I saw a green-top Generation Brass D at a store in Manitou Springs Colorado. It was labeled as a folk whistle. Is it like this from the factory, or did someone just change the mouthpieces on a bunch of Gens?
My favorite whistle is my green topped Gen D. It just seems “right” to me, that Irish music should be played on a green fippled whistle. After all, Ireland is the Emerald Isle.
Yeah, it was a new line they brought out a year~ish ago so gullible but sweet natured and devilishly handsome individuals like Blackhawk and me would rush out and buy one, when we already have the bluetop and redtop flavours.
I think they may have been worried about competition from Clare, Doolin, Walton & Feadog, all made in Ireland and all having green tops.
I keep trying it to see if it really does sound different from the normal redtop. I just can’t be sure.
Actually that does raise the question of why nobody has ever brought out a splotchy multicoloured plastic fipple, like the Clown Barf guitar picks.
Maybe the coloursplash would be inherently weak at the joints (though the picks do not have this problem) or maybe we whistlers are considered a conservative bunch who aren’t up for a laugh and couldn’t handle all the attention such a fipple would attract.
And let all your hair drop out and grow your head to look like a fat potato with a disfiguring skin condition. I burnt my baldy bonce in the sun on Friday and now I look like I have terminal dandruff.
I have one of these green jobs. Good whistle, except I had to enlarge hole 5 so that the F# would play more in tune. Next to a tweaked Walton Mellow D it’s my favourite.
The greentop Generations have a bigger windway than the redtops. I don’t know if this affects the sound or not. At least the one I have does. It’s noticeable if you put the two whistleheads side by side.
As to the F# playing “flat” on the factory run tube, that’s typical of many pennywhistles. It appears to be a carryover from just intonation.
A “perfect” third (the one a singer, violinist, etc. will use to create spot-on harmonies) will be about 13 cents flat to an even tempered third (piano, fretted instruments, etc.). Some whistles (Feadogs, Oaks) have the third tuned to even temperament, others (Generations, etc.) have the third closer to just intonation, although there are often other pitch inaccuracies.
I have a green-top Gen D which is a lovely whistle.
In fact, the last several Gens I have bought were all good right out of the box. There has been speculation their quality control may have improved recently, which would explain things.
I have a green-top, red-top, and blue-top which were good here…all three have a larger windway than an older blue-top which required tweaking to play well. Also the older one had some plastic “spurs” which had to be removed, and the new good ones all have very clean fipples, no spurs or sharp seams.
I’ve got a green top gen C that is a very good sounding whistle.So good, in fact, that I’ve never seen the need for anyother C whistle. However, it must be of a different bunch since I’ve had the thing for many, many years(perhaps as long as 15 yrs or more? I really don’t remember exactly how long ago I got it, but I have had it for years and years.