Just bought this on eBay a few weeks ago, serial, #576 - fine instrument, perfect condition, especially nice top end, beautiful colored streaks in the wood, typically exquisite Abell craftsmanship. I’ve just decided that it isn’t the whistle for me, and have been playing my others a lot more lately. Someone will certainly be happy with this one, though. $300 - email or PM.
Thanks!
Ben
bump
A little early to be bumping it, isn’t it. Hi Ben, haven’t seen you recently. Sorry you and the Abell must part. Want to trade for my Busman?
Kevin Krell
I can’t speak specifically about this particular whistle, as I haven’t played it, however judging by the serial number, this whistle was likely made in the batch just before mine, and I’ve found most of these older Abells to be the best sounding Abells I’ve run across: They tend to be more sweet sounding (less piercing) in the second octave than the newer ones I’ve tried. FWIW.
Loren
Yea, the top end is very sweet. Kev, check your PMs!
I’m interested, but can’t afford it. So as far as I know, the Abell Ben has is still available for sale.
Kevin Krell
Hey HOrnpiper, If you can afford to hang on to it for a while you may end up liking it better with time. I found that with my Disraeli Gears album.
Oddly enough, I find this to be true with Abell whistles, more than most others, at least for me. They seem to sweeten and “play in” quite a bit with constant playing, at least the older ones do.
Loren
It’s not that I don’t enjoy playing the Abell, because I do, and it certainly is already very sweet, but I just prefer my other whistles more. I’m sure someone out there will love it though.
Loren,
About when did Abell whistles change…what serial number?
I have one that’s about 742, IIRC.
I wouldn’t describe the upper end as “sweet” exactly. It’s perfect, IMHO, but sweet is not the right word. “As good as the low end, but louder” is how I’d put it.
Yeah, I guess sweet is sort of subjective, eh? What I meant was, sweet compared with the more recent Abells, which can be piercing, at least to my ears. I think that perhaps your description was even more accurate.
I wish I knew exactly when the change occured, Jessie may know, if she cares to respond. She and I both have Abells very close in number, perhaps from the same batch, and they are both excellent - her’s sweeter, and mine a bit louder. I’d say hers is the slightly better of the two, tonally speaking - it’s the best Abell I’ve ever played/heard. I would rank both whistles in the top 5 or 6 of the couple hundred I’ve owned/played, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if other Abells from that general time period, or at least that batch, were as good.
Chris Abell is highly skilled instrument maker, and at some point he made a decision to make a change in the voicing of his whistles. The change doesn’t suit my ear so much, but certainly others disagree, which is as it should be.
That said, when I finally make my whistles available to the public, you can expect a voicing very much like the Abells of the Vintage Jessie and I own, as that’s the sound I enjoy most in a wooden whistle.
Loren
you may end up liking it better with time. I found that with my Disraeli Gears album.
Cream is where its at, that album is probably on my top ten “Non-Irish” recordings of all time. And Chris’s whistles are superb, and he’s a great guy. Who ever gets this one will not be disapointed.
CLAPTON IS GOD
I couldn’t possibly agree more.
Loren
Yea, so someone buy it already! 
WHAT!? I knew you were working in the instrument crafting business but didn’t realize you had plans to make whistles. Cool!!!
-Brett
Dude, you don’t think I spent the last two years slaving away at the world’s foremost historic woodwind shop just so I could grow up to be a re#%*der maker one day, do you?!?! 
Flutes and whistles man, that’s where it’s at for me. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned it in my post, but too late now.
Some of the work on a prototype whistle has already been done, however I have limited time, what with trying to pay the bills on a daily basis and all 
In addition, I’m going through some changes with regards to work, and possibly location, so don’t expect to see any finished products out just yet. However, the time will come…
Loren
Hornpiper, it looks like your thread got hijacked in several directions. A dozen posts from folks with no intention of buying your whistle. Might be a good idea to re-post.
No offense rookie, but what you’re seeing here isn’t hi-jacking, it’s creative bumping 
We’ve kept Hornpiper’s Abell near the top of the list, and the fact that the title of the post hasn’t changed (to say “Abell Sold”), keeps folks aware it hasn’t sold yet, plus we’ve thown in lots of praise for Abell’s whistles to boot. It’s all good, and par for the course in this neighborhood.
Loren
Yup…if I had the dough, I’d buy it myself
Yea, I definitely appreciate the bump hijacking - saves me the trouble of bumping it myself & being annoying