For anyone living in Ireland, or has gone to sessions over there… what whistle seems to be seen the most often, is any one Whistle more popular than the others? Or are there several Whistles that seem to be equally popular?
Just curious 
Ben Shaffer
I saw people playing Susatos over there
quite frequently. It was a little weird…
since they are made in my state, they
came as far as I did!
All the tourist gift shops sell Feadogs for
about 3 euro.
D WHISTLE
they used to have a box of fedogs by the counter in my childhoods local shop.
the markups on the 'dogs are excentric to say the least, in belfast at marcus music ( i think its changed name now) they are £2.50 for a D tube, at matchetts there about £2.00 (and they have C ones there aswell!), at the ‘irish linnin gift shop’ (geographically, midway between the other two points) ther about £8.
The last session I went to there were three Sindt whistles at the session, including mine. This was a session made up of a younger crowd, many from University of Limerick studying ITM.
Michael
I, like fearfaoin, couldn’t help but notice a lot of whistlers tooting Susato’s as well.
Susato’s do get a bad rap on this board for being “recorder like” in tone and “difficult to control in the upper register” and “Loud” but they sound quite lovely in the hands of capable players.
Which reminds me. My two-year-old had mine the last time I saw it…
P
what whistle seems to be seen the most often
None in particular. What would quantify ‘most seen’ anyway? If you only frequent one particular session then you may find that one whistle may be predominant. If you attend lots of different sessions then surely the preponderance of any one whistle would vary from session to session? Then again, depending on which night you go there, how many people turn up etc, it’s too hard to say any one whistle would be the most seen.
Personally, I’ve seen lots of Gen’s, Susato’s, various Dixon’s, brass whistles that looked like Waltons (I wasn’t close enough to determine this, and the whistles had long lost any transfers or stickers), and the odd ‘designer’ whistle.
I don’t know if that’s a help or not, but that’s what I’ve observed.
I just think there too damn ugly! I considered buying one recently, but decided on a Dixon instead. They look much prettier and are still priced to suit my dismal budget. I gotta get better at making my own.
Mick
I bought a Susato in a sale for £10 and its very screechy. I am always dipping into my collection to get a particular sound but I haven’t managed to find a use for the Susato yet. It seems to have problems separating between the upper and lower octave. I wonder if its actually faulty. maybe the blade is a bit too sharp.
I should probably butt out of this thread, since my experience of sessions in Ireland is very limited. But here goes anyway … just pure impressions, direct and indirect …
My impression is: Generation/Feadóg, Susato, Sindt. Pretty much in that order.
Generations and Feadógs are obviously standard. They have the right sound, and they’re easy to come by.
Susatos for players that prefer a bigger/louder blow, and as Paul said, OK in the right hands and embouchure. Also easy to come by. Every music shop I visited in Ireland carried Susatos.
Sindts seem popular particularly with some Fleadh players and Ceoltas kids, parents buying them to give a competitive edge. They sound and play like improved Gens that can take a bit more push. They seem to have found a lot of acceptance in trad circles, but the price probably stretches the envelope of what most are willing to pay for a D whistle.
The O’Briain tweaked whistles seem to attract some serious players. I imagine the Jerry Freeman Blackbird and MellowDog might take some of that market, too. Oaks are around. And some players like the gentler Clarke/Shaw conical sound.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Dixon Trad has made some inroads since I was last there, but I don’t know for sure. Oddly, I doubt that home grown Waltons are very popular. They just don’t have the clarity or character that session players like.
Shops I visited carried some Kerry/Chieftain low whistles. But I don’t think you see many low whistles as routine session instruments anyway.
If anyone want to tell me any of the above impressions are full of beans, I’m ready to make some chili.
The popularity of Susatos is very understandable because sessions can be loud and a Gen or Feadog can’t be heard.
I have a very VERY loud Susato that I’ve only used in rare noisy outdoor settings. I can manage the octaves fairly well once I get used to it. I’m sure that a good whistle player who plays a Susato on a regular basis would have no problems with the octaves.
Our tutor and top player, Hugh Marwick, plays high D Susato all the time. He can make it sing like I could only dream of. He encourages folks to buy into it for our groupwork and when you hear him play it really is a good advert. All about being good/experienced and getting to know the instrument as well as the instrument being capable of managing the sound you’re after I suppose.
So we see a lot of them in our area - but that ain’t Ireland…I’m talking STM not ITM sessions.
cheers
Stephen
You don’t need a Susato to be heard. Feadogs are loud. When playing you think you are low volume, but everyone out back in the P*sser can hear you over everything else. I don’t understand that!