (made years ago), Rose, and then Water Weasel. For slow stuff, we used three, and I omitted the Susato and the Water Weasel. He liked the Rose, then the Copeland, then the Abell. Hmph.

:slight_smile: Jessie

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Didn’t love the Rose…well, I had one opportunity to try Zax’s before she left town. I actually, in a moment of silliness and curiosity, placed both my Abell and the Rose to my lips at the same time to hear the differences. The Abell had a woodier, chiffier sound, where the Rose was purer. My preference was for the Abell sound. The main feature about the Rose that gave me pause was it’s sensitivity to breath pressure that the Abell tolerated better. I kept squeaking the Rose’s second octave D. I know that with practice these things are overcome. I’d really have to hang out with the instrument to give fair assessment of it’s playability. None the less, I had the chance to compare the tones, plane and simple, and preferred the Abell. I haven’t heard someone else play an Abell in session, so I can’t say how it sounds amid the hubbub, but I have had very positive comments on the tone of mine from various people in some house sessions, including one experienced fiddle player who was brand new to Irish music sessions. Maybe I got an exceptional copy of an Abell; I certainly did not get a mundane one.

Now, I’ll stick my neck on the block and say I have a Moeck wood recorder (never learned how to play it) that the Rose put me in mind of when I tried the Rose. Don’t misunderstand. The Rose sounded entirely like a whistle, but it had a certain vibrational quality the “reminded” me of the Moeck, which is a very nice recorder (and is for sale, by the way). I am curious how much Abells and Roses vary, one whistle to the next.

And back to your original comment, Loren: if I didn’t own the Abell already, I’d probably buy the Rose. (Really, Mick) Of course, I’m coming up on 2yrs waiting on Pat O’Riordan’s list, so there’s that. If I had bought the Abell before signing up, I may not have signed up. So blow the winds of fate. (And no, I won’t sell my place on the list or ebay the whistles when I get them- a c/d set in wood and a metal d- my wife thinks just one whistle all this time. I’ve needed all this time to fabricate a justification; I’m a bit stuck there.)
Tony

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Tony has mentioned the O’Riordan, and I have to ask you, Loren, now that you can compare the two whistles (Rose & O’Riordan), what is your opinion; how do they compare, and which do you like best? :slight_smile:

Mick

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Tony,

Whoops, I meant to say “Zax’s whistle”, not “Mick’s”.

I didn’t mean to suggest that the Rose is better sounding than the Abell, just suits my taste better than the Abells I’ve played, but then I haven’t tried yours Tony :slight_smile:

Jessie,

Interesting experiment - I’ve gotta try that Abell of yours someday.

Mick,

Well the O’Riordan is a C, while the new Rose is a D, so I don’t know exactly how fair a comparison is but here are my thoughts:

I can tell you it would be very hard for me to choose between these two whistles, if I had to pick just one. I really love the sound of both and, interestingly enough, both have a mostly pure tone, even though that’s not generally a characteristic I like in a whistle.

I wish the O’Riordan had a less sensitive bell note, it’s a bit out of balance with the rest of the whistle IMO. The Rose’s Bell note is much better, although certainly not rock solid like an Overton.

The Rose’s tone hole edges are slightly too sharp for my liking, sometimes causing a missed note or squeak -one day I’ll round them a bit with a dremel tool. By Contrast the O’Riordan’s tone holes are perfect for me.

I find the O’Riordan’s chunkier/thicker body more comfortable to hold than the Rose’s smaller tapered body. However the O’Riordan is on the heavy side (which I don’t mind), while the Rose is wonderfully light - surprisingly so.

In the end I’d say the O’Riordan and Rose have become two of my very favorite soprano whistles, along with my Overton - for higher volume situations.

Now, I would really like to get my hands on an O’Riordan Concert D, but alas I’m not on Pat’s waiting list :frowning:

Loren

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About a month ago I had the opportunity to play a Fred Rose whistle (thanks Nick!).
Ever since the WhOA fevers have been rising.
I’m better now, thank you, since i placed an order with Mr. Rose.

He wrote to me that ever since the word got out on C&F he has received more orders than ever…
My whistle is expected in December - looking forward to X-mass :slight_smile:

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You guys are going to bankrupt me =) Does anyone have sound files for a Rose whistle? What’s the wait currently?

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Avanutria, you can find several recordings that I made, using my Rose whistle, on the Clips & Snips pages, and there are a couple on my](http://fingertrip.net/whistle/index.html%22%3Emy) own web site too.

Mick

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Thanks Mick! I’ll check them out when I get home from school today. (Around 7 or 8 PM, sigh

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Got to play Abell whistles last weekend, and so now I know what I’ve suspected over the last 2 years: the Rose blackwood D actually IS the Stradivarius of whistles. The Abells were good - no, very good - but just not up to the Rose. Such a clear pure sound, and such a delight to play…

I’d have bought the Abells too, I’ve heard so much about them, but Fred’s just took the prize

You won’t regret it Jeroen!

Nick

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Hi Nick,
abels, ables ?!??
The same Abels Francis had for sale?
Were you in Denmark, or did Francis deliver them to you??

Shows again what a serious and dangerous illness WhOA is…

By the way - I’d love to play those Abells when next we meet

cheers
Jeroen

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Hi Jeroen

Yes, Francis’s Abells - he was visiting in England last week. However, I didn’t buy them as I realised the Rose is better, and my number one wish is ultimately a low D in blackwood (which I discovered Abell doesn’t make - I thought Francis had an Abell low D within the set for some reason). I would have bought them and went there to do that, it’s just the Rose came out top.

I’m visiting Fred this weekend to look at his low D prototypes, but he did say that since Mick and I have been raving all over this site about his whistles he’s had no time to progress the low D project!

Nick