I am sorry to bother you all with another newbie question but the more I read the more I think I need some “professional” guidance. As of yesterday I did not know that an instrument called a “whistle” existed and I have never played any musical instrument before. I want to learn the whistle and need an instrument. I want to buy a high quality whistle to begin with. I am looking to spend $150 - $175 max and have narrowed it down to several brands: a high D burke or high D reyburn. I need an instrument that is easy to play and requires little air and plays sweetly and softly. I want as much as I can to get that warm and “haunting” celtic sound. Where I get confused is that some people say the Burke is very easy to play and the Reyburn is little harder for beginners. But then some people say the Burke’s tone is too boring or perfect. I want something soft and sweet and easy to play and gives me the warm haunting celtic sound as much as possible. I have heard the Sindt but I think the backlog is more time than I want to wait and I heard an Oden that sounded nice but not sure of the playability for a beginner. I also heard a Humpfrey that sounded suprisingly warm and "celtic. Also, if I did the Burke, would I be better off with the brass or composite ? the narrow bore or session ?
Have you read those posts from this last page such as: “What whistle should I be getting?” or “What whistle to get?”?
I really think that it’s not worth to spend u$s 150 dollars in a whistle if you have never played one yet.
You can buy 3 or 4 cheapies for less than u$s 50 - u$s 60. People say that Jerry Freeman Mellow Dog is very nice, and I think it’s a bit less than u$s 40. You can also buy a Clarke Sweetone or a MEG for 3-6 dollars.
The Dixon trad is very nice as well, and it’s less than u$s 30.
Another options are Oak, Walton’s, Feadóg, Generation. All of them for less than 10-12 dollars each one.
If the choice is between the Reyburn and a Burke, my recommendation is the Reyburn. It is everything you described and then some. Near perfect whistle.
If you decide upon the Reyburn, call Ronaldo and tell him exactly what you are looking for. He’s very easy to work with.
Good luck,
Mike
First thing, in order to avoid a big mistake, is to step back and realize that the beautiful, haunting, whistle sound you are seeking is going to be more related to your ability to play than to the particular whistle.
I suggest you start with a cheapie to begin with. If you find the whistle is something you can play, rather than just want to play then look into getting one that will drain your pockets.
The most common key to play with whistle is D, but especially for beginners, that second octave can very quickly overstep the ‘sweet’ sound you are wanting. I suggest that you get a brass Gen Bb. (Cheap at about $10US, but one of my favorite whistles since I first got one 30 years ago) for your ‘sweet’ and ‘haunting’ tones, as it is low enough to be easy on the ears and small enough to be easy on the hands. And for your first high D, go for a Jerry Freeman Tweaked Mellow Dog. It’s inexpensive (about $35US) and will give you a bit of an edge on knowing that any problems with your playing are likely with your technique rather than the whistle.
Do read those related threads. They are full of wisdom.
Hello and welcome to the Forum. I am assuming you are an adult and know that you want to buy a quality whistle and know your budget; so I will forego the usual “get a cheapie first” chant.
You have identified two fine makers, Reyburn and Burke. I own both; a Reyburn wide bore session and a Burke DBSBT wide bore session. Usually session whistle are relatively loud whistles; designed to be heard in a rather loud session; usually not a "blending whistle.
Each of these makers also make narrow bore whistles. Typically, in a norrow bore whistle you will find you give up a little strength in the lower register and gain a sweeter upper octave and they could be described more as a quieter blending whistle.
In terms of tone, the Reyburn has a complex tone while the Burke has a more pure tone; but it is not a boring tone, there is a bit of chiff.
Of the two makers, I would lean towards the Reyburn because of the complex tone that is somewhat reedy and darker. Both could certainly be described as Celtic simply because they are used by so many Celtic musicians.
Renaldo Reyburn and Michael Burke are fine people to deal with and would be open to talking to you about your needs.
Hello everybody!
I am also a beginner with this instrument, though not a beginner with music. I received my Freeman Mellow Dog D few days ago and I must say it is VERY GOOD for a beginner like me. I have also some Generations. Some of them work, some don’t. Thanks for the tweaking advices I found from the site, I already got my Bb sounding and playing much better. I’m going to continue tweaking with my other Generations.
As “anniemcu” pointed out, Freeman will give you a steady ground to start with. Besides, it’s fun to have inexpensive whistles as well. The more, the merrier.
There are couple of Freeman tweaked whistles in the ebay at the moment.
They take very little air to blow and aren’t “breathy” or “airy” and are fairly to really quiet, very nice in the octave and he makes whistles in every key you would want from low D up.
I have some of his PVC Whitcap whistles from Bb to C# so I can play along with different pitched uilleann bagpipe recordings in my juke box. They all play sweetly and softly.
I have a Generation brass tube D whistle with one of his Whitecap fipples on it and I have really enjoyed playing it.
I also have several of his pvc and aluminum low whistles as well as a Whitecapped Generation brass tube C.
I have Generation brass tube Bb with a Blacktop whistle, my favorite solo playing whistle.
Learn how to listen to Irish Traditional Music and get as many solo whistle albums as you can afford.
There are on-line tutors as well as various books, CDs and video tutors to start you on your way.
Going to one of the summer schools is a great help. You might check out the various tionols and find one that has a whistle teacher.
I’ll add another vote for the Mellow Dog, and also recommend that you pay the extra $5 and get a C body. That will run you just under $50 I believe and will get you a very good whistle.
Another option is Hoover, as mentioned above. You can get one of his brass D whistles, or buy a few cheapies and get Mack to make you a whitecap or blacktop. This will also put you in the $50 range.
Both Jerry and Mack have great reputations and will take care of you.
I have nothing to add, just welcome, and I concur with what the others have said–some good advice. Oh, and get yourself some recordings of good whistle players–you really learn the style by listening.
Tom
*stifling an urge to say “Mooniepie”–inside joke for those of us who have been here for a while. Kind of sings, doesn’t it?
Let us know how it goes. If you’re going to buy one whistle, you may as well add a few cheapies to your order. Then you can leave a whistle in your car and anywhere else a quick whistle may come in handy. And when you drop your whistle off the side of the boat, you won’t be so bummed if it’s a cheapie. When I started playing, I practiced during commercials. I couldn’t imagine the bother of keeping a nice whistle in nice shape during the learning stages. My most expensive whistle is a Susato. I am certain that even folks with expensive whistles own scads of cheapies. I bet even makers of fine whistles still own cheapies.
First thing, in order to avoid a big mistake, is to step back and realize that the beautiful, haunting, whistle sound you are seeking is going to be more related to your ability to play than to the particular whistle.
This is very important. It’s also important to realise that the haunting sound you heard is created by good microphones and the quality of your speakers.
Do as much research as you can before you spend that kind of money and remember that most makers offer a guarentee so you can effectively buy a whistle, play it for a while and decide whether to keep it.
Now, not all makers have Wal-Mart style return policies so tell the maker your story before you purchase and I’m sure they’ll be accomodating.
Warm haunting and sweet, eh? Sounds like a whistle being played a few streets away. Burke is good. Wear ear plugs to duplicate what people will hear from a distance.
hi there celticmoon, those are both great whistles, and a very hard choice. but as a beginner, i would start with a cheaper whistle, because if you practice with a cheaper one, then you will sound that much better with a more expensive one. it is kind of like a guitar student getting a Gibson Les Paul for his first guitar instead of a Squire, with a cheaper one, you will be able to have better breath control and other qualities.
I don’t have either. I have researched a lot of them. Look at the c&f review and tinwhistler.com review for help. Of the 2 I would choose reyburn. But given more freedom i’d get a sindt and order a jerry freeman tweaked generation or mellowdog for while I was waiting.
When you first start to play, you think that the whistle must not be good enough, so you buy a ‘better’ whistle and practice some more. You keep searching for that ‘magic’ whistle - the one that really suits you …You eventually get to where you have more whistle than you know tunes, and finally enough breath control and enough skill to make the ornaments recognizable, and you’ve got a few more tunes under your belt, that you can actually do the whistles a little justice. Out of boredom, or just because you happen across them again, you find a couple of the old ‘cheapies’ and you laugh, but give them a try anyway, and … by golly, … but you didn’t remember them being that good!
