Can anyone explain to me the main differences of a wide bore whistle versus a narrow bore whistle. I was looking at the Merlin whistles and saw their excaliber high D whistles came in wide bore and narrow bore. Is there a difference in the sound or is one louder than the other? How about the ease of playing? Is one easier than the other? I was also checking out the Alba whistles and their site says nothing about wide bore or narrow bore and their high D sure sounded good. Any info is appreciated.
Thanks,
Scottie
my experience (and with Merlin whistles specifically) is that wide bore = more volume, stronger low octave, tougher upper octave (and in the case of Merlin, a complex, flutely sound). narrow bore = less volume, potentially weak bell note (and other low notes), easy upper octave/octave jump, potentially more pure sound.
There is also a perceptible difference in tone: the wider the bore is in relation to the length, the stronger is the fundamental note frequency, with a weakening of the higher harmonic content of the note. And I am not talking here about “fuzziness” of tone, which has totally different causes, but about the “pure” tone. A narrow bore whistle has stronger higher harmonics, a wide bore whistle has a stronger flute-like tone.