Does anyone have a recommendation for a high-level whistle that is an easy breather? Best whistle I have is a Burke narrow bore, which I love. I’m thinking of treating myself to a nice whistle for my wife to give me for Father’s Day. I imagine most will have a good sound, so easy breathing for this old man is pretty important.
I’m not sure what you mean by “easy breather”.
With all else being equal, a whistle with a higher windway takes less force of wind, but takes a greater quantity of wind. In other words, more air passes through the whistle as you play.
And a whistle with a lower windway takes less quantity of wind, but greater force of wind.
So are you meaning a whistle that’s more freeblowing but which you have to push more air through as you play?
Or a more air-efficient whistle, using less volume of air, that has more backpressure, requiring a stronger blow?
I’ve owned Burkes in a half-dozen sizes from Low D to High D, and they play remarkably the same.
They’re freeblowing, and real air-hogs, taking more quantity/volume of wind than any other make of whistle I can recall.
With them it’s not only the windway height but also the windway width, Burkes having as I recall a wider windway than the other whistles I’ve owned.
So a higher and wider windway and more air has to be sent through it. You have to take breaths more often.
Part of it is that Burkes have bigger bores, fatter tubes, for a given size than most other whistles.
Interestingly, the Burke “narrow bore” High D actually has a slightly wider bore than is standard for High D whistles. Their “session bore” is wider still.
If you want a really easy ride, John Sindt makes what’s possibly the best easy blower on the market. I’ve even heard people say they didn’t favour them because the air requirements were too low and they struggled to adjust.
They’re not loud whistles, but I’m old, asthmatic, and have no desire to stand out anyway, so I’d certainly like one. I’ve had the loan of one for an evening – it was lovely.
Sindts are hard to come by, but Killarneys are quite similar and easily available. They’re lovely whistles.
Eric
I was thinking a Kilarney as well.
Yep, 95% of the time I spend playing, it’s on a Killarney. Really easy blowers, and a nice traditional brass whistle sound.
Also, remarkably forgiving for beginners. It’s proving much more difficult for a friend’s overenthusiastic five-year-old to produce properly teeth grinding shrieks than it was on her cheap beginner whistle. 
Also, remarkably forgiving for beginners. It’s proving much more difficult for a friend’s overenthusiastic five-year-old to produce properly teeth grinding shrieks than it was on her cheap beginner whistle.
You’ll have to wonder then which whistle really was the beginners whistle, the foolproof one or the one needing skill and control to sound properly 
I think my friend’s just grasped that! 
She has one of my Killarneys on loan till the school summer holidays start, and says if her little girl hasn’t lost interest by then, she’ll stump up for one. She reckons it could give her an extra decade of functioning hearing.
Cillian O’Briain Tweaked whistle. I wish my higher end whistles had as nice of a second octave. Mine is about 20+ years old now…
Jay Ham is making some great whistles as well!
Ha! For sure my trusty old Feadog is such an easy blower that most people wildly overblow when they try to play it.
They’ll say “how can you play that thing?”
And when I picked up an $800 ornate Blackwood & Silver High D that was so stiff I could barely blast out the high notes I thought
“How can you play that thing?”
Is the Shush Pro a high-level whistle? It only requires a whisper of breath, or a whisper and a half in the second octave. (Literally.) Quiet, clean tone.