Very cool signature Walden 
Being a collector of many instruments, I’m now up to 90 whistles!
How many do I play? Only about 7 of them.
~Larry
Clark Original D w/diamonds
Sweetone D
Walton’s Mellow D
Walton’s D
Generation Tabor Pipe
Generation G
Yamaha 321 (oh wait that’s a tuba)
On 2003-02-23 19:40, Chuck_Clark wrote:
Brace yourself Wombat, the SADS (Susato Anti-Defamation Society) will be along soon to getcha! I never say stuff like that any more - I’d rather post on religion than risk the concentrated displeasure of SADS.
Well, I’ve not seen or played a Susato, but you may be right.
| S•A•D•S
The Susato® Anti-Defamation Society
"Because Susatos® are whistles too."
|
Lessee…
First was a black Clarke D with diamonds
then a Feadog D
then a Susato D
then a Clarke unpainted D
and a Chris Abell D
then my car (with the two Clarkes in it) got stolen, so I bought…
another Clarke D unpainted
a Sweetone D, black head and unpainted body
My car was recovered, the thieves did NOT steal my whistles or my black plastic Cooperman fife that also lives in the car.
So that makes 7 whistles… so far. I resisted buying an Oak. I played two lovely high end D metal whistles but have no idea what they were. One brass, one silver colored. One of them may be my next purchase. I also played a lovely low F whistle, which may be my first foray out of the realm of D.
I also have 2 good Bb fifes and an Irish flute.
Conley, why do you keep a whistle that tastes bad and stings? But maybe you can’t explain it any better than I can explain why I still have my Yamaha plastic C fife. It is a monstrosity and a total outcast.
madfifer9
and no, I do not know who the first 8 madfifers were
On 2003-02-24 08:46, burnsbyrne wrote:
I got a Dixon 6 weeks ago and it is holding off any symptoms of WhOA, I hope until after our trip to Ireland in May.
Mike
What parts of Ireland are you planning to visit, Mike? Beautiful country, beautiful people - I especially love the west coast, West Cork, Clare & Galway.
I don’t want you to be disappointed, but it sounds like you’ve already got most of the types of whistles you’ll encounter in Ireland - they just don’t go in for the high end stuff much. You’ll see Waltons & Feadogs (in myriad colours, but usually High D - make excellent presents!) in tourist shops, and Oaks, Susatos, and Generations in specialist music retailers. You may see Clare & Doolin whistles, especially in the west, probably the 2-piece sort.
People who play other makes (and keys other than D) are usually professional players who source them outside of Ireland, and even then play them more as a change of pace than as a main instrument.
Others may have had a different experience, but this is what I have seen in visits over the last 3-4 years.
Martin,
We are planning 3 nights in Dublin to start, then to Clare with a B&B in Ennis to coincide with the Fleadh Nua. From then on we’re planning to be flexible, go wherever sounds like fun. I wasn’t really planning on buying whistles in Ireland, although I may pick up a cheapie for a souvenir. My comment about waiting until after the trip was in reference to spending on the trip as opposed to spending on a high-end whistle. Since I have the Dixon and really like it I can wait a while before buying an O’Riordan or the like.
Mike
On 2003-02-25 01:38, Walden wrote:
On 2003-02-23 19:40, Chuck_Clark wrote:
Brace yourself Wombat, the SADS (Susato Anti-Defamation Society) will be along soon to getcha! I never say stuff like that any more - I’d rather post on religion than risk the concentrated displeasure of SADS.
Well, I’ve not seen or played a Susato, but you may be right.
S•A•D•S
The Susato® Anti-Defamation Society
-------]|]•--------------------------•-------•-------•-------•-------•-------• "Because Susatos® are whistles too."
Steady on now. I don’t defame Susatos. I just share my views on how best to tweak them. Gee, a search of the archives will show that I was once a bit SAD myself.
Feadog D(the fipple is ruined though)
Clarke Original C
Generation E flat(awsome sounding and my cheapest)
Generation D
Susato D(most expensive High I have right now)
Howard Low D
Chieftian Alto F(INCREDIBLE)
So there you have it, I have 7 whistles and counting!!!
Counting sets of 2-3 tubes with one fipple as one whistle, I currently have 69 handmade whistles.
Jessie, you should open a museum. It will be a pilgrimage place.
Best wishes,
Jerry
why would jessie need to open a museum jerry. that sounds like a veiled insult, or maybe jealousy. one of the 7 deadly sins. i think the museum has already been opened in alabama by dale wisely who has, i am told, 690 whistles. collecting is the highest form of art appreciation. oh yes, on topic, - I have five whistles and am looking for a child (or childhren) to give my tweaked sweetones to.
I probably have between 30 and 40, no high-end ones yet. I have several Generations, having been on the quest for the Holy Grail of good ones. Got several Susatos, Clarkes, maybe a Shaw thrown in there, also a couple of Waltons. My favorites are my tweaked Clarke and my Dixon. Also love my Gen Bb, which is the only good one of the lot I’ve found so far. The only low ones I have are Susatos, which I don’t like much, even though I like the soprano ones OK.
I didn’t realize Dale has so many whistles.
There could be more than one whistle museum. Jessie lives within driving distance; Dale doesn’t.
The two most exquisite pieces of woodworking I’ve ever encountered were the Hellier Stradivarius and a wood carving by Grinling Gibbons, both made available to the public through museums.
Best wishes,
Jerry
P.S. It isn’t clear what you meant by your comment, but I want to be sure you understand, if you have tweaked Sweetones you’re not happy with, I want to know. Over time, I’ve developed variations that accomodate some of the differences from whistle to whistle. I’ll refund your money or replace the whistle(s) if you’re not pleased with them.
P.P.S. I wasn’t serious about the whistle museum suggestion. It was an oblique way of saying that it would be nice to be able to visit such collections and see all the different whistles. I agree with your comment about collecting being one of the highest forms of appreciation.
Some of you amaze me. I have 19 whistles and one homemade pvc flute which drives me crazy. 12 of the whistles are generations. The most expensive is a Susato D. My Favorite is the first purchase I made, a Feadan D. I bought it about 1983 in an Irish shop at the Brick Market in Newport, RI. I am saving pennies now for something a little more high end. I am also thinking about a homebrew low whistle. I made one low D that was almost as good as a very poor Feadog.
Ron
Sop’ whistles
Alba Q1 D
Dixon tunable original D
Dixon tunable brass slide D
Chieftain non tuneable D
Sweetone D (car whistle)
mezzo/sop
Alba Bb tunable
Generation (tweaked and now tunable) Bb
Chieftain low F tuneable
Tenor
Dixon tunable D
Overton nontunable D
Kerry Pro D
Alba tunable Bb
That makes 12.
All the others have been given away, some singly, some went to Cuba for an extended holiday. The Overton is being borrowed at the moment, but I expect a new Alba will be replacing it soon.
ps
Dixon D flute. Home made shakuhachi. Home made quenna. Xaphoon. Home made sax that started out as an experiment to make a whistle-fingered reed instrument.
But those don’t count do they
Well, I’ve tried Susato now. I must confess that I like them a mite better than I expected to. They have a nice strong tone.
a little over 30, most of them are inexpensive ones, I’m selling most of them on ebay but I’m keeping my copeland nickel D, a sweetone in C, my water weasel in D, my howard low D and a set of brass generations.
It varies from week to week.
About 15 Shaws in various keys,
About 20 Sweetone D
5 Sweetone C
1 Burke WWB D
1 Erle Bartlett Synwhistle D
1 Dixon low D combo
1 Susato low D Dublin
1 Seery D
1 Susato G Dublin
1 Groovewhistle just intonation D
An assortment of Generation-type whistles in various states of tweaking, including a mysterious jumble of extra tubes and heads. Several of the tweaked Gen-types are really excellent whistles.
Except for the Sweetones, all but one Shaw, three LBW heads and a Feadog, all of these whistles were given to me by members of this board (or traded, in one case, for a snowball, which remains in my freezer in case its rightful owner shows up on my doorstep to claim it). I’ve tried to return the kindness by giving away quite a few tweaked Sweetones, tweaked Gen-type whistles and a tweaked Shaw.
And special thanks (again) to Jessie K, who gave me my first whistle, a blue Sweetone D. (Jessie, eventually, I’ll be sending you a whistle, but you’ll have to be patient. It may take a few months for the whistle I have in mind to come into being.)
Best wishes,
Jerry
One more than I did yesterday. . . 