(warning: Long, and Irish-music-centric–whether or not you play Irish music, it’s hard to deny that the Irish Music revival has had an effect on whistle availablitly)
I’m more on the ‘expensive’ side of the equation. I simply better like the way they sound. I am not as into squeaking and squawking…to me, that made Micho a master in spite of the quality of his instrument, not because of it. Granted, it’s a difference of opinion and taste.
My favorite whistles are in the $100-$150 range. I’ve played more expensive (thin weasel, abell, etc), but I continue to like my Silkstones the best…personal preference. I like them for many reasons: I like the tone, which I haven’t gotten from any of my cheapies. I like the quality control–how well the whistle handles along it’s entire range and how well it stands up to extended playing. I like the breath requirements, which match my desires pretty closely and so do not require much thought for me. The volume is moderately loud…carries well in the open and in loud sessions. They aren’t as susceptible to wind-death as my cheapies. I like the fact that it’s in tune, and so rather than spending time learning how to re-engineer an instrument or blow certain notes totally differently to bring it into tune, I can spend that time learning how to play tunes. (Imagine, buying a fiddle that you then had to sand, saw lathe and glue a bit to make playable…it boggles the imagination).
For all of that, I’m willing to spend a couple hundred bucks..but you can be assured if I could find those same qualities in a cheap whistle, I’d be all over them. Ultimately, it has nothing to do with price. It has to do with finding a whistle that has what I want, and then deciding if I’m willing to pay for it. In the case of whistles, luckily, I don’t have to pay $2000 or more like for some decent sets of pipes.
Now, as to the comment of “most folks playing cheap whistles”, I’m not so sure. Most regular folks, sure…I can’t imagine many people starting off on an expensive whistle. I didn’t. It makes more economic sense to start cheap and work up if you stick with it. However, we’re starting to see a change in what the professionals play, probably for many of the exact reasons I’ve listed above.
In the olden days, when Bodhrans were just getting added to irish music (50’s?), pretty much all whistles were cheap. You played what you had. As Irish music started gaining a broader audience worldwide, more folks were interested in playing it. (My website was swamped after the releases of both Riverdance and the Titanic, for instance–I’m sure that the Clancy Brothers playing in Carnegie Hall might have caused a similar phenomenon).
More players means a bigger market. Look at Clarke, who totally dropped their D line for a while, but now has several lines of instruments..the Clarke, the Sweetone, the Meg, all in C and D. With a bigger market, you’re going to have those folks willing to shell out bucks for instruments they like better. Eventually, more expensive whistles get more accepted into ‘the tradition’. After all, nobody seems to think an Olwell flute is too expensive.
The old pros obviously play what they grew up with. You always hear about this old guy or that old guy who played a cheap whistle. But, reports from C&Fers who’ve gone to Ireland are starting to mention how much the Susato (a moderately-priced whistle) is gaining in popularity. This matches what some of my friends have said as well. We’ve heard even recently (see “What do the top players play” thread) from a lot of “new pros” who play non-cheap whistles, O’Riordans, Sindts, Grinters, Chieftains, Overtons.
There are a number of professional (though less famous) whistlers in my town. EJ Jones (of Clandestine) plays Abells (and one Eb Copeland, I think). Larry Mallette plays Thin Weasels and Water Weasels. Judd Nelson plays Water Weasels. Turloch Boylan ‘isn’t convinced’ about high-end whistles, and records with cheapies, but also has recorded with several high-end ones(O’Riordans, Copelands, Weasels).
Heck, even Mary Bergin, who is held up as a paragon of ‘cheap whistles’, doesn’t really play them for performances. She plays Sindts, and evidently has completely gone over to the ‘dark side’ if reports of her new solid silver Sindt are accurate.
Ultimately, I think it all boils down to finding an instrument that fits your needs/desires. If that’s an inexpensive one, then you’ve gotten off lucky. 
But, I also think that as long as Irish music continues to stay moderately popular, there’s going to be an expanding market for the higher-end whistles. Perhaps in 50 or 100 years, $100 whistles will be more of the norm. I know they are in my session (where a Susato is pretty much the cheapest whistle regularly played).
[ This Message was edited by: wandering_whistler on 2002-07-23 12:39 ]
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