I’ve been buying a lot of gens lately, both old and new, and just today I came across something very unusual. I am not sure if this is something new, or if I have simply not taken notice until now, but they now offer whistles with rather odd designs on the barrel, and black heads.
They offer three different colour schemes for the tube, all with black heads. I picked up a black and gold one on “The Whistle Shop” for cheaper than Amazon. The tube seems a bit tacky, but then again, so do bright red and blue heads. I suppose if you get a good head you can always put it on a regular brass or nickel tubes. I wish they had always offered the black heads, as they look a lot less carnival-toyish.
Anyway, just something unusual that I have spotted, and I don’t recall any mention of it on this forum yet, so thought I’d share.
Brand New by Generation Whistles - Boho Model in Key of D
Comes in Gift Pack
Traditional English Tin Penny Whistle in the Key of D
Generation are the finest in Whistle Manufacturing
This Whistle is in Paisley Black - The Boho Model is Available in 3 Colours
If they intended to offer more distinguished looking whistles, they certainly went over the top quite a bit! Looks like a great whistle to take to a Goa rave, though. I’m intrigued… thanks for sharing, Sirchronique! Is the feel and thickness of the coating similar to those painted Feadógs (if you happen to have one for comparison)?
The bright green heads have finally made it over here as well I noticed. For years they were only available ‘overseas’, possibly to appeal to sentiments of ‘Oirish-ness’.
Is the feel and thickness of the coating similar to those painted Feadógs
It was my impression they were similar. Only saw them in a box in the shop though.
Just curious why on Amazon the Boho paisley green and blue whistles are considerably cheaper than the Boho black whistle? Ad says available in three colors, yet, the price varies… how so?
Thanks! Yes, it looks similar on the photos too… seems alright to me then. I just ordered one anyway… in their own cheesy way they’re actually looking pretty cool. Also I like the name.
Hm, maybe due to higher demand? Seems they’re pretty quick at the trigger in this regard. On this side of the pond they all cost the same, though.
They all cost the same where I bought mine, as well. I think around 12 bucks each. The website I bought it from states that the pattern is floated on top of a bath of water, and the whistle bodies are pulled up through it and it leaves the pattern on the whistle, and then afterwards a coating is put over it to keep it on. I’m sure it does wear eventually, though.
the pattern is floated on top of a bath of water, and the whistle bodies are pulled up through it
That would be standard marbling technique for paper. You use carrageen to create he surface tension needed to float the paint on top and make your patterns. Not completely sure it works like that on whistle tubes but if they say so… .
However, I do wonder if perhaps they had their equipment running especially well for the first batches, since it is a newly released item. It wouldn’t mean they’d be necessarily better, but perhaps a more consistent middle-of-the-road quality with less variability from whistle to whistle. Just my hypothesis, though… could be wrong.
It arrived in the mail today, and there is nothing particularly special about it other than the colour scheme, as is to be expected. In fact, I think it plays and sounds less nicely than my other two modern generation D’s. It is a usable instrument, but the one I got isn’t a particularly good specimen of a gen. I think the coating does alter the tone, but I will try it on a regular brass and nickle body to see how much of the effect is due to this. By generation standards I think it is slightly below average quality to my tastes.
I can see how this could have had the design applied in the way that was mentioned. The pattern is not continuous, as there is a line on the right side of the whistle where it looks like the pattern was connected together. I don’t think “slipperiness” is an issue with whistles, but I do think this one is a bit more slippy than a nickel gen, from whatever they put over the pattern to protect it from coming off. The black one doesn’t look particularly bad, as it has a less intense colour scheme than the others, and from far away probably just looks like a black whistle, which is why I chose that one.
Anyway, it is what it is, but I’ll probably just stick with the regular generations from now on. Today’s mail delivery wasn’t a total disappointment, though, as I did get a nice oak D whistle, one with the black and clear sticker (I don’t know if this is old or new, as I’ve never played an oak until today), and I’m quite impressed with it! Quiet, but much better than the psychedelic gen, and only cost 1 dollar!
Looks like a great whistle to take to a Goa rave, though. I’m intrigued… thanks for sharing, Sirchronique! Is the feel and thickness of the coating similar to those painted Feadógs (if you happen to have one for comparison)?
Also I like the name.
