I went to my first session last night, and it was a lot of fun. I explained to the leader that I had purchased two cheap pennywhistles, a nice Bodhran (Metloef), and a flute from Mr. Tipple, and I really didn’t play any of them well yet, he laughed and said I had a common malady in Irish music circles known as Instrument Acquisition Disorder.
To top it off, I figured out real quick last night that you need a tuneable whistle to play in a session, so I ordered a Tony Dxon tuneable, with the brass tuning section.
At least I feel good about myself that I haven’t gone and bought any really expensive whistles or flutes yet. But I am sure it’s coming soon.
You could’ve saved yourself some money by figuring out the head-loosening trick to make
a cheap whistle tuneable… y’might read the main site sometime. But don’t let that stand
in the way of buying more whistles.
I’m in the process of succumbing to concertina insanity…I am seriously considering purchasing damaged decent ones to try to fix up, and also getting on a TEN YEAR waiting list for a really high demand maker…I figure in ten years, I’ll have the money.
Oh for the days of dixons, laughings and copelands! LOL
(PS if anyone knows someone with a damaged concertina they’re willing to let go, get in touch! )
I wish I could help you. I just acquired some money for my birthday, and I just KNOW that it NEEDS to be used for whistles. I can hear them calling to me…
I played in a session a couple of weeks back with a group of great guys. Your right…a tunable whistle is the best fit. Something else I thought produced a wonderful sound was my Chieftain Low D and another player playing a soprano D. The two whistles really played off each other well. But I still had to tune mine up with the other band members.
I have tried tuning a LBW or Oak, but its not as good a a high end tunable instrument.
Enjoy the Dixon. I have a tunable soprano D from Tony and its one I’ll keep for life.
Bask in WhOA … it’s a great disease. Of course, I have, at this point in time, 5 whistles on order, plus a flute … (love Tony Dixon’s - have soprano D, Low D, Mezzo A & G)
IAD - is a chronic disorder with me that’s needs some management. I usually turn up at a session with a mandolin, whistles, harmonica, bodhran even bones! Fortunately I can’t play them all at once so the superflous instruments generally get picked up by other session members . I’ve also got other instruments including guitars and keyboards.
I suppose that makes me a the Homer Simpson of intrument collecting - DOH!
Dixons are nice I have a plain plastic D and one of the plastic/alum ones with the brass slide. A wee bit cloggy, and a bit quiet for many seesions I would have thought, but very nice whistles and I’ve seen a great deal of praise for Tony D’s professionalism too.
Instrument acquisition. Grrr… it’s incurable. So far I only have the milder form. To date my symptoms include about 40 whistles, three guitars, two bass guitars, a keyboard, 3 bodhrans, a djembe, a mandolin, a harmonica…
Currently feel myself drawn towards the idea of a tenor banjo… but I think the wife might take a little convincing.
Wow… I gues I have it a little worse than that. Lessee…
Only 12 or so whistles.
Full set of Uilleann pipes
Bodhran
Mandolin
3 flutes
3 guitars
6 harmonicas
1 set of bones
shakers (various and sundry)
3 trombones
3 keyboards (driving 5 synths)
a host of composition and recording hardware, and software
Never really put it into a list like that… I suppose I should go make a photo record of all these instruments and the serial numbers if they have them and save that to a CD for insurance purposes.
… All told, somewherz in the heighborhood of a nice BMW or Mercedes I guess…
Obiously, I’m a newbie at all this. I have but eight whistles. None cost me over US$12. The list includes the usual suspects for a beginner: Clarke Original, Sweetone, Feadog, LBW and a Walton that I trashed trying to tweak. Plus a trio of C Clarkes (don’t ask). Next, I’ll get a Generation to see if I can “win the lottery” and get a good one. I figure I’ve got about US$60 invested over the past six months. As addictions go, that’s pretty darn cheap, especially since I’ve gotten way more than $60 worth of fun out of them!
2 Guitars
2 bougarabou
1 djembe
6 whistles + 2 on order (only been playing 3 months)
2 shekere
1 set clapsticks
1 set bilma
2 yidaki
1 didge + 2 on order
1 shakuhachi
I’m happily divorced, and got thrown out of therapy.
)
I have a plain plastic D and one of the plastic/alum ones with the brass slide. A wee bit cloggy, and a bit quiet for many seesions I would have thought, but very nice whistles and I’ve seen a great deal of praise for Tony D’s professionalism too.