I promised to post my thoughts about the Rose African Blackwood whistle, now that I have got to know it a little better. I’m not sure how helpful or interesting this might be, but here goes.
When I first came across this whistle, I was immediately impressed, and wasted little time in obtaining one for myself. Such sudden infatuations can disappear as rapidly as they arise but, with the Rose, I am happy to report that my liking for this instrument is undiminished after two and a half months.
Fred claimed that his whistles should probably improve with age and sound better with use. It’s almost impossible to judge whether or not, after 10 weeks, this whistle has altered in any way with regard to intonation or playability, but it does feelbetter: An indefinable and very subjective feeling which is possibly nothing more than growing familiarity, but who can say?
I draw comparisons between the Rose and my Silkstone alloy whistles in this review. These two whistles are different creatures for sure, but they do share some similarities, not least their tonal qualities. They do not sound the same, but they do sound similar enough to make me unsure which whistle I have used in some recordings I’ve made.
In terms of volume the Rose is on a par with the Silkstone, but the Silkstone is dynamically much more two-dimensional; on the Rose you can play, and stay in tune, with wider dynamic variation. If the Silkstone has two volume levels, then the Rose has three or four. The lower notes, D to G, are stronger on the Rose. There is a surprising evenness of volume, and ease of production, throughout the full two octaves range. Air requirements for playing the Rose are superb, being low in volume and low in pressure. Again, this is similar to the Silkstone (which I think does have the edge, slightly, on the air volume front). It’s very easy to play long phrases in slow expressive tunes without gasping for breath, or to get through the entire first part of a reel or hornpipe, including the repeat, on one breath, without difficulty.
I’ve always found the responsiveness of the Silkstone to be a bit slow, which makes it more suitable for playing slow airs than for fast dance tunes but, happily, the Rose is more versatile; it is quite responsive and more predictable that the Silkstone in the way it acts when giving notes some attack. This helps confidence when playing, but although it is quicker to respond than the Silkstone can be, it is still easily beaten in this area of performance by my Generation Eb whistle. Nipping about, doing lots of fast ornamentation around the top notes of the second octave, requires more practice on the Rose than it does on the Generation whistle. This is where technique and familiarisation through practice come in. Well, you can’t expect an instrument to play itself, can you? 
Cross-fingerings for G# and Bb work well in both octaves. And, as Fred told me, other alternative fingerings for some notes are worth experimenting with. The lower octave C natural is in tune when played oxx ooo. The alternative fingering of oxx xox, which I prefer to use for C natural, is too flat to be used in anything other than very fast passages.
Another thing which the Rose shares with the Silkstone is a reluctance for the windway to clog with moisture. It can and does happen to some degree now and again, but only rarely and, like most whistles, usually soon after you start playing or after you have put it down for a while and pick it up again; once warmed it is fine.
The tuning slide on the Rose is a precise fit and needs regular lubrication, especially as you really need to pull the whistle apart when you have finished playing, to mop out the moisture (or use a long-handled mop - but pulling the whistle apart and leaving it to dry after mopping helps it to dry more quickly). The whistle is in concert pitch when the slide is pulled out a little, as you would expect, because this allows you to both raise and lower the pitch when tuning to other instruments.
I’m not sure I can add much more. There is another matter though; quite apart from the sound and playability of this instrument, I have to take into account the aesthetic beauty of the design and the obvious skill and love which has gone into making it. It is a lovely instrument both to look at and to hold. It feels like a “real” instrument in a way that say, a Generation whistle, never can do. I have nothing against Generation whistles - I am very fond of my Generation Eb and Bb, but next to the Rose they feel like toys.
It has been observed that the Rose whistle possesses a timbre reminiscent of the recorder. It is my opinion that it really does not sound like a recorder, but I do concede that it does have more recorder-like qualities than many other whistles. It is a relative perception only. Interestingly perhaps, Fred Rose told me that he first learned his skills as an instrument maker studying with top recorder makers and used the knowledge he gained there to go on and develop his own whistle design. I really consider the tonal qualities of the Rose whistle to be quite beautiful but, please judge for yourself and listen to my recording of, The Lea Rig, which you can find on the Clips & Snips site on the Slow](http://www.mchaffiewhistles.com/clipsnip/slowairs.html%22%3ESlow) Airs page. Or, for a better quality mp3 which gives a more faithful reproduction, download directly from here: The](http://fingertrip.net/whistle/mp3/learig.mp3%22%3EThe) Lea Rig. Be aware that this is a large file (2.7MB). This is the file you will soon (but no just yet) be able to access from my own web site at http://www.fingertrip.net/whistle/
I hope some of you out there have found this interesting and useful.
Regards,
Mick
[ This Message was edited by: Mick Woodruff on 2001-08-18 13:19 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Mick Woodruff on 2001-08-18 13:21 ]