I know there are members here who have played Sindts for years.
But I’m a newbie to them. Just a few weeks ago I picked up a used Sindt A/Bb/B set, three bodies one head, and I was very impressed! Especially with the Bb body (for which, I’m guessing, the head was designed) the Sindt is a wonderful player. It has all the qualities I love, that are found in the very best vintage Generations, especially the extremely sweet easy 2nd octave, but with more evenness and roundness and also an extra ‘something’ in the tone.
I had been using a Burke aluminum A and a Freeman Generation Bb, but the Sindt (with the respective bodies) was clearly superior to both, for various reasons. (Of course the Sindt set cost more than the other two put together. You still can’t beat a Freeman Generation for value.)
Just this week I picked up a used Sindt high D and it’s wonderful too. I have to admit that it’s clearly better than my cherished c1980 Feadog MK1.
This all has created considerable consternation in my whistle roll, with a number of whistles who had become accustomed to occupying their (as they thought) Rightful Slot being deposed and relegated to a bureau drawer.
I will say that the crossfingered C natural is too sharp on the high D Sindt, something I’ve seen commented upon in the past. Interesting that the corresponding note to C natural on the A/Bb/B set is fine. On the high D, by the way, the crossfingered high C natural is delightful, and I wonder if he was going for that.
So I’m really into playing these Sindts right now and any feedback or input from other Sindt owners would be appreciated.
I need two more, by the way, to have The Sixth Sindt.
I play a Sindt high D. I’m still newbie-ish and learning everyday. I practice on a very few whistles just for the feel & tonal differences, and I prefer wood. Freeman Bluebird and Sindt D are the final go to whistles for my learning tunes. In the end, if I make mistakes playing a tune I am assured its not the whistle’s fault.
This grasshopper to the sage can only suggest complete your Sixth Sindt as you’ll never regret it. Enjoy!
For the D, what’s interesting is that when I switch tubes from the original tube to a Feadog tube the 2nd octave is a bit flatter. The tubes appear to be from identical brass tubing. I have gauges to measure the IDs and I’ll do that soon to find out if the tubes really are the same. The Feadog tube was dusty inside so I swabbed it out clean and gleaming, so the 2nd octave flatness isn’t from an obstructed bore.
Yes I’ll try an Eb Generation tube in the D head and see what happens.
Hardly a day goes by that I don’t spend some time on my Sindt whistles, and I am fortunate to have them in every key John makes. T’was not easy putting the whole set together, but
once I played me first, I knew I had to have the whole set.
Enjoy them Mate, and keep at building the whole set, ye won’t regret it.
I’m going to bet that the Sindt tube’s holes are bigger (on average) than the Feadóg’s. In theory, all else being equal, bigger holes make for a sharper second octave.
I have both whistles right here, and the tubes are not identical. Very slightly different width (One needs a slight sanding to fit into the head of some of the sindt D’s), completely different type of brass, in appearance, anyway (different colours), and hole sizes are different.
I’m guessing Feadogs probably had different tubes at some point.
I have been using the Sindt D for my ‘playing out whistle’ for over a decade and it has served me well. And while I love the whistle I do notice that during that period it never became the whistle I’d pick up when at home. I have thought about this over time but I am not completely sure why this is the case. Interesting enough the Killarneys have taken over, especially the Eflat, as my go-to whistle for a quick tune around the house. They, perhaps, possess a sweetness I don’t find in the Sindt D.
When I pick up a whistle for a quick tune around the house, I find myself giving the whistle less air than I might for more “serious” playing. Only certain whistles respond well to this, playing sweetly and in tune.
When I pick up a whistle for a quick tune around the house, I find myself giving the whistle less air than I might for more “serious” playing. Only certain whistles respond well to this, playing sweetly and in tune.
I ordered a Sindt D in the 1990s when John had no waiting list and sent his whistles out on approval - pay if you like it sort of thing. I thought it had a lovely clear sound - probably better than any Sindt I have tried since - but that it was no better than the very good Generation I was playing at the time. And so I sent it back!
It sounds crazy in retrospect, but having adopted the whistle as my primary instrument (injury forced me to abandon my first love, the fiddle, or if you like the fiddle abandoned me) I suppose I was looking for something with the same characteristics as my Generations, but louder. I never found it of course and after messing around with various Burkes, Reyburns and Lord knows what else I came to the conclusion there was nothing better than a good Generation.
I did buy a few Sindts later, though, and like Richard found that the Bb is the best of them (the A body on the Bb head doesn’t have the same charm). Unlike Richard, I don’t think any of them, including the Bb, sound better than the best Generations - I find they lack that vital little airy sheen in the sound. I do think they’re very good to have because they are never going to crack or warp. I wish the head on them wasn’t so disproportionately heavy though.
Yes I agree, there’s nothing quite like a really good Generation. That’s the thing, Generations appear to be nearly infinitely variable, and whatever a particular player’s specific likes are, he will sooner or later probably find a Generation that’s perfect for him.
I found ‘the perfect’ Generation C for me, back over 30 years ago, and I still stand by it. But I never found a Bb or a D that was anywhere near that good, at least not for sale.
That’s what this Bb and D Sindt are for me, the great vintage Generations I never had.
I’m playing the D Sindt head on an old Feadog body, which I’ve carved quite a bit, so that it plays right in tune for me.
On that tube Bottom D and middle D were sharper than the notes made with the fingerholes.
I could have made a brass tubing extension to bring D into line, but it was easier to carve out all the holes. Well, holes 2 through 6, because I like having C# a bit on the flat side, so I left hole 1 be.
It plays quite well in tune now.
Back in the 1970s I was first getting into whistles and I got a couple Generation Ds and they exhibited a tuning approach which I thought strange but at the same time it had a certain logic to it.
The 2nd octave was considerably flat of the low octave.
As you fingered up the scale in each octave the notes became increasingly flat.
The logic was that the higher notes of the low octave gradually approached the flatness of Middle D, and the next note, high E, was the sharpest note of the 2nd octave. In other words the flattening was steady and progressive across the two octaves and players could learn to play the things in tune.
The Sindt D exhibits a mild form of this approach.
I just stuck a tiny bit of poster putty in the upper end of the bore right inside the bell. Then I left the holes alone. I’ve carved holes on a bunch of cheapies, and I’ve gotten to the point where the carved holes look okay, but still don’t feel as nice to the finger as an uncarved hole. The fewer holes I have to modify, the better, to my way of thinking. (XXO XXO for 2nd G# didn’t go sharp that way, either.)
