High-end whistles worth the $$$? Wow.

Whistle
1

I’ve been studying/playing whistle seriously for a few weeks now, and after finding a couple of nice cheap whistles I’ve been wondering why anyone would pay upwards of $200 for a high-end whistle.

This weekend we had our Irish Festival here in Dallas and I got to toot on a wide range of whistles at the Hobgoblin Music booth (risking all sort of infectious diseases no doubt). I played, let’s see… Sweetheart, Harper, Howard, Alba, Susato, Kerry, Chieftain, Dixon and assorted others.

Many of the high-end whistles didn’t suit me, but some of them… wow! In particular, the Chieftains I played had such a complex, projecting sound with very reasonable wind requirements even for the lowest whistles. Still a little out of my price range… but worth saving up for!

2

high end cello- $100,000+
high end oboe- 7000=
high end piano- 30000+
high end uilleann pipes 10,000+
high end guitar- 5000+

as a whistle player, count your blessings

meir

1 Like
3

I’ve been thru several whistles..Some quite spendy,some not. The best for the buck for me is the Hoover Whitecap. It gives the tone,chiff,sweetness I want for very little investment. Mack is making a set of them for me right now from Oak C/D barrels.
Give his a try and I think you’ll be quite impressed with what you find..

4

If you were impressed with any of those, you should try some really high-end whistles. There are some beauties out there.

5

…well tweaked Generation…PRICELESS! :smiley:

6

With a high end whistle, you are buying something more than something that just plays well. There are plenty of inexpensive whistles out there that fill that need perfectly.
In addition to a whistle that plays the way you like it, you are buying something which is often the work of one person and is made with a lot of attention to details. Many makers will work with you to tweak the sound of that whistle to your exact specs. You are also buying something that looks more esthetically pleasing than a mass produced whistle, if that’s important to you. Not to toot my own horn, so to speak, but if the whistle is wood, it will truly be a one of a kind instrument since the graining and coloration of wood insures that no two pieces are exactly alike.
Do you NEED one? No. But if you love and appreciate fine, handmade things, you may want one. Or two. Or three…

7

As Jessie hinted, the whistles you tried are not what those with experience would regard as high end. It’s hard to say what the cut-off price is. Sometimes we class whistles as high-end because they are of consistently high quality, even though they fall into the mid-price bracket. I think of Sindts as like that.

I don’t think there is a clear correlation between price and quality and individual whistles from the same maker can vary quite a bit. I like some $100 whistles more than I like certain $300 whistles. And, as Blackhawk said, buy a well-tweaked Generation and you are playing a superb instrument. You might even get lucky and get a superb Gen straight from the box. There is no guarantee that by forking out big bucks you’ll like what you get. But if you try a few high-enders, base your choices on consensus of informed opinion and personal preference, it’s very unlikely that you won’t end up with a great whistle that you’ll love for years. You can always sell the rest for roughly what you paid for them too.

8

This is all of it true. And the Chieftain low whistles
aren’t finished as nicely as more expensive whistles,
at least not the ones I’ve seen. However I confess
that I like them very well, tonally, for the reasons
mentioned in the first post.

9

I agree with Wombat. Also, bear in mind that even within the same maker, some will be great and some won’t.

10

Cases in point:

I like the way my Overton low d plays. It has a classic sound, reasonable breath and back preassure (for me). It is an aluminum tube. $200 plus

My wife likes the way my O’ Briain low d sounds. The sound is more pure. It has less back pressure and higher breath requirements. Also an aluminum tube. $200 plus and not being made any longer.

We both REALLY like the way my Bleazey Low d sounds, plays, looks, feels ect ect… This one is a wooden whistle, mopane, that is truely a piece of art and a joy to play. Renee says it sings to her. $500 plus and worth EVERY pence I paid for it, it makes my wife swoon!

All of these are fine, playable and good sounding instruments. Each has a place in someones collection. You will find that until you have tried several you will not REALLY know what it is you like or want in an instrument.

For us it is the Bleazey.

Editted to add:

I no way intend to imply that the more expensive an instrument the better it is. This is truely a personal choice. My main point is that you will need to try MANY instruments before you will KNOW what you like. This will take time, and yes, money.

11

Really?!? Man, the dollar is suffering!

12

Tell me about it. After fees and everything it was near 1.9 to 1 for US to UK pounds. :astonished:

13

Hee hee, that’s about as politically correct a comment as I’ve ever heard Jessie speak here :laughing: Pending motherhood must be mellowing you out Jessie :wink:

Loren

14

Having a whistlesmith craft an instrument with your particular needs and style in mind can certainly result in an instrument well worth the price! My two examples:

  1. A Ski Pole Hoover C that Mack made for me - one of the loudest Hoovers you’ll ever hear, and perfect for what I wanted!

  2. My Overton low D fits me perfectly. Colin really achieved the things I was looking for in a low D, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Worth every penny I spent on it.

As others have stated, an instrument isn’t automatically great because of the price tag - it boils down to how you play, what your needs are, and what instrument will fit those needs. (which can also justify having a huge assortment on hand, since our needs tend to change frequently… :laughing: Now if Vicki would only buy that line of reasoning for outbreaks of WhOA!!!)

15

YES! I recently got hold of a Burke high D session whistle and it almost plays itself. All the little adjustments you need to make even a mid end whistle sound really nice are eliminated.

As previous posters have said, under $400 for a top end instrument is pretty amazing.

16

This discussion has been had here many times, but what my half-century of experience has taught me is:

With High D Whistles (and nearby pitches from Eb to around Bb) there’s usually isn’t a correlation between price and playing quality.

IMHO the best High D whistles ever made are the very best of the vintage Generations. IMHO the best whistle I’ve ever played in any key at any price is the Generation C got around 1980.

In fact when I started playing (1970s) the Generation was the only D whistle I saw anyone play. Your instrument-acquisition-arc went like this: as a beginner you got whatever Generation D you could find quick, then started a lifelong search for that Holy Grail Generation D. So, newbies and the Mary Bergins of the world all played the same whistle, but oh no certainly not the SAME whistle.

I’ve played, over the decades, several hundreds (maybe thousands) of High D whistles and none have quite matched my trusty old Feadog D got around 1980 EXCEPT a few quite superb vintage Generations which were the cherished possessions of fine players and not for sale.

The closest to those have been some of the Freeman Tweaked Generations I’ve played, and the whistles by Jon Sindt and some of their Killarney clones.

The furthest from that ideal have been some “Boutique whistles” (or “Barbie whistles”) that is gorgeous whistles crafted from exotic hardwoods and precious metals that just don’t play very well IMHO. They’re made for a different market, I believe.

Then with Low D Whistles (and nearby pitches ranging from around Mezzo F to the Bass whistles) you DO get what you pay for, in a specific price range.

There’s a place where the best alloy Low D Whistles sit, say between $300 and $400, the whistles by Goldie, Reviol, Lofgren, MK, Reyburn, and others. These all give a professional level of performance yet each is distinct in certain ways. (I’ve played them all and settled on the Goldie as the best for me.)

Below that and you just don’t get that same performance.

Oddly, above that $300-400 price point you don’t get that top level performance either, with the “Boutique” Low Whistles, once again of precious woods and metals but IMHO lacking in performance.

I’ve played several of these “Barbie” Low Whistles costing $700-900 and I wouldn’t pay a bent penny for any of them- they’re just not good enough.

Bottom line, a distinction should be made between “high performance whistles” and “high price whistles”. The term “high end whistles” is too vague IMHO.

17

Interesting that this looks like the revival of a 22 year old thread. I wonder how proficient the original poster is at playing whistle two decades later and how he feels about high-end whistles now! That said, the current insights of @pancelticpiper were interesting to me. I’ve been playing flute and whistle for around 2 years. I own a mere 5 whistles (4 high D one Bb) ranging from $10 to $100 in value. And while I generally like the $100 whistle best, I have found that my opinions of the whistles have changed dramatically as my playing has developed. I now think the least dear and oldest whistle is my second favorite, whereas two years ago I thought it was unplayable. I guess just to say that what whistle works for you at any given time can shift as your playing proficiency or style changes. It seems like in my case, the whistle I was dismissing wasn’t the problem. It was my inability to play it!

2 Likes
18

Fun to see this pop up again… I call myself a professional whistle player these days. Celtic band plus church gigs around the area (I’m the only whistle player listed with the local musicians union). Here’s what I carry currently:

  • Low D: Brass Copeland (flute-like); Burke Viper (cosmic drainpipe)
  • Low E, F, G, A, B-flat: Chieftain
  • C: Wild Irish, Silkstone
  • D: Nickel Copeland, Susato (loud); Freeman Blackbird (soft)
  • High E-flat: O’Briain Improved
  • High F, High G: Gary Humphrey

There are lots of church choir anthems with whistle parts these days, but composers rarely understand how to write idiomatically or transpose correctly, so being able to cover most keys is required. I have a couple of videos on YouTube about my experiences (search for “Whistle Math”).

Of course I have a drawer full of also-rans. The Wild Irish & Humphreys are the latest additions; the rest I’ve had for 15+ years. (The Wild Irish I bought last fall was a frustrating circus due to the current tariff mess, but it’s a really nice whistle and McNeela has good customer service.)

19

My personal experience after shopping around for whistles in all price ranges is that high end whistles can be worth it if it’s the right whistle for you, and midrange whistles are often not so worth it.

I tried a number of midrange ($50-$150) whistles, and they all had something or other about them that I didn’t love given the pricepoint whether it was tone, intonation, or shoddy craftmanship (won’t name any names).

Whereas when I tried a Burke whistle, it knocked it out of the park in all dimensions for me. I think there’s something to be said for the care that a high-end maker is able to put into each individual instrument, and I’m happy paying $300 for an instrument that suits me perfectly as opposed to $100 for an instrument that doesn’t quite. Others have better experiences with midrange whistles. I would find Killarney whistles just about perfect if I liked the sizzling bright tone more.

20

Dlovrien that’s awesome that you have some Copelands! The good ones are the Holy Grail for me. However I ordered a Copeland Low D years ago and when it came it was horrible. I sent it back.

About Church music, I’ve also encountered wonky Uilleann Pipe parts.

Have you done Season Of Joy?

I was rehearsing that with an ensemble of “legit” players, the uilleann pipe part was fine, then suddenly I found myself playing in the wrong key to everybody else.

When things went awry I looked over at the flute guy’s part, his was in F and mine was in G!

What it was, the uilleann piper was meant to switch from a D chanter to a C chanter at one point (making the uilleann pipe part sound a full step lower than written) but this wasn’t indicated in the music.

The good news is that I always kept a C chanter my pipe case, because I often have to play in the keys of C and F.

What an unsuspecting piper who showed up with just a D chanter would do, who can say.