Check out anniemcu latest creation, the new Sassafras all low 12 whistle roll:
Also shown is a good portion of my current low whistle collection, starting back row from left: Reyburn, Kerrypro, Chieftain NR, Chieftain OS, Kerry Songbird, Reviol, Dixon ABS, Burke Viper, two Chieftain Golds, Cook, The infamous O’Riordan, (second row) MK low f, Howard, Susato and Overton low C. Missing whistles include an alba low D and alba vibe, Sweetheart resonance low D in blackwood and my Overton low D is in the shop, literally, Colin has it, I swear.
Let me tell you - there is nothing more satisfying than loading that sucker up with all the whistles you need that night and slinging it on yer shoulder.
I LIE!! - there IS something more satifying! That’s the looks on people’s faces when you plonk the roll on the table, unsnap the clips and roll it on out (sssslllloooowwwwwllllyyyy).
Aint no-one getting my Sassafrass Grove!
… Eh? … eeerr, OK.
Erm … Annie - Stick just asked me if you do streach-limos?
… with a What??? A spa???
(Stick is obviously suffering from cabana-fever - just ignore him)
I really REALLY need one of those graduated rolls!!
I blew into a gig last night with, like, 20 whistles shoved into a drumstick bag, the longer ones sticking out the top.
Medit8, about your low D addiction…
It’s funny, but I myself really don’t WANT more than one low D. I’ve bought, now, seven or eight different makes, but the purpose is to end up with THE ONE, the low D that will become my workhorse.
In fact I just bought a Chieftan Gold from you, I think, last week.
It’s a fine whistle and I enjoy playing it. But is it BETTER than my trusty Burke? So far, for me, the answer is no. But I’ll give it a couple more weeks.
The reason I don’t want more than one low D is what’s happening now: going back and forth between the Burke and the Gold, I find I’m doing little clams that are a result of slight differences in the voicing between the two. My goal is to get really good on ONE whistle, to know its performance intimately.
I’d rather spend the money, I suppose, on more Burkes in various keys…
It’s funny, but what you don’t like about having more than one low D is the same reason I like it. Each one of the low D’s shown above not only has it’s own unique sound/tone, but also plays differently as well. I love taking the time to get to know a whistle and it’s own idiosyncracies. After awhile you find that certain tunes sound better on certain whistles, and the more whistles you have, the bigger pallet of sounds you have to choose from! As you can see, I have a Burke and some Golds as well, and while I would certainly say that the Burke is hands down easier to play and more responsive than the gold, The golds have a unique dark tone that no other whistle I’ve yet played has. So in the end, why choose between the two when you can have both?
I asked Colin Goldie to describe his favorite whistle, and he said he couldn’t as it depended on what he needed a whistle for at the time. He said that that was one of the reasons he became a whistle maker, so that he could have more than one whistle to fit all his needs.
That said, I will certainly admit that I have a bit of an addictive personality when it comes to collecting things. I try to justify purchasing so many whistles by saying that they’re for the purposes of review for my website, but I think the truth is that I made the website so I could have an excuse to buy so many whistles!
You’re sure right about the dark tone of the Gold. It’s very interesting for sure. And the high notes have a velvety softness, as opposed to the slight shrillness that that type of whistle (Overton/Chieftan OS) often have.
Since you own (or owned) two Golds, I was wondering how similarly the two played.
I tend to not like Overtons that much, or whistles of that ilk, but the Gold is very nice.
I can understand the concept of having a range of available timbres to draw upon. But I guess I’m more interested in getting the best peformances out of the least practice time. This means I’d rather spend the time it would require to become proficient on a number of whistles, getting more proficient on one, my “ax” as it were.
It’s one of the things that’s so great about the Burkes: the various sizes behave nearly identically so that you can pick one up and play. You don’t have to spend a lot of time learning to overcome the idiosyncrasies of each.
Are you saying I have a problem? Hey, I can stop anytime I want! Really…right after I get a copeland, and an MK, and a… 
