Ok, I need a little bit of help here. I’ve been playing whistle for maybe a year or so, and I didn’t get too serious about it untill this summer. I went through a couple of inexpensive whistles untill I bought an unfinished Sweetone D. I enjoy it, but with the weather in south Louisiana it is starting to rust, and I find that it plays horribly out of tune with some of the Highend whistles that I’ve played along with. I’ve been playing music for some 13 years now, so I know it’s not the player of the instrument cause I’ve done everything I can think of to make this whistle play better intune with the other whistles. I"m not looking for exact: I just don’t want to cringe everytime I play with another whistle player.
Anyway here is what I’m asking.
What is a good inexpensive whistle to purchase that plays better in tune than a cat banging garbage can lids together?
I’m a poor college student, so I’m looking to spend no more than $30 american dollars.
Someone suggested a susato, and right now, that is what I’m leaning towards.
Just to let yall know, I’ve only been playing about a year, so I"m not all into the whistle lingo and how each brand of whistle sounds different.
I agree with blackhawk, my first decent whistle was the Dixon, pretty indestructible. I leave it hanging around all over the house…the tone is wonderful…you can’t go wrong with this whistle!!!
I’ve only been playing whistle a little longer than you and haven’t tried a lot of different makes.
But I have tried the Susato. For the money, it’s excellent. It’s not perfect, but it sounds like it will do what you are asking for. Nice loud sound, in tune and it sure won’t rust. And I never had one clog on me either.
I’d look in your neighborhood music store for an Oak. Great cheap whistle, nickel plated so it won’t rust, good loud tone. Or, see if your music shop will allow you to try the Generations. A good Generation is what many pros have played for years, and the quality on the Ds has supposedly improved. You can get either nickel or brass.
Having been a poor college student for a decade, I’d aim for the best, yet cheapest, whistle out there.
My Oak D is flat . I never gave it much thought while playing until I took it to the gig last night as I can play it a bit faster than the Silkstone DPlus for the occasional piece. It was flat of concert pitch. It was like being breathalysed…blow into this very sensitive electronic tuner now
So…I’d incline towards a Dixon too if climate’s a problem, but there do seem to be inconsistencies.
Trisha - have you adjusted the mouthpiece? I can’t recall if it’s glued on the Oak or not. If it is, I use very hot tap water to loosen the glue, pull off the mouthpiece, clean any glue residue out of the mouthpiece end and the barrel, and your Oak should be tunable now.
Cillian O’Briain worked out the hole size and placement for the Feadog tube which would optimize the intonation, and this was incorporated into the latest version of the Feadog D.
My Oak (which has been made “tunable”) is a little sharp in the lower octave and a little flat above upper F#. My teacher has a tuning thingy. So I have to blow a little easy downstairs and a little firmer upstairs and it works nicely. I like the Oak as a cheapy whistle.
I also have a Sausato and it’s too loud to practice with (for me) but sounds nice.
I recently got a Hoover whitecap and it sounds great on the Oak tube ( but still has the same tuning issues) and on a Gen tube. I am thinking about finding a Feadog tube for it since they have been improved.
-I have both Susato standard bore D and VSB D (very small bore) whistles and like both. The SB has a nice sort of woody tone as well as nice tuning and good volume-too loud for some but not me. The VSB is quieter and has a purer, thinner tone and good tuning as well. A little breath control is needed to play low octave D well on the VSB, but its quite a nimble, responsive whistle. I paid about $15.00 for the standard bore-non-tunable, and something like $22 or $27 for the tunable version of the VSB. The tone of the standard bore sounds better to me, but it is louder
and slightly less responsive to breath pressure than the VSB. They are both good values. -Hornpipes are a particular delight on the VSB.
-I have no experience with the Dixon, O’Briain or Feadog, and limited experience with Generations. -A search of Chiffboard archives will bring up
posts regarding whistles you’re curious about. -Good Luck with your choice.
I agree with the recommendation for Susato if you want an inexpensive whistle and accurate intonation is your first priority.
Also as mentioned Oak and Feadog are also pretty accurate. Also for just a bit more in price, the Syn is very nice, and very well in tune.
My most accurate whistle for tuning isn’t a cheapie, but it’s noteworthy: my Serpent D will center the needle on a digital tuner on just about every note.
no low end whistle is perfect. but almost all the low end whistle mentioned by others as good will amaze you on particular days with particular music.
i am a big fan of the plastic ones. the thin weasle is expensive and you will have to save up, so wait on that. both the dixon tunable and the susato (more than 20 but les then 30 bucks) are amazing for the price. in my hands, they are louder than the feadogs/gens, and, in the higher register, a bit more shrill.
in my opinion, being an experience musician, you will not be happy with one or 2 low end whistles. some sound better in the car, outside, on particular days, or even when you are in particular moods. so start collecting. invest 100 bucks over a period of 2 years, adding a new one every 2 months,and you can have them all. also, remember that at the 10 buck and less end (feadog, sweetone, gen) some of the same model may sound average, or you may luck out and find one that is amazing.
. I never gave it much thought while playing until I took it to the gig last night as I can play it a bit faster than the Silkstone DPlus for the occasional piece. It was flat of concert pitch. It was like being breathalysed…blow into this very sensitive electronic tuner now 