I really would like to order a Michael Burk soprano D whistle but I want to ask you guys in-the-know about it before I do. Aluminum or Brass ??? What are your thoughts and opinions pro and con? Thanks for your help in advance.
Both are equally good. I have brass and love it. Aluminum is a little lighter in weight. Some say it’s a tad more responsive and brighter.
My next will be a aluminum something or other. Maybe Bb. Or C. Or maybe a narrow bore D.
I prefer the aluminum Burkes because of their lighter weight, and because they don’t tarnish like brass.
In regards to tone and playability, there is very little difference between brass and aluminum.
I also prefer the Aluminum for its weight and balance qualities. Like I mentioned on another thread. I purchased a Burke Low A from a board member and really like it a lot.
Could someone explain how the narrow bore is different than the larger bore (other than in diameter 
)? Why might you pick one over the other?
I bought a Brass Pro Sessions whistle three years ago and it is still my favorite.
All of my higher pitch Burkes are brass Session Pro instruments. I don’t like aluminum for a high D whistle, it tends to move around in pitch too much as the temperature changes, brass seems more stable, at least in my experience.
Brass black tip is my favorite, bar none.
Philo
I’ve had my brass pro session for two years now. Its the only high end whistle I have and I’ve had no reason to seriously look for anything else. I tried both aluminum and brass before I purchased and fell in love with the brass. Sorry I can’t give a bunch of technical reasons, just like the way it sounds, feels, and even like the tarnish.
Of the Burkes, I have played an Al Pro G (alto) and own a DBSBT, the high D Brass Session with Black delrin Tip. I liked both, and had posted a poll here weeks ago, and you might want to look at some of our members comments. I like the brass myself, and am glad I bought it 
I certainly don’t mind the tarnishing. In a way, there’s something nice about it.
matt
I prefer the aluminum Burkes because of their lighter weight, and because they don’t tarnish like brass.
In regards to tone and playability, there is very little difference between brass and aluminum.
So, Gary, do you think that someday you will make aluminum-barreled whistles?
I like the brass…I like the tarnish, the weight, the feel, the color…
I just don’t get too excited by aluminium…
-Brett
My Brass NB takes less air and is a little quieter than my Brass Session. Otherwise, they are very similar in response and tone quality.
Thank you Ridseard—that was a real puzzlement for me.
My narrow-bore aluminum high D (DAN black tip), is probably my favorite out of 20 high Ds that I’ve owned so far. I also have a brass wide-bore C that I like a lot. The C has a somewhat less pure sound, but plays about the same as the D. With material, bore, and key all different, it’s impossible to pin down the reason for the difference in sound to a single factor.
I have a brass DBSBT, and love it. As far as the tarnish dilemma, brass polish is only around $3.00 at Wal-Mart, and the tarnish comes off very easily, so it’s really not that big of an issue, in my opinion. 
I just had a somewhat interesting experience. I began working on “Crested Hens” (from the first Solas album), and found that it has a couple of funny bits. Although it’s mostly in E Dorian, the B part has a C-nat at one point and a D# at another. I started out with the Burke DAN, but found that the half-holed C and D# both sounded rather weak compared with the rest of the notes. And, the crossfingered C requires OXXXOX fingering, which seemed a bit clumsy in this particular case–though I’m not sure why, since I use it in lots of other tunes.
So, I tried out the tune on every one of my whistles, and it turns out that the one that has the most consistent sound (and the smoothest fingering) is the Syn aluminum high D, which is wider-bored and thicker-walled than the Burke DAN. The next best seems to be the Burke C. This makes me think that I need to try a Burke wide-bore brass high D.
However, I have two high Ds on order (Hoover CPVC and Humphrey “revised Stealth”), so I’ll wait and see how they work with this particular tune. Actually, my Hoover brass tube Whitecap isn’t bad with it, but it’s quieter and requires more breath control, making it trickier to push the tune along as much as I’d like.