I just received my Burke Al Pro sop D whistle and wanted to praise Michael Burke for this work of art. It’s even better than I expected it would be.
It sounds wonderful, is easy to play, feels good to hold and is beautiful to look at.
I love it!
Giles
Giles - So far, my personal favorite as well. Enjoy. PhilO
Could either of you compare/contrast the sound and volume of the Burke D aluminum to the D brass? Someone asked me this, and quite frankly I was happy with the brass and never considered getting the aluminum D.
I am fortunate to own both. In their ease of playing, they are both classic Burke. The Brass Pro has a slightly fuller, rounder sound, and therefore gives the impression of being louder, but when compared carefully, the decibel level is equal. If there is truly such a thing as a traditional sound, the Brass Pro is closer to the mark. The AlPro has an incredibly pure tone - very little of the classic chiff, if any… Its ease of shifting octaves is truly amazing. I find myself returning to it again and again.
Neither whistle is better than the other. They are different…and that is what makes this whole world of whistledom interesting.
You could do a lot worse than investing in both.
Cheers to you, Tyghress,
Byll
Thanks for the review, Byll. I had planned on the Al Pro being my next whistle (probably summer 
), and now I’m sold.
Charlie
You cannot go wrong, Chas. Sometimes, Mike can be a bit over-extended in his ability to deliver a particular instrument. It he cannot deliver an AlPro D to you, personally, try Song of the Sea, in Bar Harbor, Maine. They try to keep a number of Burkes on hand. The last time I talked with them, AlPro D’s were available. They are knowledgeable and very good to deal with.
Cheers
Ditto on the Burke’s. I like my Al-pro better than my Burke WBB (which is the older model wo o-ring slide)because of ease of play, sweetness of tone and complete lack of clogging (which I’m told is also not any problem with the newer brass). Comparing these whistles is like choosing who to put in center field Mantle or Mays. I just love that sort of dilemna. Enjoy. Philo
I think Mike Burke’s whistles are works of technology, math, and research, not art. Though they do make it easy to sculpt music from the air.
Jessie
I have a question, from what I understand the entire inside of the fipple is that plastic (forgot the name), and then I think I read that the blade is also plastic?
Is this how your new Al pro is? Does anyone know where you can view a good picture of Burke whistles. His web site needs a little work.
Jack “I want eye candy” Orion
On 2002-01-12 13:05, JessieK wrote:
I think Mike Burke’s whistles are works of technology, math, and research, not art. Though they do make it easy to sculpt music from the air.
I’m a little late chiming in as usual. Just curious – Why don’t you consider them art, or, what DO you consider art?
Charlie
I think I was the only one who thought the newer Burke whistles had a Delrin blade along with the windway. No one else who posted mentioned this. Since I no longer have mine (I traded it for a Burke composite), I should
probably withdraw that statement since I can’t verify it at this moment, and my memory could have been incorrect. Another possibility is that Michael made them with a Delrin blade for a short time and them returned to the metal blades… I guess we should ask him.
-Brett
My Burke Al=pro has both fipple and blade in delrin. As for art - it fits the dictionary definitions and I’d describe it as ethereal, light, simple, in design, structure and result. PhilO