After an fun-filled month’s stay here at Casa de Guru, the tunable Delrin and Sterling silver Oz Whistle has packed its bags (well, bag) and moved on to the next destination on its US tour amid fond farewells, tearful embraces, and overconsumption of dark brews. There may have been a goat and a stick involved, too, but my memory of the occasion is a bit fuzzy.
Of course, after houseguests leave is the perfect time to talk about them.
First, the appearance. Folks, this is one nice-looking whistle. The black Delrin and silver are classic and timeless, and the fit and finish are outstanding. I wasn’t sure the Delrin wouldn’t look cheap or artificial, but far from it. The satin texture almost gives the look and feel of blackwood, with a nice solid heft. And the cast “oZ” designs adorning the silver rings and beak lend a sort of exotic runic or Tokienesque Elvish Tengwar touch. Even the lined satin carry bag with Velcro closure and embroidered red sunburst is both classy and whimsical.
Physically, the inside bore is 13 mm (~1/2 inch) and the outside diameter 17 mm (~ 2/3 inch). The lubricated brass tuning slide on the head fits into a metal collar in the tube and moves easily. And though quite loose when inserted, it snugs up nicely when tuned to A440, with a few mm gap between the head and body. With a wall thickness of 2 mm, the hole chimneys are deep, but the intonation is spot on. I did notice that the holes have a bit of a sharp edge, and might use some smoothing or chamfering, but it didn’t really bother me. The curved windway resists clogging, and the silver beak warms up quickly.
Tonally, the whistle has a clear voice with some underlying breathiness and a hint of chiff. The volume is medium and far from overpowering, and blends well in a small or medium session, though I found it got lost a bit in a larger, louder group. Breath requirements are modest, and though it reaches full volume quickly, it’s difficult to overblow, and accepts a bit of dynamic push. There’s also a moderate amount of backpressure, which I personally like. The action is agile and responsive even on fast tunes. The octaves are extremely well balanced, and the upper A and B are very sweet. However, the bell tone D is weaker than I’d prefer. Cross-fingered C-nat is well in tune, and other cross-fingerings work as expected.
I did get a small handful of negative comments from a few friends who also tried it. One perceived a slight buzz on several notes, but I didn’t notice this when playing it myself. Another thought the whistle felt somewhat unbalanced in the hands, and was bothered by the feel of the “Oz” design on the silver mouthpiece beak. And another felt that the tone and feel simply weren’t to their taste.
But personally, I enjoyed this Oz whistle very much, and think it would be a lovely instrument for recording, small sessions, and personal playing. I’m not particularly a wood whistle fan, but I’d be happy to own and use this one. For anyone concerned about whistle care, the Oz black Delrin and Sterling offers the striking appearance, feel, and large diameter of wood without the maintenance. Overall, I’d say Mitch has created a winning design that will appeal to collectors and trad players alike.
