Ideal Soprano D whistle Survey

Whistle
1

We all have our favorites, based on sound and cost, and design.

For me, the ideal whistle may have the pure sound of a Burke Brass Pro D, the cost of a Generation, the resilience of a Susato. . .

What would be your ideal instrument, and why? There are probably a LOT of qualities I’m not even thinking about.

Close your eyes, open your inner ear, and tell me what your ideal whistle would be.

If someone asked you what a good whistle was, what would you direct them toward?

Tyghress
…And I go on, pursuing through the hours,
Another tiger, the one not found in verse.
Jorge Luis Borges

[ This Message was edited by: tyghress on 2001-10-19 13:06 ]

2

tough one…
At the moment i’m experiencing severe practice inhibitions due to rest deprived girlfriend and neighbour with 4 year old daughter who goes to bed at 20.00h

So my ideal whistles would be one that plays like a Fred Rose, and one that plays like an Overton Low D…
…that only I could hear…

Any whistle smiths out there wanting to give it a go :laughing:

3

Moderate breath requirements and moderate volume. Even (as possible) volume accross both octaves.
By way of example, think of a Hoover and a Susato at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Plus the obvious ones like, nice tone, in tune, …
Thanks,
jb

4

Wow! A Burke brass D for the cost of a Generation…I could go for that! :wink: Mike

5

My ideal whistle would have, in no particular order:

  1. A reasonable price based on quality
  2. A smooth clear tone with just a little chiff
  3. Easy transition between octaves
  4. Medium to low breath requirements
  5. Minimum over-blowing required in the 2nd octave
  6. Medium volume for all purpose use
  7. Excellent intonation throughout
  8. Half-holing without squeaking
  9. Consistently bendable notes
  10. Clean transition between unbent notes
  11. Comfortable mouth-piece
  12. Low tendency to clog
  13. Rugged construction

PS Pixyy: I don’t have an Overton or a Fred Rose, but it sounds to me like you need a Hoover narrow bore. It is a beautiful and quiet whistle for personal playing. The child next door, if she even heard it would probably love it.

6

Copeland nickel D. No other whistle I’ve tried touches it.

7

The dirty tone of a Generation on a whistle that’s at least in tune with itself. Preferably tuned perfectly to its key. That’d be nice. And not so shrieky in the high octave. Yeah.

I guess these exist, if you’re lucky enough to get a quality Generation… I don’t feel like buying a jillion of the same whistles though. Maybe if I order one every week. I’ll go on the ‘Generation Whistle Plan’ :slight_smile:

8

Some qualities I would like in a good high D whistle (besides the usual good tone, a little chiffy, intonation, ruggedness in timbre) are good responsiveness, and slight backpressure that makes playing it more satisfying. Playability to me is very important, coming a close second to the sound the whistle produces.

9

I put away all of my other soprano whistles after I got my O’Riordan’s. My dilema now is whether I like the “traveler” D or the concert D in african blackwood.

10

I’d have to agree with Eldarion . . . I like feeling the slight resistance when I blow into a whistle. My first whistle, a walton, feels “flabby” when I play it now.
A good sounding whistle with easy fingering and quick responce is always a good one. I also prize the ability to salivate copious amounts and not worry about ruining the instrument. The most durable and fastest playing whistle has got to be a Tony Dixon soprano D. Hands down. The winner. I don’t plan on purchasing any other D whistles after this one. How could I find any better? Great thing about the Dixon is it is inexpensive enough to try out, and the quality is fine enough to make it your favorite whistle.
Just don’t get the whislte-piccolo set. I haven’t been able to utilize the flute head. Buy the tunable D instead.

11

I’d have to say my Burke Al Pro. It has everything one needs.

But my very best whistle, based on sheer playabilty and sweetness of tone is my little Hoover. I think I got one of the best ones he’s made. Every note pops out easily on it. Even the high G# and A# can be played with their own fingerings. And it plays way up to the third A! JP

12

Peter (tuugaalik),
I actually have a Hoover narrow bore D and I absolutely love it. I play it almost exclusively when at home.
The thing is that I like to sometimes really push the air, make the whistle soar…you know. Can’t really do that with the Hoover.

In the weekends (especially when I’m alone in the house) I take out a bunch of whistles and play through some tunes. Nothing beats that feeling and sound when it can really come out!
(of course that is MY experience :slight_smile: )

Jeroen

13

I am not so worried about tone: Sure there are differences, but apart from lemons and home-made whistles I have yet to come across a whistle that sounded awful if played well.

My ideal whistle would be accessible, esp. if Yamaha were to make one, I want it to be a whistle consistently in tune and forgiving of beginners.

At the beginning you spend most of your time picking out tunes and stumbling through phrases. That is gets most frustrating and discouraging if the tones are too difficult to sound which is the case with whistles that require to much air/pressure in the upper octave. So I think the most important feature of an ideal, mass produced D is an air requirement as even through both octaves as possible.