Does anyone have information about Grinter whistles? All I know is that Kevin Crawford and Sean Smyth of Lunasa play them (and they sound pretty amazing on the CDs). Does somebody own one? Did I miss a review for them on C&F?
Thanks!
You could always try the boards search feature. Just enter Grinter as a search word and it throws back some results, however the subject titles seem to point mainly at flutes.
Hope this helps some,
A
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Grinter whistles are wooden and rather thin-walled, but beautiful. They have a strong woody tone and when warmed, play very nicely. They do sometimes rebel against the second octave, but not enough to be a problem. If you get to know the whistle, you learn how to compensate. They also smell nice. However, they are extemely expensive compared to other whistles, and I don’t think the price is necessarily justified.
Jessie
I agree with Jessie’s comments.
I had a Grinter Low F and it was one of the best sounding, most beautiful whistles I’ve ever owned. I’d like to own another some day.
The downsides include: High price, high wind requirement (volume of air, not pressure), and difficult second octave notes above A.
My Grinter Low F sounded exactly like the recorded sound of Kevin Crawford’s on the second Lunasa CD - amazing.
I’ve heard Lunasa no longer play Grinter whistles exclusively. I believe they are playing some Overtons now - perhaps even on the latest CD, but I’m not sure about that.
The whistle tune on the last track of their new CD…it sounds like a Copeland to me. Anyone else notice this?
Loren (wishing he still had his Grinter) B.
[ This Message was edited by: Loren on 2001-10-25 11:49 ]
Hi Folks,
I did a flute workshop with Kevin last winter and asked him about the Grinters because he didn’t have them with him. He told me that one of them, Trevor I think, sat on the entire pile of Grinters and they all broke. They were waiting for Michael to make them a new set. It was really interesting to hear what Kevin thought about various whistles. I won’t say which whistles he didn’t like, but he said that in his opinion the Sindt was the perfect whistle and he wished he had a set of them. As far as playing Grinters exclusively, that’s never been the case. I think Kevin got his Grinter flute first and fell in love with it and then, somewhere along the way, Michael sent him a couple of his whistles. On the second CD I think the only Grinter whistle they play is the low F, but I could be wrong. The low F seems to be Mikes specialty, as Paul mcGratten has one as does some other big name player whose name I can’t remember at the moment. In concert I’ve seen members of Lunasa playing Grinters, Overtons, Chieftain/Kerry-Pro, Susatos and yes, even Generations. When I saw Kevin play with Moving Cloud he only played one whistle, and it was a Susato.
On a different note, I attended a dinner, concert and then an afterparty with Cormac Breathnac and Martin Dunlea and it was interesting hearing about how much Cormac loves his Susato whistles, which he plays exclusively except for two OLD Overtons made by Bernard himself. To hear him tell it, you’d think Susato whistles were a gift from the Gods. He even plugs them during his concert, going so far as to give the website to buy them. Both those guys are wonderful, kind and fun guys, though Cormac is a bit absentminded. We all spent the nite at his agents house and in the morning he had lost his wedding ring, which he never found, and he left about $800 in cash on the table and almost drove off without it. Crazy musical geniuses
Hah! Great stories Chris (except for Cormac’s missing wedding ring). Thanks for sharing them with us.
Now where did I leave that Overton Low C I’ve been looking for…
Loren
P.S. What I meant to say is that Lunasa no longer exclusively ENDORSE Grinter whistles…as they did on the Otherworld CD. I know they’ve played a variety of whistles all along.
Did Lunasa ever use the Grinter’s in live performances? Every time I’ve seen them, their low whistles were made of metal.
Paddy Keenan, on the other hand, did use a Grinter low F when he played in Ann Arbor on Tuesday. Great sound.
When I saw them in concert last years, they were playing metal whistles, maybe Overtons, or something like them. I didn’t know until just now that Grinter’s were wooden. I love the low F’s on Otherworld: The “Miller of Drohan” is one of the most beautiful whistle pieces ever, IMHO. And it’s interesting that they added a whole bridge section to the “Miller” that isn’t in the DeDannan version, where Lunasa got the tune.
Thanks for the info on Grinters!
Can anyone supply me with a mailing address for Mr. Grunter? I’d like to offer him a business deal…
Nevermind.
[ This Message was edited by: JessieK on 2001-10-26 21:58 ]
Yes, they did play Grinters in concert while they still had them. I saw them played the first two times I saw them in concert. And incidentaly, if you want to propose a business deal with Michael you might try writing his name GrInter not GrUnter. Do a web search for him and you’ll find his web site, which hasn’t been updated for several years, but nevertheless has some beautiful pictures and his e-mail address.
Chris