I just have to say this. I think the quality control (if there is any) on Meg whistles is atrocious. I have played 12 and they have all been unplayably screechy. Yuck!!! Sweetones are SOOOOOOOOOO much better and more reliable. I think Megs will deter new whistlers from sticking with whistles. Seriously.
Jessie
Yikes! I only have one (and a freebie at that…came with my Shanna Quay order), and I don’t find it at all screechy. Bit chiffy-er (is that a word?) than I normally like…almost woodsy in tone, but not at all unpleasant. I would consider it a pretty good first whistle.
Redwolf
I suppose it is possible that I got a seriously bad batch, I suppose. But that’s not good.
I have two Megs and two Sweetones (all in D). I can’t tell any difference in the way that they play or sound. To be sure, I played them all to my wife with her eyes closed and she couldn’t tell any difference between the four of them.
Maybe I got an exceptionally good batch?
[ This Message was edited by: garycrosby on 2002-10-03 17:52 ]
On 2002-10-03 17:51, garycrosby wrote:
To be sure, I played them all to my wife with her eyes closed and she couldn’t tell any difference between the four of them with her eyes closed.
But you forgot to tell her to take her hands off her ears (standard non-whistlin spousal position)!!!
On 2002-10-03 17:53, The Weekenders wrote:
On 2002-10-03 17:51, garycrosby wrote:
To be sure, I played them all to my wife with her eyes closed and she couldn’t tell any difference between the four of them with her eyes closed.But you forgot to tell her to take her hands off her ears (standard non-whistlin spousal position)!!!
That explains it! Actually, that could explain a lot of things 
[ This Message was edited by: garycrosby on 2002-10-03 17:59 ]
I recently purchased a box of ten to give away to potential whistle converts. Seven were fine, three were garbage. That’s 70%.
Doc
On 2002-10-03 18:10, Doc Jones wrote:
I recently purchased a box of ten to give away to potential whistle converts. Seven were fine, three were garbage. That’s 70%.Doc
I just bought 5. One is unplayable, one is very chiffy(glovebox), one is less chiffy(pen cup at work) and the other two sound just like my SweeTone. So, yeah there might be some QA problems. 
I got a shipment of 40 Megs about 10 days ago. 20 were silver, 19 were black and 1 was a black Sweet Tone which must have gone in by mistake, or else they ran out of Megs. I tested them all and only 1 was bad (and it wasn’t the sweet tone). The rest were perfectly acceptable (if dull) whistles. Not a screecher in the bunch. The bad one was more of a rasper than a screecher. I wouldn’t be able to tell the Megs from the Sweet Tone if blindfolded. Not bad for less than $3 each!
So far I only have the one Meg, but it is a really nice whistle, having the ease of play of a Sweetone with a little more volume and good chiff.
Maybe I just got lucky though. You can’t judge anything about a population from a sampling of one.
Best,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Just got a Meg today and I’m a bit disappointed. I found it not at all screechy but, the E, F# and G notes are thoroughly lacking. Mostly air and little sound whereas all the other notes are quite nice. And I must add, the seam on the back is quite annoying.
Dan
I’ve only got 1 meg (a gift from the ever-lovely Anna M.) and it sounds better than my sweetone. I never liked my Sweetone D (though I’m fond of the C I have), but I have yet to encounter a whistle easier to play and it has a very nice even tone, even if it is a bit breathy.
I bought a batch of six about a month back. Three black D’s and three black C’s. Two of the C’s and one of the D’s played quite well, and one D was good but not quite as good as the other. The last remaining C and D were awful. Couldn’t get cleanly through both octaves without some real unpleasent sounds coming from them. I gave the nice ones to my mom and brother who seemed like they could use some whistles, and let my three year old toot on the two wierd ones while I am practicing. He likes them, and it keeps his hands off my nicer whistles. 
I would say they are good for a beginner, provided that they end up with one of the good ones.
I think BAD whistles are not good for beginners. And since most of us agree that BAD Megs do exist, and they are sealed up before you buy them, there is a good chance you can get a BAD one. That is a problem.
On 2002-10-04 10:00, JessieK wrote:
I think BAD whistles are not good for beginners. And since most of us agree that BAD Megs do exist, and they are sealed up before you buy them, there is a good chance you can get a BAD one. That is a problem.
At least the heads don’t fall off without warning. That would be disasterous during a performance… http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=6602&forum=1&5
–quote–
I think BAD whistles are not good for beginners. And since most of us agree that BAD Megs do exist, and they are sealed up before you buy them, there is a good chance you can get a BAD one. That is a problem.
–endquote–
That is a good point.
So for beginners, stick to Clarke originals, or Sweetones, or Acorns, or Oaks, all of which seem to have above-average quality control and are inexpensive.
The Oak and the new model Acorn in particular are really nice whistles, dependably good.
Best,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
I ordered 3 from the whistle shop and two were bad, unplayable on the second octave.
Easy Fix:
Take a normal screwdriver (not a philips head) whose end will fit inside the fipple hole. Lay screwdriver down on the blade of the fipple and bend that suck down a little bit. It may discolor the plastic slightly from bending but it saved two whistles from the garbage. Try it incrementally so you don’t overbend the blade.
Nick
My Meg is, still playable. But sounds not too good in the higher-half of the 2nd octave. Don’t feel like tweaking it - only high whistle I’ve got.
Quality control is, I don’t know what to say. Just recently popped the head off, to see the tube and all inside, found some dried residues from my mouth (normal), and to a slight horror: near the tube end that fits inside the head, there was a dark reddish brownish part, very small. Rubbed it with a cloth a bit, no change.
What was it? Rust. Or at least I think so, to the extent of what I know it as.
Nick (Tantus), you are a genius!! How did you figure out the screwdriver trick?!? I used your advice (though not actually with a screwdriver) and pushed the blade in a little and it made an unplayable whistle play just fine. Thank you!
Jessie,
It just hit me that the blade might be slightly off so I just bent it down and it worked. I was surprised. I first tried filling in the chamber a little with super glue and that did nothing. Anyhow, I think it should be the official fix because misalignment is probably the main defect on bad megs anyhow.
Nick