My new David Boisvert boxwood whistle arrived about noon today. It is VERY NICE and sounds as great as it looks! It is an easy blower like my Glenn Schultz Water Weasel, but with a beautiful boxwood sound instead of the CPVC of my WW. It is so beautiful, matching the looks and feel of my Casey Burns boxwood flute, which I love! And it has plenty of volume and chiff for sessions, just like my boxwood flute has. I am very pleased with the quality of Davidās work. You can see pictures on his website:
I, too, am very fond of Davidās whistles. I have one in cocobolo and one in blackwood. They are VERY similar, in dimensions, appearance and tone quality, to Pat OāRiordanās concert whistles. They are not quite as loud, and the finishing is not as solid, but they are really excellent whistles that are available much sooner than OāRiordans are, and at $100 a whistle, you canāt go wrong.
Well, I tried ā¦ oh how I tried. I looked at the photos and drooled but then told myself that with high-end whistles fighting for space with guitars, 'zouks, keyboards and button boxes et al in the home studio, I donāt need these little beauties.
Then I kept reading nice reviews by people who know whistles. But Iād play a Copeland or an Overton or an Abell and convince myself that enough is enough. Arenāt I sensible.
Yeah, you guessed it. I just emailed David to place an order.
Wow, those are beautifulā¦grit teethā¦
mustā¦notā¦reachā¦forā¦VISAā¦cardā¦
The prices seem remarkably low for wooden whistlesā¦am I right? I donāt think I could spend that sort of money on a whistle without playing it first, though. Iāve played on some fine, high end whistles that just didnāt work with me.
They sure are pretty, though. You know, it occurs to me that none of you sent me a birthday present back in June. It isnāt too late.
I have one of these beauties. I also had an Abell on order, but when I played this new cocobolo Boisvert, I cancelled the order for the Abell. It would simply be impossible for a whistle to sound any better. I saved $200.
It sounds nothing like a Clarke or Gen, has a pure tone like a Hoover, but itās a wooden high end whistle that is selling for far less than it should be.
I have to chime in here. Iāve had my Greenwoodpipes whistle for a month or so.
It is my first wooden whistle and it is great! Mine is pretty pure in tone, not quite
as pure as my Hoovers but close. I like the feel of the fingerholes. They remind me
of my Bernard Overton soprano āDā having the same sharp edge.
I highly recommend this whistle.
If anyone has thought about a wooden whistle but has hesitated at the cost, which can be three times what these cost, this is the time to try one. I also have a boxwood; I donāt know that Iād call the sound of my whistle pure, but itās certainly not chiffy. It has a touch of sweetness, but also that creamy sound that Iāve only found in boxwood whistles.
Yes, Didymus! I like the finger holes on my new Boxwood greenwoodpipes high D for the same reason. They feel just like my finger holes on my Colin Goldie Overton Bb and my C.G. Low D Overton. They really āclean upā the ornamentation and the octave jumps are effortless! The sharper edges on tone holes promote smooth and resonant tonal āringā with lots of chiff and overtones on slow AND fast tunes. The rolls are simply awesome on this wooden whistle and the Colin Goldie Overtons also. They have the same feel and I love it! BTW, I have a Colin Goldie Overton modal D/C whistle on order from Colin. His wife Brigette said they should be delivered first part of September. Canāt wait as I think this whistle will allow me to do the occassional Low C nat and the F nat rolls that I sometimes need in Irish trsad tunes. It has a thumb hole and a right hand pinkie hole. Hope they have the same sharp, but very comfortable finger holes as my new boxwood whistle. Iāll hush!
I wonder how much chiffiness is a result of playing style, as opposed to the whistle itself. I mean, everyone agrees that Gens have a lot of chiff, but here we have Jessie and Didymus saying itās very pure, Chas saying not so pure, but not chiffy, and Don saying lots of chiff on overtonesā¦Do you suppose this is variation among whistles, or differences in playing style or breath control? This assumes we all pretty well know what chiff is.
Whatever the case, itās interesting.
Thanks for all the info. I should have some extra cash on hand in the next month or twoā¦Iām temptedā¦Iām tempted.
Tom, itās probably due at lease in part to playing styles, but I think a whole host of other effects go into it. I think the biggest thing is variation in peoplesā opinions of whatās a pure sound, breathy, chiffy, etc. Thereās also normal variation in handmade whistles, the size, shape, and brightness of the room youāre playing in, etc.
My new David Boisvert boxwood whistle arrived about noon today. It is VERY NICE and sounds as great as it looks! It is an easy blower like my Glenn Schultz Water Weasel, but with a beautiful boxwood sound instead of the CPVC of my WW. It is so beautiful, matching the looks and feel of my Casey Burns boxwood flute, which I love! And it has plenty of volume and chiff for sessions, just like my boxwood flute has. I am very pleased with the quality of Davidās work. You can see pictures on his website:
