Who are the makers of good quality wooden whistles these days? I know of McManus, Abell, Metcalf, Weston and a promising sounding whistle made by a piper in Scotland who can be found searching Gibby the piper. I am particularly interested in tunable brass or delrin heads. Aluminum never appealed as something I’d like in my mouth. And I’ve had a history of reactions to nickle silver AKA German Silver. Any opinions about the whistles mentioned above or any ideas of anyone I missed would be appreciated.
You may get the most helpful responses if you say a bit about what qualities you are looking for in a whistle, as well what characteristics you dislike.
I agree with what Loren said.
That said, of the whistles you mentioned, the only two I’ve tried are McManus and Abell. Both sound beautiful to me. In my opinion, McManus plays in tune with itself a bit easier than Abell. It’s louder overall, but it also has more consistent volume, I think. The lower end of a McManus’s range in particular is much louder than an Abell’s, in my opinion (I never tested this, because I don’t own an Abell, but that’s the impression I’ve had when I’ve tried out other people’s and compared them with my McManus).
I did look at pictures of these. Since I play a variety of whistles my fingers would be confused by the contouring.
I play brass whistles for the most part. Though I recently parted with a set of Blackwood O’Riordans. I loved the wood and the way they handled. It was a tough decision but a financial one. I do miss the wood sound. I believed I could eventually find something else in the wood world.
I play Copeland, Sindt or Burke Session Bore in brass out of the house. I play them at home as well as a Burke composite, a set of Water Weasels and a Shush when I want to rest my ears.
I I have owned Killarneys and found them fine for what they were but moved them along as I felt they were missing some of the magic of the Sindt they copied.
I have heard the MacMaghnus and like them. I have heard they are loud and have to be played that way, and only heard them in a loud session. But my other whistles are loud but don’t have to be. Do others have opinions regarding if these have to be pushed to sound well in all octaves? Do they only like to be played full throttle?
I really liked the sound samples of the Gibby the Piper whistle, but have the nickle silver sensitivity so they seem to be out.
I have an Abell on order. I will see if I like it. I have thought I wanted one for years. I will see if we get along.
I have been spoiled for choice with what I have or have had at my disposal.
I recently bought a used iVolga in F. I bought this for a specific reason. I was looking for something with a longish stretch to play when the rest of the house was asleep. I heard the seller play it on FB. It was surprisingly quiet. I am assuming it is leaking air as the interior finish of the head and the tenon are not smooth. There are two very thin O rings that are expected to deal with that I suppose. For a few days I found myself thinking of ways I could “fix” it, then decided it was what it was, and I bought it precisely because it was quiet so I should leave it be.
The irish Flute Store had a whistle from Hermit Hill before Christmas that was described as quiet. I was not sure quiet was what I was looking for in a D.
They have some Worfin whistles that looked interesting. But by the time I thought to buy one all the brass mouthpieced Ds were gone. I have no idea if they would be to my liking.
Some of sound samples of wood whistles sound very recorder like. I am not interested in that sound.
Chris Abell whistles have all silver trim. Sweet-sounding whistles, if you can deal with the IMHO extremely short beak. I have one in Delrin (C/D set, sold the blackwood versions). You might be able to get a wooden body with a Delrin head, if that’s what you’re looking for.
The McManus are also very well made. Stainless steel mouthpiece, nickel rings, brass slide.
Phil Bleazey makes a great little conical bore whistle, but I believe they’re all wood except for the slide & rings.
http://www.bleazey.co.uk/whistlepage.html I sold a boxwood one, and regret doing so.
Damian Thompson has made wooden whistles w/silver fittings. I have a C/D/Eb set in blackwood. He may have discontinued these while focusing on his Delrin flutes & fancy new key system. In any case, his order book is temporarily closed while he fulfills current orders and achieves a good work/life balance.
Paul Busman has stopped making whistles - I found them OK, decent. These sometimes pop up used.
Mitch Smith of Oz Whistles has also, AFAIK, stopped making whistles. These never (it seems) pop up used.
Have not tried any of the others.
They’re not THAT loud, in the sense that they aren’t all that overpowering in the second octave. Not nearly as loud or piercing up there as, say, a Susato. You can play up to a high B without blasting anyone’s ears. But they have very balanced volume. The lower octave is loud enough to be heard in a session.
They do take significantly more air than a Sindt-style whistle. But in my opinion, you don’t have to push that much harder to get them into the second octave, or to play in tune in the second octave. They just feel very balanced overall, even though they require a lot of air in both octaves.
But that’s just my opinion. They’re one of my favorite whistle brands.
But my other whistles are loud but don’t have to be.
I don’t know of many whistles that really have effective volume control. Normally you’re kind of stuck with one volume, if you want to play in tune. I’d say McManus is no exception. It’s always pretty loud, but never THAT loud.
Some of sound samples of wood whistles sound very recorder like. I am not interested in that sound.
Well, I don’t think McManus whistles sound anything like a recorder. So that’s a plus.
I actually can’t think of many whistles that really sound recorder-like. I think that’s more the exception than the rule, even for wooden whistles.
The best wooden whistles I’ve come across are Oz whistles in high D and Grinter whistles in Bb, low F, and low D.
The only way to get these now is second hand, since Mitch Smith stopped making the Oz whistles and Michael Grinter is sadly no longer with us.
For my personal tastes, my Oz high D is still a touch too loud at the high end of the upper octave. It is louder than a Sindt, which I find more well balanced.
I love Grinter whistles. They are relatively narrow bored and have very thin walls, for a wooden whistle. The thin walls contribute to a great sound, but also make them delicate.
In terms of volume and balance, my Grinter low F is fairly similar to my Goldie F. If anything the Grinter may be even better balanced with a slightly sweeter top end. Its bore profile is just slightly narrower.
The Grinter is very light in the hand and has more of a woody tone.
Both the Oz and Grinter whistles have a brass tuning slide, but the heads and bodies are made of wood.