I’ve had the great opportunity to try the GFM two body set-whistle prototype, and now I’m going to tell you my impressions. I’ve tried splitting the review into small parts with headlines so that it’ll be easier to find whatever you’re looking for.
The looks and first impressions
The package contained the headpiece and two bodies, a high D and a low G body. The whistles looked nice. They were light and nicely designed, apart from the rough and sharp tone holes (which I know aren’t treated because being a prototype). The joint consisted of a two o-ring-tuning system. It seemed to work nicely, even though I had the impression that it was slightly too lose.
The D’s tone holes were large, without being any problem. I like large-bore high whistles. The G’s tone holes where placed in a way I didn’t feel comfortable with. The holes aren’t far apart or too large, but for me it took some time to adapt to. This is not to be considered as a hindrance, though. I think anyone could adapt to the hole structure with a little time.
Blowing
The high D required a fair amount of air. I wouldn’t recommend it to a beginner. It was a little bit “hard” to play because of the push it needed. – I don’t have a problem with whistles that need “a push”, but I just didn’t like this one.
The low G was much more a pleasure to play. This one also had a 2nd octave that I didn’t like that much, but that more because of the sound…
Sound
I was disappointed about the sound of these whistles. They were very breathy. And when it comes to the 2nd octave, they had a dull, almost non-existing sound. It may just be me and my preferences, but the sound of these whistles just seemed boring, and they were lacking character. The low G wasn’t that bad, but I wouldn’t even get the use of the high D. I didn’t like its sound at all. And it was terribly loud. Loudness is great, but combined with this whistles sound: No, thank you. The low G had a perfect volume.
But I must say: Ornaments sounded lovely on both whistles. The sound of lifting your “cut finger” pleased me very well.
Tuning
I’m no expert when it comes to this, but they both sounded okay. I haven’t used a tuner, but when playing the octaves, no notes really seemed out of tune. The high D has a regular OXXOOO c-natural. The low G, however, has a OXXXXO fingering, which really bothered me.
Summary
Due to the high D, I’d never buy both of the bodies if I was to buy this new whistle. Therefore I have given each of the whistles their own feedback.
High D
Overall: Not impressed.
This one was a disappointment. The sound of it and the difficulties of playing it in the second octave are not to my liking at all. Sorry, but this one needs work.
Low G
Overall: OK
The low G is the better half of this set. To put it shortly: The first octave is very nice when it comes to sound and playability, the second struggles a little bit, but not as much as the high D. This is “almost” a keeper, if it wasn’t for a better 2nd octave, and not to mention the ugly c-natural fingering. I’m sorry, but I disliked this fingering. It brings me problems when playing fast tunes in C.
Thanks for letting me try the whistles. I think they need some work, but the G has a lot of potential. But to be honest: As for these prototypes, I’d not buy them.