On 2002-09-30 15:01, Patrick wrote:
Gotta respond to this one, Mike:
Some folks here may think it bad form for a whistle producer to deride another producer in order to promote their own product.Generations do justice to just about anything in my opinion,even slow airs. peace,Mike
I have recently become friends with Erik Tullberg (Tully whistles) and he gave me an insight into the mind of whistle makers. He said that he used to collect different whistles looking for one that has all the characteristics that suit him. He’d like the head on one, the responsiveness of another, the feel of a third. And he started making his own so he could get what he actually wanted in a whistle.
Now, Erik is a friend of Colin Goldie and he is very proud of his blue Overton low D. He also loves his Overton high D. But, I notice that when Erik plays a tune, he tends to pick up a whistle he made. This is not dissing Colin’s work. I doubt it actually loses Colin any business.
When Sandy mentioned that her own whistles are more expressive than the average Generation, I take it to mean that she prefers the ones she makes. AS SHE SHOULD. I would not buy a whistle from a maker who admits to a preference for a different maker’s product. If the maker isn’t happy with it, why should I expect to be? Sandy isn’t asking us to buy one of hers. And I suspect that anyone who does get one of her whistles already has tried a Generation. I doubt Generation is losing business over this. Their quality control would lose them a lot more business than a whistle maker saying she likes her own whistles better than theirs.
We can be reasonable people without being PC, here. I have several Generation whistles and I do try to play them now and then. I think they suck. I’m not willing to go through a whole box of whistles to find the one that will do what they all are supposed to.
There are stories of folk musicians who can make a pawn-shop junk guitar sound great, but those same players would probably tell a student to start with the best he can afford. Learning to play an instrument is enough work to begin with. There’s no good reason to stack the deck against the student with an instrument that is hard to play well.
-Patrick
Patrick,since Sandy made her original post on this subject she has shown through subsequent posts to be realy nice,a good sport and generous with her knowledge and experience.My post does seem a little harsh in retrospect but was also a reflection of a general forum climate at that time,but thanks for bringing this up.Cheers,Mike
On 2002-09-01 02:25, Sandy Jasper wrote:
Blackhawk
I love your posting. Much good wisdom there. No matter how good your whistle is, you yourself provide the magic and soul of the music!
A few thoughts of mine on the high end, low end debate! I was always a generation whistle fan. I thought they could do no wrong. Then I started building my own and a whole new world of expression opened up for me. Now I still use the odd generation for a fast song, especially when my whistles aren’t with me but for slow, beautiful songs, they do them no justice. The difference really came home to me one night when a whistle class I was teaching all decided to order whistles. The next week I…
Some folks here may think it bad form for a whistle producer to deride another producer in order to promote their own product.Generations do justice to just about anything in my opinion,even slow airs. peace,Mike
… and just how far in the direction of Political Correctness do we have to go, Mike? Sandy gave an opinion, and stated that the whistles she made for herself sounded better - to her and to her students. I didn’t see a dissing of the Generation there - just a statement that another whistle sounded better to some. I think you’ll even find people who think a Meg sounds better than a Sindt.
Sandy has a right to her opinions, and should have the freedom to state them, even here. Being a whistlesmith makes her no less a human being, and certainly no less a member of the community. I didn’t perceive an ad for Elfsong there, did anyone else?
Sandy has a right to her opinions, and should have the freedom to state them, even here. Being a whistlesmith makes her no less a human being, and certainly no less a member of the community. I didn’t perceive an ad for Elfsong there, did anyone else?
Respectfully,
Bill Whedon
No, I didn’t, Bill. And from all I’ve read of her posts, Sandy seems to be a classy person. I thought then, and still do, that Mike shot from the hip, looking to find fault where there was none.
[ This Message was edited by: blackhawk on 2002-10-01 20:57 ]
It is easy to be misunderstood on the board as it is in life and I appreciate everyone for choosing to see my comments for what they are! Thanks also to Mike for his gentle kick in the butt and for the grace to take a second look, he showed a lot of class.
Now let’s get back to the business of whistles, triplets and spit control…
