Hey,
I have been playing the whistle for years but only on the cheaper models. And whilst I like them I find they have their faults and ultimately tend to go out of tune or break.
For Christmas I am asking for a fairly decent one as a present, probably in the £50 - £80 price bracket. I would like to know peoples suggestions for a decent metal or possibly wooden whistle.
Any help, suggestions and advice would be great =)
Thanks.
Sorry forgot to point out that I am looking for a standard D whistle.
The best one I’ve played in your price range is the Impempe.
You also might want to look at this site
http://www.tinwhistler.com/reviews.aspx
He has several reviews of higher-end whistles that should fall in your price range.
(Be warned that these reviews are a few years old.)
ultimately tend to go out of tune
You’re joking are you?
edit to correct spelling mistake
Dom,
Let me take this opportunity to welcome you to the board. I’m sure others will be chiming in soon with their recommendations.
I would also like to apologize for mr. dumby’s remark. He seems to enjoy being nasty, even to new people. He is not typical of the nice folks you will find here.
Good luck in your search.
Mike
Welcome!
Hmm. Like Peter, I’m suprised that you have that experience with cheap whistles. How long do your cheap whistles last? If they are breaking so easily, then I think it might be good to work out what’s going wrong before you buy a more expensive whistle. A wooden whistle might break even easier than a cheap metal whistle.
I’m really happy with my Dixon Trad whistle, which was around £20. Maybe the money that you save could be used to buy a decent whistle case if they are getting damaged whilst being stored or transported. Maybe your whistles need cleaning? That’s not something I need to do very often, but it depends from player to player, and also if whistles are played too soon after eating / drinking.
Anyway, hope that helps.
Dom,
Let me take this opportunity to welcome you to the board. I’m sure others will be chiming in soon with their recommendations.
I would also like to apologize for mr. dumby’s remark. He seems to enjoy being nasty, even to new people. He is not typical of the nice folks you will find here.
Good luck in your search.
Mike
I don’t know who has the personalised nasty streak here, well, I do know who comes here bearing a grudge, that’s for sure.
I was perfectly serious. A whistle may get dirty or gather muck inside and sound different, you may inadvertently move it’s head, you may sit on it an bend it or otherwise damage it but there’s no reason I can think of why a whistle, any whistle, will eventually go out of tune unless it physically changes somehow. And in any standard use of a whistle, that is not likely to happen.
So I am curious. If you don’t mind.
Wow, what a disgusting, nasty, and offensive post from slowair.
I’m with Mr. Gumby (who is far from “dumb” as slowair insinuated): I’ve never had a whistle “go out of tune” that wasn’t put out of tune by my own actions. Maybe you simply haven’t made the cheap whistles tunable and after a while find yourself in a situation where you can hear that you aren’t in tune with the other musicians present. The whistle definitely hasn’t changed, though! This is when moving the head a tiny bit will fix that, which is needed by any whistle, and isn’t just a cheap thing!
I remember an old joke, which I’ll paraphrase: “I paid 80 pounds for this whistle and it doesn’t tune itself?”
$$ - Dixon Trad or Jerry Freeman Mellow Dog
$$$ - Parks Every or Dixon Aluminum DX006
These are actually below your listed price range, but all 4 are great whistles.
Tony Dixon Trad, Any Jerry Freeman “D” whistle, Clare etc. all these will be under 50 pounds. Good Luck with your search!
www.tuxedomusic.com
I’ll second the Impempe recommendation. I tried the tour whistle and really liked it.
Hey Dom, welcome to the group! I have a Dixon Traditional d in brass, and I love it. I also have a Carey Parks “Ghost” whistle in d, and it’s very, very nice. Neither was expensive.
Welcome aboard; I personally have not experienced the problems cited by some others regarding cheapies and have had a few dozen for many years now with no diminished playability or breakage to report. I play and collect more expensive whistles too just because I love all whistles and enjoy the craftsmanship and perhaps enhanced depth of tone at times.
That said, that mid price range is difficult in that it doesn’t allow for the range of choice in the low and high end whistles. I would take a good look at a Black Diamond by Erle of Syn whistles or a Susato or a Freeman tweaker. If you’d go a bit higher and endure a bit of a wait, the whistle I’d personally suggest if you could get only one at any price is a Sindt.
I haven’t tried a Parks, but many people seem to like them.
Philo
I quit asking this question years ago at the very height of my WhOA. What I found out was that no two people are ever exactly alike. Whistles I just “happened across” quickly became beloved companions, while some highly recommended instruments would have made marvelous drum sticks.
Do you have a dealer or friend who might let you try different instruments before you buy?
Very true, Chuck. Often whistles that get praised, even almost unanimously, I don’t particularly like. Everybody has different taste, after all. For instance, the one seemingly almost universally praised make of whistle (and it’s used by some of my favourite musicians) I haven’t yet played one that I think plays as well as my Feadog or Generation D whistles.