Busman (blackwood and pink ivory)
Sindt
Overton
I have loads of others but that’s my choice without a moment’s hesitation.
Humphrey narrow bore
Generation
Sindt or Reyburn
well ,then i would say ,for me it would be this 3 whistles :
overton soprano d
elfsong soprano d
and a whistle of ken matzukas productions
julian
~My (beloved) Madagascar rosewood Abell d (I have never found another Abell that plays as sweetly. This is the whistle that made me REALLY love whistles.)
~My blackwood Lon Dubh (if you want to hear a recording I did with it (fairly recently), here’s a link: http://www.madefromcoins.com/music/Lon-Dubh.mp3 – the recording’s not particularly Irish in feel, more Native American, with a minor pentatonic scale and native american-style ornamentation. It’s a piece I composed.)
~My brass Copeland C (I know, it’s not a d, but it’s worth transposing for…I don’t play in sessions anymore anyway. It’s my favorite whistle.)
Out of respect to these fine makers, I could not leave out any two, so must identify five (and they are listed in REVERSE ALPHABETICAL ORDER ONLY, NO PREFERENCE INTENDED OR IMPLIED).
Sindt
Silkstone (Polymer Green)
Overton (Colin Goldie)
Hoover
Burke (Black Tip)
- Silkstone alloy
- Humprey widebore in Werkmeister III tuning
- Wooden Syn ironwood prototype
(Not in any particular order; each one takes turns as my favourite.)
:roll:
Anybody know any nice tunes in the key of D.
Slan,
D. :roll:
That Abell, now THAT’s what I’m talking about Jessie! 
Very nice recording Jessie.
Busman: Rosewood
Fred Rose:blackwood
Busman:Delrin.
In no particular order (it keeps changing!) …
O’Riordan
Sindt
Humphrey
Burke
That’s three, right?
Maybe I’m cheating but I tallied the various makers listed here and came up with the following. I set the price range break between “medium” and “high” rather arbitrarily at US$100. There were another two dozen or so whistles that got less than 3 votes each.
Whistle…Votes…Price
Burke…9…High (the low side)
O’Riordon…8…High to impossible
Humphrey…8…Medium
Sindt…6…Medium
Hoover…6…Medium
Busman…5…High
Overton…4…High
Copeland…4…High
Abell…4…High
OK, before everyone starts hollering about whistles being different and having different uses, let me say that I agree with all that. If and when I get ready to plonk down big bucks for a whistle, a) I will be a MUCH better player than I am now and 2) I will play, if possible, the contenders carefully with an eye towards the intended use of said instrument.
Being a newbie with the usual collection of cheapies and thinking about asking for a medium priced whistle for Christmas, I find the position of the Humphrey, Sindt and Hoover in the tally very interesting. FWIW.
Greenwood, Copeland, Freeman tweaked Mellowdog
Humphrey wide bore
Greenwood Blackwood
Burke wide bore brass (black tip)
The Humphrey sings! 
walrii, keep up the tally—it is interesting.
Chieftain
Chieftain (in case the first one wore out)
Chieftain (in case the second one wore out)
I listed 3 Chieftains because I like their playability, they are impervious to me (I perish fragiler instruments), and their sound, not to mention skewing the results of anyone who takes tallies
Humphrey narrow bore ‘just’ intoned
Sindt
Busman (Olivewood or Tulipwood - it’s neck and neck!)
For those on a tight budget, a Hoover whitecap (the plastic part) is $20 new and fits many inexpensive bodies. Syn aluminums are sometimes described as a poor-man’s Burke and are less than $40 new.
Another suggestion is to keep an eye on for sale ads here and eBay. Some of the makers have long waiting lists. A used whistle can save that time, and often times money.
- Bill
Hoover, Jerry Freeman-tweaked Shaw, and Busman.
- Overton
- Burke pro brass session
- A nice Walton’s, to have a lower-end one in case I needed to bring it somewhere where it might be lost or stolen or something. Or just to have lying around the house.
-Overton
-Busman(delrin or wood)
-one that I’ve not heard mention of- a WIDE-bore Burke composite-it is very sweet and can be played strongly