Now that I’ve got everyone’s attention. I am an amateur whistle player who owns a clark tin whistle. I am looking to buy a whistle that is a little bit more professional. I want the whistle to produce a clear tone, to be in the key of D or Bb, and am willing to pay as much as $20. Again I am an amateur when it comes to whistle so I need as many recommendations as possible. And if you know of any good whistle websites to visit please post the URL. Thanks everyone.
Professional? thats a weird statement to make about a whistle 
Um, check out http://www.thewhistleshop.com, they’ve got quite a selection. Lets see, my personal favorite is my clarke sweet tone, inexpensive, pure and easy to play ($5-10)
-For a few dollars more you can get a Susato VSB Kildare (tunable) Soprano D whistle, and perhaps the VSB Dublin (nontuneable) is available by now for a little less. They have a clear tone and are well tuned and forgiving. - IMHO, their tone doesn’t match that
of some of the expensive whistles, but they are superb for the money, and great for honing skills and developing repertoire. I don’t think you can do better
anywhere near the price mentioned. These are real instruments.
-Generation Bb whistles are usually less
than ten dollars, seem well tuned, and can be tweaked to reduce the breathy
sound. If possible try these before purchase to ensure you get one you like.
If you’re prepared to stretch to $30-40, take a look at Dixon whistles. Now the cheapie of choice on this site.
But you can’t go wrong with a Clark Sweetone D.
All the cheaper brands come in at under $20 for a D, Clarke, Feadog, Generation, Waltons, Oak, Doolin, Clare.
Susato and Dixon usually cost a bit more in the UK, around $25.
For pure, clean tone at a low cost, I like the black anodised Feadog. My second choice would be an Oak, but the head has been giving people trouble of late with numb lips. On mine, I’ve switched it for a Feadog black Mark III head, and that seems to be a nice combination.
Of the cheaper brands, only Generation produce a Bb, so that would be my choice.
Heck, I’ve got a Clarke and its my favorite whistle! Not that I’ve gone high end or anything, but its the best of the 5 I have!
For the tone you want, a Hoover would fit the bill. However, it’s more than $20.
Good luck on your search.
Gary
Pudge, I’d like to ask why you’re choice is between a D and a Bb? If we knew, perhaps we’d steer you in one direction rather than the other, or perhaps in a different direction altogether.
If you want to play Irish music, you would definitely want a D. Bb would not be your second or third choice either. If you wanted to play with a very limited keyboard player or a guitarist you might go for a C instead of a D, but D would still be a good choice. Were you planning to do duets with tenor sax or trumpet—they’re Bb instruments? If not, I just don’t get it. You won’t find nearly as much to play along with in Bb to help you learn as you will in D or G.
Well it might be stretching your budget it a bit, but I think the Dixon Whistle is excellent. Once shipping is included it might cost a bit more than $20 (for the non tunable model) but the sound is very clean, much easier to play than either of my other whistles.
And, I must add, if you like a “clean” (by which I assume you mean “pure”) tone, you can’t go wrong with a (yes, you guessed it, folks) Cillian O Briain “improved” whistle from Shanna Quay. Absolutely lovely sound! Of course it costs a bit more than your high end ($34-$36) and you have to order it from Ireland, but you won’t be disappointed.
Redwolf
On 2002-10-16 01:59, Pudge wrote:
And if you know of any good whistle websites to visit please post the URL. Thanks everyone.
:roll:
I cast my vote for the Susato D. I piad $15 for mine and it has a much stronger/louder tone than the Clarkes I have.
In response to Wombat:
My reasoning behind a D and Bb whistle is:
1: D is the key that my clarke tinwhistle is in so that is what I have learned off of.
2: Bb is the key of a clarinet which I have played for around seven years now.
So that is why I want a Bb whistle. Although from the responses I got concerning the Bb whistle, it isn’t exactly the most popular whistle to play.
In truth I want to be able to play Jigs and slow soft songs that almost flow with the wind. Gosh I’m a romantic if I can make a statement like that I am also looking for music books to learn off of too.
Oh and btw. Thanks everyone for responding to quickly. This really helps. 
[ This Message was edited by: Pudge on 2002-10-16 18:20 ]
The Oak I have has a very pure tone, though some people complain about some sort of “buzz” they get out of theirs (though I suspect it’s due to overblowing - the Oak takes less breath than most whistles)
On 2002-10-16 18:15, Pudge wrote:
In response to Wombat:My reasoning behind a D and Bb whistle is:
1: D is the key that my clarke tinwhistle is in so that is what I have learned off of.
2: Bb is the key of a clarinet which I have played for around seven years now.So that is why I want a Bb whistle. Although from the responses I got concerning the Bb whistle, it isn’t exactly the most popular whistle to play.
In truth I want to be able to play Jigs and slow soft songs that almost flow with the wind. Gosh I’m a romantic if I can make a statement like that >
Oh and btw. Thanks everyone for responding to quickly. This really helps. >
[ This Message was edited by: Pudge on 2002-10-16 18:20 ]
Well, I just about guessed right—you play a Bb instrument. If you want to do multitrack recording with clarinet and whistle in keys that are easy for both then a Bb would be a good choice. But, given what you want to play, everybody here will tell you to start with a D. (You’ll probably get around to quite a few other keys eventually partly because you’ll want to accompany singers who’ll want to dictate key but also because they all seem to have distinctive and loveable personalities. I mean the whistles of course; not the singers. See, I’m a bit of a romantic too; but only just a bit.)
[ This Message was edited by: Wombat on 2002-10-16 23:20 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Wombat on 2002-10-17 12:23 ]