Can anyone compare Harpers with other high end whistles? They look great but how do they sound and play compared to Overtons, Thin Weasels, Burkes, Abells…
A Harper high d non-tunable was my first expensive whistle. It’s the loudest whistle I own. The second octave is reallly loud. The windway is very narrow, so you have to blow with a lot of pressure, but you don’t send a high volume of air through. On long tunes, I feel oxygen deprived from holding my breath and expel air through my nose or around the whistle to refill my lungs sooner. (This situation gives you the advantage of playing long passages without replacing your air if you want, but it can get uncomfortable.) The middle octave d has to be played with the left index off the top hole or it honks loudly and embarrassingly. When you go for a high a or b, you really have to blast into it or it will give you a low octave note with a goose-like honk. The tone of the whistle is interesting. Kind of reedy in the direction of a flute. Not a traditional Generation kind of sound, at all.
I own an Abell blackwood d and Burke brass d. They are both quite a lot easier to play. The Burke has closer to a “traditional” sound. The Burke is the quietest of the three. The Harper the loudest.
If you’re a new whistle player, I’d be cautious about getting a Harper. If you’re really intrigued with them, try one out for a week before deciding. I tried one in a store before buying mine. It’s true nature didn’t really manifest until I owned it awhile. That’s true of whistles in general as you become accustomed to them and figure out their potential. My recommendation is you really want to try it before commiting.
Good luck,
Tony
I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll give it a shot. I recently purchased two sets of Harpers, a D/C set and an A/G set, second-hand from a C&Fer (thanks Clark!). These are among my first high-end whistles, I’ve been playing Generations and Waltons for years, and a few months ago I got a delrin Seery (which takes much air, but has a slightly reedy tone, which I like) from Shanna Quay.
Anyway, the Harpers… the D is lovely, I’ve had no trouble with the breath requirements, and the tone is sweet (less reedy than the Seery) and loud. Same for the C, although the tone is a bit breathier, I haven’t had any problem getting a solid, in-tune sound through two octaves. Both of these require more air pressure than the cheaper whistles I’ve played, but they’re similar to the Seery, and I’ve been able to adjust pretty easily.
I’m having a bit more trouble with the A and G, but this is more likely due to the fact that I haven’t played anything lower than a Bb before. I’m getting more comfortable with them over the past few weeks, but there’s still quite a bit of buzz in the tone, particularly around that pesky middle D (which I’ve always played with my left index finger up; doesn’t seem to help). Again, that may be me. I’ll need to spend a bit more time with them to see if the tone improves as I develop more breath control.