I have a sweetone in D and C, and a Walton Mellow D. I have been wanting to get something in the 20-40 range that will be a little more playable; I don’t mind the sweetone other than that the fipple leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I don’t mind the walton except that the enamel is pealing which makes a really strange texture. I was thinking of a jerry freeman tweaked feadog, a tweaked clarke, or maybe a susatso. Any thoughts, suggestions?
Here’s what people are going to say:
Freeman MellowDog (this one will get several recommendations)
Syn (this one will also get several)
one person will probably say Dixon
two people might say Susato
I have all of these except the MellowDog, and I prefer the Syn. The Dixon is much too soft, and the value of Susatos has been debated endlessly, but I don’t care for them.
Feel free to do a search.
Definitly Susato!!
A good sturdy tenor tunable recorder, (there I go cussing again) handmade by a german instrument maker, for only… EEEK!
…nevermind.
In all seriousness, why go for something midrange, when you could buy an overton?
In fact, buy two, and send one my way. 
Black Diamond is very good value, or try an Cillian O’Briann tweaked Generation?
If you want good intonation and something hardy, you can’t go wrong with a tuneable Susato.
Barry
There are several really fine whistles around that price-point. It’s hard to say which you’d like best.
Hoovers are on the softer side, are very sweetly voiced, extremely easy players, and are pure-toned. They play and feel much like Burkes.
Syn is a louder whistle, with a sweet, infectiously happy sound, that can be pushed. It is also a very easy player.
O’Briens are somewhere in between on volume, with a lovely traditional sound, loads of character, and super easy to play, and is another whistle that can be pushed. Also O’Briens use very little air.
Susato is yet louder but can be hard to control, and some people just don’t care for the sound. Yet in the right hands, they can really sing.
Black Diamond is a touch above your stated range; it is a fine whistle, very traditional sound, loads of character, can be pushed hard, and is loud enough for even large sessions. Like the Susato, it takes a degree of control that a new player might not have yet, but it would be a great whistle to grow into.
That’s just some of the options at this price point.
Good luck, and best wishes, whatever you choose!
–James
Save your money for a while and step up to a Humphreys or an Alba Q1. Also in that range are a number of Mack Hoovers excellent whistles. Better yet buy them all.
Ron
Jerry Freeman’s Mellow Dog. Very good.
… there, proving Congrats knows what he’s seaking of. 
Another vote for MellowDog.
Also, you may want to spend a little more and get a Serpent ChromeMoly - they come in soprano (“D” and “Eb”) and alto (“Bb” and “A”).
I wouldn’t suggest a Susato to anyone, though sonority it’s a matter of personal taste…
That ABS stuff sounds too much like a plastic recorder and for me it lacks the atmosphere of any irish tune. But still, if you’d want something close to a Susato-like instrument and in your mentioned price range, maybe a bamboo whistle would be a good choice. Erik the flutemaker makes reasonable bamboo whistles with a Susato fipple, so it doesn’t have that weird plastic sound.
Yet another vote for the MellowDog.
Buy one of each.
How’d ya know?
Hi rexykik,
Noticed no one said welcome to the board so Welcome!
My advice would be to try a few out - all those mentioned above are a good guide. So, if you can - get yerself to a stockist, find a session - ask and try! Every player is different with different tastes and needs and that changes as you go along. You may even find yourself holding a Grinter or Abell and saying “damn-it this is The One” It might just as easily be a Gen or a Clarke!
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. About the mellowdog, I was wondering if (since it uses the mellow walton tubing) anything has been done to improve the fact the the enamel rubs off after only a little bit of use.
Have Susatos, Syns and an O’Brien. I play the Syns by far the most. The backpressure to me is a plus, and I just like the sound. I hadn’t thought of it as “infectiously happy”, but I like that description.
From the description on David’s site I might like the new narrower-windway O’Brien better than the sort I have.
My mellowdog dit peel, so I took the coating off with aceton (I think it was aceton, it has been a while). I took the stickers of very gently because I wanted to glue them back, but I lost them. I miss the little mouse on the sticker.
Personally though, I like the freeman tweeked shaw much better than the mellowdog but les goûts et les couleurs, you know.
Good luck in you whistlequest,
Rob