Need help from the group before bed tonight...

[MacNeil]

@Chiffed

Jerry-tweaked Mellow Dog (Ebay, G. Crossings, others).
You won’t find a more raved-about cheapish whistle out there.
Less money that an evening of pints at the pub.

Agreed. Get a Mellow Dog. Get a Mellow Dog. Get a Mellow Dog!!!

As a newbie (actually, a returner after twenty-plus years, but I wasn’t all-that-advanced back then, either) to the world of whistles, I’ve gone through my own mini case of low-end WhOA. Bought several whistles, played with many, many more. The Mellow Dog simply trounces every mass-produced entry-level whistle out there, and is even noticably better than some of Jerry Freeman’s other tweaked models. It would be especially recommendable if you find yourself with a Meg or Sweetone and are dissatisfied with their breathy tone. The Mellow Dog tends in the exact opposite direction from the Clarkes, rather like a “good” Generation with an added complex reediness that I find addictive. It’s by far the whistle I reach for the most…and can’t help but wondering whether, if I’d encountered it originally, I would have been struck by WhOA at all. As the old auto mechanic in the ads might have put it, you can buy a Mellow Dog now or you can buy a Mellow Dog later (and find yourself stuck with a bunch of inexpensive whistles that you never use anymore). They really are that good.

[talasiga]

@Lambchop

@talasiga

@Lambchop

…Whistles is whistles. You have to approach them on their own terms. They aren’t virtuoso instruments like a Stradivarius …

Darling, violins is violins too but that don’t mean you cannae havea “virtuoso” violin. See?

I mean lets drop our gramma pie and get real earthy now, ay?

I think there is more room for negotiation with a violin. There isn’t all that much you can do with a whistle to improve it.

Granted, there are better and worse ones, but when you have people making fine music on low-end models . . . well, I think that says something.

And, on a personal note to you, Tal, kindly refrain from criticizing my speech habits. I write the way I talk.

Clearly, it’s not good enough to allow entry to those fancy “by invitation only” places, but it’s good enough for here. If you don’t like it, have the good manners to keep your views to yourself. Ridiculing the speech of others is deplorable, and I suspect that is true even in Australia.

I am not representative of Australia or any other country.
That a good musician can play a crappy violin well does not lessen the difference between a good violin and a bad one.

[S.B.O_Gill]

Lambchop,

Thanks for your reply and I will try to take your advice to heart. I am indeed a novice–however I’m not such a novice that I can’t tell when an instrument is out of tune. The thing has been “pitchy” from the get-go and I’ve been rationalizing myself into trying to like it. Now, owing to the fact that there is no way to make an in-tune Cnatural on it without it going all breathy and scratchy and sounding like it’s “coming apart” (some kind of weird metallic-sounding reverberation that sounds like a loose screw) I just GIVE UP on it. Incidentally, Cnatural (any way you want to finger it) is the only pitch that does that to my whistle. Weird!

To keep my Meg from being a total waste I’m considering ways to try and recycle it. Worse case, I may use it as a paint stirring stick. Other than that, I’ve thought about flattening out the wide end and making it slightly concave and using as a spoon in one of my camping mess kits.

[S.B.O_Gill]

I fell asleep last night before I ordered my whistle. I feel really torn now. I think I would prefer to get a Mellow Dog but I don’t have $30-40 to spend on it. In this thread I sort of detected a subtle consensus of respect for Feadog. Also, I really liked the sound of a couple of the comments about them. Especially when the guy said they were consistent. Another guy said that while they are not great, he never had one that was bad either.

[Lambchop]

@S.B.O'Gill

Lambchop,

Thanks for your reply and I will try to take your advice to heart. I am indeed a novice–however I’m not such a novice that I can’t tell when an instrument is out of tune.

That’s the thing, SB. You’re focusing on the tuning. You’re focusing on the Cnat.

You’re going to have some kind of problem like that, I think, with virtually any whistle because of the large degree of YOU that has to come to the whistle in order to play it. You have to learn to work with the whistle. It’s not the kind of instrument that you just blow into and it sounds perfect notes. You and your body have to interact with the instrument in order to make the sound.

There might be a bit of something rattling around in your Meg–a sticky-tac tweak might be in order. But, you know, I have a Meg like that, which I used to think was horrible–my old posts on here decrying it prove it–but one day I picked it up again and it was FINE. Nice whistle, indeed. No more rattling.

On the other hand, it might just be the normal sound of a Meg that you’re worried about because you’re not expecting it to sound that way.

Incidentally, Cnatural (any way you want to finger it) is the only pitch that does that to my whistle. Weird!

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that one of the hallmarks of these instruments? Cnat is always kind of a little bit “off,” and that’s one thing that contributes to the unique sound of the music produced thereon?

Nobody worries about this. You just live with the little off-ness and recognize that it makes the music what it is.

It may be that you have not listened to enough ITM to think the sound of the whistle is normal.

To keep my Meg from being a total waste I’m considering ways to try and recycle it. Worse case, I may use it as a paint stirring stick. Other than that, I’ve thought about flattening out the wide end and making it slightly concave and using as a spoon in one of my camping mess kits.

Please do not do that. If you no longer want your Meg, PM me. I will buy it from you and play the poor thing myself. I just gave away mine and have been regretting it.

[S.B.O_Gill]

Please do not do that. If you no longer want your Meg, PM me. I will buy it from you and play the poor thing myself. I just gave away mine and have been regretting it.

When my Feadog comes in you can have it free if you will pay the shipping to you. My only stipulation would be that you can’t come on the message board and tell everybody how nice Cnatural sounds for you! Heh heh heh heh!

[JessieK]

@Lambchop

Whistles is whistles. You have to approach them on their own terms. They aren’t virtuoso instruments like a Stradivarius or a Steinway. They’re just whistles.

I disagree completely with this. There are some whistles that play far better than most recorders; there are some whistles that play better than most pianos; there are some whistles that play better than most violins. The fact that Lambchop hasn’t encountered them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

While inexpensive whistles can be played well, there are quality control issues with almost all brands. Hands down, the best choice is a Jerry Freeman Mellow Dog. You’ll love it. You’ll pay the price of two or three cheap whistles and you’ll have an instrument that rivals many that are much more expensive.

It is my guess that you’ll want to throw out the new Feadog. It’ll be unbearably raspy in the second octave. The Meg, though, can be improved fairly easily. See my post in one of your other threads. Good luck.

[talasiga]

@JessieK

@Lambchop

Whistles is whistles. You have to approach them on their own terms. They aren’t virtuoso instruments like a Stradivarius or a Steinway. They’re just whistles.

I disagree completely with this. There are some whistles that play far better than most recorders; there are some whistles that play better than most pianos; there are some whistles that play better than most violins. The fact that Lambchop hasn’t encountered them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.


…

This is one of those rare moments where we agree on something.
I trust that the manner of my earlier posts did not mar the merit in my point to an extent that that its agreeableness with yours may not have been recognised.

[Lambchop]

@S.B.O'Gill

Please do not do that. If you no longer want your Meg, PM me. I will buy it from you and play the poor thing myself. I just gave away mine and have been regretting it.

When my Feadog comes in you can have it free if you will pay the shipping to you. My only stipulation would be that you can’t come on the message board and tell everybody how nice Cnatural sounds for you! Heh heh heh heh!

It’s a deal, my friend! PM me when you get the Feadog.

I’m telling you, though, you’ll eventually find that you don’t mind its quirks.

[Darwin]

@JessieK

It is my guess that you’ll want to throw out the new Feadog. It’ll be unbearably raspy in the second octave.

That’s what mine was like, and I failed at tweaking it, but there’s never any excuse for throwing out a Feadog barrel as long as Mack Hoover is making Whitecaps.