I've been duped! (Newbie WhOA leads to frustration)

Whistle
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[Please note: the following message is intended to be taken with salt or the seasoning of your choice.]

A few weeks ago I discovered Dale’s site and this board. I bought my first whistle, a Sweetone D. It’s a deceptively simple instrument: it plays well and has a pleasant tone. I thought, “Gee, it’d be nice to play in other keys. I’ll get a few more whistles.”

The UPS guy delivered a package from Elderly Instruments to my house today. I opened it while home for lunch. Inside were a Susato low A, a Generation Bb (brass w/ red mouth piece), a Clarke unpainted D, and a couple Generation Gs (one for my daughter and one for me). I spent about 30 minutes with the Susato, Gen Bb, and Clarke.

What I discovered is–the Sweetone is too easy to play! It makes you think you can get all these other whistles and play them right out of the box! It’s not true! I’ve been duped by the Sweetone!

Here are some observations after extremely limited playing of these three whistles:

Clarke Original D: Are you kidding me? Unless you’re especially fond of the taste of pine, who in their right mind would reach for one of these things when choosing a D whistle? I understand the term “breathy” now. I figure I’m producing twice as much air for half as much sound from this one. Sheesh.

Generation Bb (brass): This one sounds really nice in the lower register, it plays easily, and the brass is definitely softer than the nickel(?) Sweetone. Slightly chiffy in the upper register (if I understand what chiff is). After playing it a bit, though, it behaves oddly. It may be clogging like Sara mentioned a few days ago with her Gen Bb. I’ll need to spend more time with it to tell.

Susato low A: I bought the two-piece Kildare model in black. Very light weight. I love the tone of this whistle–very clear and distinct in both registers with a hint of softness (not as bright as the Sweetone). The problem? Finger holes the size of saucers! And you’ve got to cover them completely or it gets nasty squeaky. I’m 6’1" and have good sized hands, but this is still hard for me to play. I can’t imagine what a low D must be like…

So I guess I’ll just have to spend more time with these whistles to learn how to play them. In a way, it’s a shame I started on the Sweetone. It tricked me. It made me think I was more than I really am. I’ve been humbled by WhOA.

[ This Message was edited by: MichaelG on 2003-02-13 16:35 ]

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<snicker!> Just try going from a Sweetone D to a Kerry Low D. ROFL!! Your fingers will swear at you!

I owned several regular old D whistles. … Clarke, Walton, etc. I bought my Sweetone (painted BLUE), and loved it to death. I finally saved up for a low D. I got a Kerry Low D. What a beauty (in a completely non-gender descriptive sort of a way <wink!>).

After my first half-hour of playing the monstrous thing, my arms were tired, and my fingers were beginning to curl back like the wicked witch of the East when she reached for Dorothy’s ruby red slippers.

BUT, I was happy. … if not in complete and total pain.

Tinwhistles … you gotta love them. … well, you don’t, but it would help … at least on this forum. (-;

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Interesting…
Since the loss of my Walton’s Guinness I’ve been playing a Clarke D original unpainted, and since yesterday a C also. At first I was just extremely please to have a whistle that was intune without needing any tweaks and that has kept a grin on my face for a a couple of weeks now. However, I am finding now that I feel like I’m hyperventilating when I play the Clarkes! I noticed it a little bit at first…but lately it’s been getting worse. I get dizzy most of the time just trying to play like I did before with the Walton’s where I could play twice as many notes as with the Clarke. And the C is even worse 'cause it has a bigger window. I agree with you. It saddens me, but I think I will have to put these Clarkes in the drawer and go back to a plastic fipple :frowning: I really like the old traditional style of the Clarke original. Guess I’ll have to get me one of those Sweetones & see just how easy it is.

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Ah, the Sweetone. I’d have to agree that it is my starter whistle of choice due to the fact that they’re reliably in tune and that the mouthpiece is an easy player.

But, it doesn’t mean that it’s got the most wonderful tone, though. Or that it even sounds sweet. THAT is where the whoa comes in, as people seek out the sound that will please them the most. Where they passionately agree, or disagree, with others about what exactly constitutes the perfect sound for airs, or perfect for reels, or for sessions, or for at home, or blah blah blah.

Enjoy! :slight_smile:

Jef

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Lotsa salt and pepper intaken, I’m not gonna taunt you for overly strong opinions, you knnnniggget :smiley:
I’m sure you’re on the right slope to learn and love saucer-holes (wait till you hit low whistles*… :roll: ) and the breathiness at the expenses of athletic efficiency… For many this is the essence of the difference between a tin whistle and a silver piccolo.
As for clogging… ClogDo is the ethyl** of the ITM zen experience!

  • Don’t worry : finger tipping an A can be more challenging than piper-fingering a low D… :wink:
    ** better than essence
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On 2003-02-13 16:51, Jeferson wrote:

Ah, the Sweetone. I’d have to agree that it is my starter whistle of choice due to the fact that they’re reliably in tune and that the mouthpiece is an easy player.

But, it doesn’t mean that it’s got the most wonderful tone, though. Or that it even sounds sweet.

Yup. It’s decent, probably not the “end of all WhOA,” but a good place to start. My first guitar should have played as easily and sounded as good–and I got the Sweetone for less than $5!

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I’ve posted often about my dented red SweeTone with the cleartape down the seam because it split when I pushed the dent out. What can I say? It’s a durn good whistle! :slight_smile:

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I think Sweetone is my only in-tune C whistle.

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I think Dixon whistles are very forgiving, and for that reason would make a good second whistle for a beginner who started on the Sweetone.

If you think you’re eventually going to play low whistles, flute or u. pipes, get the whistle in B flat. The holes are further apart, but not so far apart and not so big as to be discouraging. A Sweetone D and a Dixon B flat were the first two steps I had my son take when he wanted to learn to play the (B flat) fife. It worked out well.

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On 2003-02-13 16:50, littlejohngael wrote:

Tinwhistles … you gotta love them. … well, you don’t, but it would help … at least on this forum. (-;

Amen.

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My first whistle was a Sweetone and I’m still sentimentally attached to it. Realistically it might be a long time before you need another whistle…it’s that good, for a starter.

As to the Clarkes, the only way to get one that won’t be a serious culture shock from the Sweetone is to get the tweaked one from the Whistle Shop. Even then, you’ll need lots more air than for the Sweetone and you’ll smell cedar every time you play.

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Never mind frustration,you may suffer from WALLET FATIGUE once WHOA really starts to bite! :slight_smile:

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Like blowing large amounts of air through wood into tubes, do ya? Get yourself a Shaw - that way you can combine the pine taste of the Clarke (which btw I love, as it was my first whistle love)with the awesome air requirement that you seem to think a Susato has (funny, I never thought that).

Enjoy!

Philo

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On 2003-02-13 16:51, Jeferson wrote:
THAT is where the whoa comes in, as people seek out the sound that will please them the most. Where they passionately agree, or disagree, with others about what exactly constitutes the perfect sound for airs, or perfect for reels, or for sessions, or for at home, or blah blah blah.

Ah, yes, and then you decide your tastes change… and you have to get more whistles…

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The Clark original D was my first whistle (about a month ago). I hated that thing. The sound would crack and it just didn’t have the tone I was looking for. I then bought a couple of SweetTones (C and D) and a Susato C. The SweetTones were easy to play, didn’t take much air and the tone was OK. Then I tried the Susato. I love the tone it makes and I especially like the larger holes it has. I am 6’3" with big hands and the small holes of the Clarks are difficult for me to feel. My only complaints with the Susato are how much air it takes and how loud it is. I took me a few days before I could even put enough air into the tube to hit a high B.

Then I picked up the Clark original again and gave it a try. The practice I had gotten with the other whistles with the different air requirements, hole sizes and placements made a huge difference. I could suddenly hit the holes and control my breath properly and it sounded wounderful. I could do without the pine block, but sound wise, I think my Clark original has far and away the cleanest tone of all my whistles.

My next whistle is a Dixon Low D. I’ve got it on order, but, it’s going to be a couple of weeks before it shows up. I can’t wait.

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I love my Clarke original - and have worn off the diamonds to prove it! I have noticed though that heat and humidity make it go all breathy. That means I can’t play from November to late January.

I then kidnap my daughter’s sweettone for learning on - its kinda bland but quiet (luckily she still has day sleeeps and I can prise it out of her hands for a while)!

I play the Susato when I an confident enough to be that noisy!

But now the weather is getting more bearable… for people and whistles… and my elfsongs should be here by next November (if not by next week)!

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Hi All,

I posted a thread recently about Susatos, though mine are High Ds. They take focussed breath rather than lots of breath to get the best results, and that control takes time to develop. Keep practising on the other whistles, and keep coming back to the Susato - eventually you’ll find it starts to behave.

The Dixon Low A (just below a Generation Bb in pitch) has easier fingering than Gen Bb - I’d recommend it as a first foray into “low” whistles to anybody. The Gen Bb is really cheap, though, and I have 3 which all produce a lovely tone.

Clarke Originals can be very variable in breath requirements, I was lucky to get a couple which are’t bad. You can squeeze down the top of the mouthpiece a little to reduce the gap & cut down the gasp factor.

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Well I played all the whistles more last night with much better success than I had over lunch. I’m starting to get a feel for the Susato’s reach and larger holes. The Clarke Original takes some getting used to, but it’s manageable. And the Gen Bb is actually pretty decent.

I did the little soap trick on the fipples of the Gen and Susato and that’s helping them play better as well.

I didn’t know Dixon made a low A; I’ll have to look into that. I think the tone of the Susato A is quite nice. At some point, I’ll probably pick up a C, D, Bb set.

But not for a while.

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I agree about the Dixon low A. It’s a wonderful whistle. I play mine alot. Much easier than playing my low D but sounds very mellow.

Kathy

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I need Help too!! (Please)

I am also a beginner, and I have a Clarke original D whistle.

I am having problems sounding the low notes, D, and E. Instead of sounding a nice low sound, it Squeeks! which is really annoying!

I am covering all of the holes, blowing as softly as I can, but somtimes no matter how softly I blow, it still squeeks!! especially after I have played for a while!

Any suggestions??? Any help would be appreciated!

Any other tips for beginner whistlers??

Cheers…:slight_smile: