Original, Folk, Boho, Aurora… are these just the same hole size/spacing and fipples in different coloured plastic or on different coloured barrels? It’s really not obvious what the difference between these whistles is.
Yes, they’re all the same in their design etc., excepting the colours.
I’m guessing the variously-coloured heads they’re currently offering are made from the same moulds.
There’s a significant difference between Generations when you’re speaking of what era a specific Generation was made in.
I much prefer the older ones.
I would be interested in hearing about the different eras of Generations.
I bought a full set of Generations in 1979, when that was not an easy thing to do. About 30 years ago I destroyed the C whistle with a misguided attempt to boil the mouthpiece free. (Thanks, Internet!) But I still have the rest of them. I do play the D fairly often, and it still seems quite nice to me, even though I have now acquired some high-end instruments. I haven’t had much need to play the others, but sometimes I pull them out and they seem quite nice.
I think that the Generation company goes way back, like to the 1920s (?), and I would be very interested in hearing some bona fide experts elucidate more about the history.
The Generation website claims they go back to the 1960s, which is clearly incorrect. I have a fair number of various types that appear to be going back, to judge by the labelling/lettering to the late 19th /early 20th century. They were the all metal type, both nickel silver and brass, until the plastic heads were introduced during the late 1940s/early50s.
The only difference I noticed between the ‘Boho’ Generation and the standard Generations was that the head was much tighter, and that the paint/wrap seemed to dampen the tone a bit, effectively having a slightly thicker wall.