Bear with me, please…Back in days of yore, before I discovered Mack Hoover and Mike Burke, I tried many, many whistles. They ranged from the inexpensive to the very expensive. Some of the inexpensive pleased me much more than the expensive, and vice versa. Some of the sacred cows were simply not for me… I learned to trust C&F, but also learned that whistles are truly a ‘different strokes for different folks’ endeavor…Whoa set in, and I made some inexpensive and expensive mistakes. Enter Mack and Mike. Whistles were sold and traded…I received what I needed from M&M, and other whistlers were made happy. An early Busman D was eventually added to ‘try wood’, and I treasure the instrument. Whoa left and its memory faded…
However, during that pre-Mack/Mike period, I decided to try some whistles that were mentioned with reverence on C&F…and so, contacted Pat O’Riordan and was told that there would be a 2.5 year wait, and I possibly might never see the whistles. I liked Pat immediately, was charmed by his honesty and candor, and allowed myself to be put on his list. Contacting him a year and a half later, he had somehow misplaced my order, but reinstated me at the proper place. At the two year mark, I called and was told it would be another year. He was running behind schedule. By this time, he had ceased accepting new orders…
I will admit that I thought about the order from time to time, but was so busy playing with my band, that the wait was truly not an issue. Most of the time, I simply forgot about it…I had the whistles I needed.
Pat contacted me about 3 weeks, ago. The whistles were ready, at the 2 year/9 month mark. They arrived a few days ago: a high D, a high C, and a low D - all in a silky black anodized aluminum finish, with nickel plated brass, or unfinished brass fittings. I don’t intend to review them. Pat’s whistles have been reviewed here, by players much more knowledgeable than me. Suffice it to say that the three whistles are superb. Their craftsmanship is impeccable. I marvel at the ease of play, the feel of the finger holes, the way I can actually feel the air flow from the holes, the pure sound with just enough chiff to satisfy, and the stability - no unpleasant suprises, here…
Sell my Burkes and Hoovers? Nope… However, this addition to my small collection of quality instruments will add a very different sound to the palette that I use to create music.
This particular set of O’Riordans will not be found on e-bay…
I consider myself very fortunate to have made a friend in Pat, and to own 3 of his creations.
Best to all on this snowy, icy, Pennsylvania evening. (My band had its second weather-related concert cancellation in 10 days…not a good thing…)
Cheers.
Byll
…but I didn’t …I’m sure my name is sitting patiently on the list right in the spot it’s supposed to be …I’ve almost got a year under my belt now.