Hey!
I need opinions here, folks. I know that it’s like pulling teeth to get them out of you, but what do you think?
How many whistles ARE “too many”?
Thanks!
You don’t want my opinion!
Loren “I used to own well over a hundred and didn’t think that was too many” B.
No such animal…what if you sit on one? Or loose the one in the car, on in the john, or by your computer? Or if you want to give one away?
Let it shine! Anna “Dances with Weasels” Martinez
[ This Message was edited by: Anna Martinez on 2002-05-31 19:06 ]
Now here’s a can of worms. You’ll probably get as many variations in answers as there are members. My opinion is a couple of D’s and one each in any other key you find necessary. At least that’s what works for me. I have 3 D’s, 1 Eb, 1 C, 1 Bb, 1 A and a low D. Of course, there are a few carcasses here and there left over from surgery. Some people have multiples of each key. Whatever works for you, I suppose. Because I stick exclusively with a whistle I like, anything else just collects dust - waste of money and an instrument in my case.
Teri
One metal, one PVC and one wood…in every key!
Oops…edited because I forgot conical and cylindrical bores!
Oh yeah, sweet, medium and chiffy.
…and of course soft, medium and loud.
Uhhhh…no, you can’t have too many whistles!
[ This Message was edited by: vaporlock on 2002-05-30 21:23 ]
[ This Message was edited by: vaporlock on 2002-05-30 21:29 ]
[quote]
On 2002-05-30 21:14, Teri-K wrote:
Because I stick exclusively with a whistle I like, anything else just collects dust - waste of money and an instrument in my case.
Which is the one you play exclusively, Teri? (you knew someone would have to know that)
As to how many is enough…it’s one more than I have. And when I get my new order from Shanna Quay, one more than that. And when I get my new Parky that I ordered last week, one more than that. And when the Overton I ordered gets here, one more than that. And…
On 2002-05-30 21:32, blackhawk wrote:
Which is the one you play exclusively, Teri? (you knew someone would have to know that)
Exclusively in each key (sorry, should have been a bit more clear). That’s why multiple whistles in each key are wasted on me. My absolute favorite whistle is a Generation Eb. I have a Sindt D and A - everything else in the “high” range are Generations. Oops .. edit: the D Generation is a hybrid of a Clare body with a Generation head.
[ This Message was edited by: Teri-K on 2002-05-30 21:52 ]
Skywatcher,
asking how many whistles are too many on this message board is like asking a drug addict if he has too much money for his stash.
Basically we all suffer from various degrees of whistle addiction and further more, we are all in denial (me included). so:
Don’t listen to us. WE CANNOT HELP YOU!
You may have too many whistles when you spend more time looking for whistles than actually playing them.
You may have too may whistles when, at a session, you are well outplayed by a someone who just pulled out a generation brass and whose main instrument is a fiddle.
Otter
My husband used say that I had too many whistles…until HE started playing them!
Cheers!
I have too many that I don’t like anymore since I got my Burkes. The C Brass is awesome for airs. Alpro D worked out really well during the hot spell we’re havin in Bay Area.
All of my Feadogs got crummy after I unglued em. I guess I’m supposed to sandpaper em? i really was fond of them because they were my first whistles from way back when I managed a music store.
Anybody have this exact solution? They sound reedy where they used to be stable. I used beeswax to seal em good but they sound awful now. 
They are the very oldest Feadogs.
I know, read the archives: but most is Gen tweaking. Come to think of it, they sound crummy now too especially the Eb.
Is there a pattern emerging here?
I sincerely believe that most WHoa is initially caused by the fact that people keep hoping for a better one among the cheapies. By then, they’re hooked. Then they find out about good ones and get all worked up about it.
I want out frankly. I want Burkes in enough keys so I can accompany any singers key choices then maybe 1 cheap key duplicate except a healthy crop o’ Ds for philanthopy’s sake (Weasel lady has me thinkin that way).
Workin on it but the plastic is melting in my pocket from StevieJ’s two year obsession. Low whistles and fancy stuff beyond Burkes is far in future, I think, unless I get a raise.
Take it easy Skywatcher. Spend $100 for a Burke (or other premium) D and learn to play well (if you don’t already), along with records and stuff. You can chase cheapies all you want if you have the time but I wouldn’t do it again…
A suddenly serious Weekenders…
About the above, on tweaking, I supplied a few of my D whistles with a tiny blob of bluetack, just in the corner on the inside of the ‘window’ to make the windway about 1 mm narrower. It’s a variation on the theme of match-sticks, blow dryers, inserted guitar picks and the likes but it works a treat. The Oak sounds absolutely gorgeous now and the treatment even knocked a Susato into sumission, it plays nicely balanced and with decent octave now. Why bother getting an expensive one while learning so I still wonder. And by the end of the day, you end up playing only the one.
On 2002-05-31 04:19, Peter Laban wrote:
And by the end of the day, you end up playing only the one.
Here we go again…
Whistles are much like guitars, for the most part they all sound and play a bit different from one another, and therefor each one provides a different playing and listening experience. For many people, the accomplished players and not so accomplished alike, it’s simply FUN to have a bunch of different sounding instruments to play. You do understand FUN don’t you Peter =;^) And yes, we know YOU don’t think it’s fun to own or play a wide variety of whistles, but it’s different strokes for different folks then, isn’t it? Some might even say that’s what makes the world and interesting place.
Playing one whistle all the time is like drinking the same brand and vintage of wine everyday - even if it’s a great wine, tasting the same thing, day after day, becomes a bit boring. How can you appreciate something really great if you don’t occasionally have a taste of the mediocre or downright horrible? In fact, how is one to know and appreciate a really fine wine or whistle (expensive or not) until one has tasted many wines and played many whistles?
This whole notion of playing nothing but a single cheap whistle, day in and day out, strikes me a bit like an artist lifting his pallet loaded with different colored paints, and then using only the red paint, day after day, year after year…how monotonous. Certainly stunning art can be made with nothing more than a graphite pencil, and no amount or variety of color makes up for poor technique, or lack of inspiration, vision, and creativity…but why limit oneself unnecessarily?
Whistles are, relatively speaking, quite cheap, so why not experiment and try as many different ones as you can? Where’s the harm as long as you realize that like anything else: It’s not the hardware but the player who will make or break the music.
Granted Peter, some people are averse to change, others just prefer the comfort of the same old shoes day after day…but then often a new pair of shoes will feel much better than the old pair, once they’re broken in - Unless of course a person is just too stubborn to give up that crappy old pair long enough to give new shoes a try…
Shoes, wine, art…oh yeah, whistles! I guess that about covers it 
Loren
[ This Message was edited by: Loren on 2002-05-31 06:28 ]
On 2002-05-30 20:49, skywatcher wrote:
Hey!
I need opinions here, folks. I know that it’s like pulling teeth to get them out of you, but what do you think?
How many whistles ARE “too many”?
Thanks!
538 (unless you’re building a collection).
On 2002-05-31 06:18, Loren wrote:
Granted Peter, some people are averse to change, others just prefer the comfort of the same old shoes day after day…
Wait a minute…doesn’t Peter own a newish Sindt? I think he’s just in the WHOA closet 
Greg
Loren, while I wrote I realised it could open up the whole discussion again but it is not something to do again, points have been made by all sides. I did actually say there is no point in buying an expensive one while learning. I think you will agree with me there, it gives you time to learn the thing without spending a lot of money and will give you an idea where you want to go next.
By the way, I was in Custy’s yesterday. I ncomes woman ‘want tinwhistle, oen with a blue head, They are good aren’t they’ ‘Yes’ goes Frances Custy, pulls one out of the jar on the counter, wraps it ‘they are the best, ll teachers here use them. That’s 6.30 thank you’. Two minute job.
Different ways. And I am not trying to open that discussion again. Please NO.
When it takes more time to actually CHOOSE which whistle you want to play than the actual playing itself…THEN you have too many whistles!
tee hee!
This whole notion of playing nothing but a single cheap whistle, day in and day out, strikes me a bit like an artist lifting his pallet loaded with different colored paints, and then using only the red paint, day after day, year after year…how monotonous. Certainly stunning art can be made with nothing more than a graphite pencil, and no amount or variety of color makes up for poor technique, or lack of inspiration, vision,
I see it as the “paint” being the music, which varies day to day and supplies the excitement. The cheap whistle that I play is my brush. I’ve chosen the one that gives me what I want and has the qualities I find important to create the “painting”. I’ve tried other brushes and settled on the one that suits me. We all have our particular tastes. Some work the canvas with one brush, some use more.
Teri
How much money is too much?
How much love is too much?
How much ale… (burp)
Seriously, after collecting a bit, you will find a few that are your favorites. These will probably be high end whistles that you saved up for. Quality makes a difference, for sure!
Then, depending on your clothes, you will need a whistle color to match! 
Black is a color that goes with anything.
I have 4 whistles now and 12 more on order. (In assorted keys and tube material.)
When you have whistles that you have not played for weeks, you have too many. Send them to me. 
Gary
PS - Great posts Martin!
Too Many Whistles: one more than I have at any point in time.
I seem to be utterly content with what I have, until something new (to me) or different comes along.
With D whistles I want/need enough to suit different situations: quiet at home play (this is turning out to be the Feadog I), standard session play (my Burke WBB), cheap cheap cheap (the car whistles/purse whistle). Still trying to fit the lovely Thin Weasel in, but frankly it may be the ‘one too many’.
One really pleasant player in all the other keys I use: Burke C, A, Dixon F.
One all purpose low D. . .but I can’t decide which fits that description. I’m still rotating between the three I have, each with their strong points, each with serious drawbacks. So, two too many there, but I haven’t figured out which.
One in each potentially needed key: Gen Bb, Chieftan G. Lacking an E, Eb. HEY! I HAVE GAPS!
[quote]
On 2002-05-30 20:49, skywatcher wrote:
Hey!
I need opinions here, folks. I know that it’s like pulling teeth to get them out of you, but what do you think?
How many whistles ARE “too many”?
Skywatcher, it’s too late for us, but SAVE YOURSELF!