My wife just called: my new Sindt D whistle has arrived!
I told her she could go ahead and open it to check it out, but she said she would let me do that after work. What a lady!
I’m looking forward to putting it through its paces for the next few weeks. And, with my birthday only a week past, what a nice, slightly belated present that awaits me at home!
Be sure to give it a good run through! I would love to recieve some feedback on it to my private email address since I may be getting both a D and an A soon!
Thanks,
Hey yall
I have been offered a Sindt D and possibly an ‘A’ as well. In your opionion(s), how does the A compare to the Chieftain ‘A’, which I like (that’s the only “A” I have)?
Also, I have played a very nice Sindt D and loved it, hence why I may be getting one soon- but is the ‘A’ model made of a little heavier material?
thanks,
I’ll try to remember to do that. I know, I’ll set a calendar notice and make use of all this wonderful technology we have at our fingertips. 
There are a lot of positive comments on the board about the Sindts. The only thing I really saw that might pass for a negative (depending on your point of view) is the C-nat fingering, i.e., you need to half-hole to consistently get it in tune. I’ll find out about that first-hand, but am prepared as I’ve been practicing that half-holing for the last month! Being a clarinet player for many years, I’m used to what we’d call alternate fingerings
I have a complete set. They are nothing short of superb.
Chris
I have both the Sindt D and A, along with a Chieftain Gold A. I’m not sure, though, that the Chieftain Gold A is representative of a standard Chieftain. I’ve played a Chieftain D, C and low E and they behave quite differently than the Gold A, which is an excellent whistle.
Anyway, with that said, out of my whole flock of whistles, my Sindt A is hands-down my favorite. I can say that safely, now, since it has been at the top of my list since shortly after I received it in May. Initially I didn’t like it and even considered returning it. I’m glad I stuck with it. It is easy blowing, warm and soulfull, easy to bend notes on with nice overall medium volume and volume between octaves. The C-nat thing sucks, though…it must be half-holed.
The Sindt D is easy blowing, quick, responsive and well behaved. It is relatively chiff-free, but has a interesting character. Once again, nice overall medium volume and volume between octaves. The c-nat thing sucks, though…I get best results with OXX|XOX or half-holing. If it weren’t for the c-nat issue it would be my favorite sop D whistle.
The Chieftain Gold A is very expressive and warm. It is easy blowing when compared to the other Chieftains I’ve had, but by no means as easy blowing as the Sindt. It’s tone is warm with tremendous authority (I really don’t know how to explain it). It is strong from top to bottom with no weakness at all in the second octave. It is louder than the Sindt A. It is heavy and a little cumbersome. It requires more effort to play. C-nat OXX|OOO is spot on perfect. This whistle hovers somewhere in my top 5 favorites, changing from day to day, but never overtaking my Sindt A.
There’s my 2 cents. I wish John would fix the C-nat thing, but I suppose there might be some trade off and another aspect of these great whistles may suffer. I dunno.
Anyway, I think you’ll both love them, they are great instruments.
5:00PM and I’m just about out of here. It’s WHISTLE time!!!
Okay…So, how does it do? All smiles here awaiting an answer
Trad
Looking forward to hearing it Paul! Be prepared to demo it at the boise session!
Keep in mind, these are initial impressions. I need to play with the whistle for a few weeks to really give a more objective opinion. However, that being said … WOW!
This is a nice, nice, nice instrument. Extremely well-balanced across the octaves. Even the third octave does not cause my cat to run for cover, though it does get a bit louder up there–very sweet and easy to blow. Not quite as much chiff to it as a Generation, but almost as much as my tweaked Soodlums. I own both a Generation D and an older Soodlums D and would actually characterize the sound, to my ears, as being more along the lines of a really nice Soodlums, though a bit quieter and certainly mellower in the upper octave. It is not a loud whistle, similar in volume and air requirements to my Generation, although the upper octaves are so much sweeter, balanced, and pleasant than on my Generation and more reminiscent of my Sweetone, but far better intonation. I haven’t checked it with a tuner, yet, but it seems to be very well in tune. The C-nat does indeed come across better when half-holed, but you can slightly underblow oxx|ooo without much difficulty and get a pretty good note (IMHO, when you’re moving quickly through a piece, that would be more than sufficient–have done that with alternate fingerings for years on the clarinet). Ornaments just pop and the whistle responds quickly and cleanly as well as being incredibly easy to blow.
The C&F review highly recommends the Sindt whistles to anyone who plays in the upper octaves. I whole-heartedly agree with that. I also happen to like the Soodlums and Generations sounds so, for my tastes, John Sindt has done a remarkable job with his whistles. And, I don’t anticipate that opinion to change with more playing, but I will update you!