One of the nice things about living in Fairbanks is that Erik Tullberg also lives here. That means that he hand-delivered my new whistle yesterday instead of having to mail it to me. Instant gratification. It also meant I got to see the whistle in various stages of completion, which is fun.
A full review will have to wait until I have had more than 5 minutes with the instrument, but I wanted to share my initial thoughts on it.
First, just as Dale says on his High-End Whistles reviews, Erik really cares about presentation. The whistle comes in a nice, solid case (I think it is a leatherette necklace box with a custom foam insert for holding the whistle) with a pair of polishing cloths. It also has a small certificate stating the serial number (the whistle is also marked) and a fingering chart with basic tips about caring for the whistle. Both pieces of paperwork are color prints, not photocopies. All of this comes in a white cardboard box, so the entire package has the effect of unwrapping a present. Very cool.
The one thing I could possibly say that is even remotely negative about the whistle is that the case demands that it be stored dis-assembled. That means I have to put it together every time I want to play it. That means tuning it every time. I am a mediocre player at best and my ear is not perfect. Therefore, I am not super-great about getting it in tune without the electronic tuner. That’s okay. I fixed it. (Erik- sorry if this shocks you, but I doubt it will.) I used the tuner to get the whistle in tune (both Ds tune accurately, I didn’t check the other notes with the tuner, yet) then took the point of a knife and scratched an index mark on the tube so I can line it up and be in tune right away.
Had the whistle come with such a mark in place, there would not be anything remotely negative to say about it at all. And this is hardly a detraction from the lovely instrument Erik makes.
As for playing, it takes less air than my Sweetone (I got the Session model), so I can squeek it a little bit. After an hour of playing it, I doubt I will have that problem any more. That’s a problem with me, not the whistle.
The sound is very clean, nice and sweet. I think I am blowing a little too hard, which makes the upper octave sound a bit breathy. I will have a better idea of that after I spend more time with it. My initial impression was that the upper octave was a little airy, but this morning I played Boys of Blue Hill and didn’t get that breathy sound, so I am thinking it really is just me.
The whistle is sterling silver and has a full tuning slide. The tuning slide offers enough tuning room to make it significantly flat or sharp. More than I can imagine ever actually needing.
I genuinely love the whistle and consider myself blessed to know Erik and his wonderful family. I’d love the whistle even if the maker was a stranger, but knowing the craftsman who builds these puts a personal connection there, too.
The disclaimer is that yes, Erik is a friend. He did not ask me to write a review, nor do I expect to receive anything from him as a result of my comments here. I am a self-taught and not-at-all-accomplished whistler, so you are not getting the opinions of a life-long pro, here.
I brought the whistle to work today so I could look at it and touch it any time I want. First time I’ve done that with any whistle.
-Patrick