Just in case you haven’t heard of this new whistle yet. Checkout http://www.silkstone-whistles.com/ and see the new Ace whistle by Paul Hayward. Here is an excerpt from the website: “The Ace is bored and turned from a solid acetal copolymer, and is fitted with alloy rings and a thin walled brass tuning slide.” It breaks down into 3 pieces.
"The sound quality is similar to my other whistles-moderatly loud, and quite sweet and pure in the upper register. Compared with the pvc and alloy whistles, the sound is , dare I say, a little “woodier”
“The Ace whistle represents the ultimate that I can achieve at the moment” all quotes are from the website. The price is 190 british pounds. Thom at the whistle shop is the guy to talk to if you want one!
Wow! The thought of a 300-dollar plastic whistle is a bit daunting, but my experience is that Silkstones are fairly priced, so this must be a really super whistle.
Was anyone out in Chiffland a beta-tester, or otherwise able to offer comments?
I don’t think any Chiffers have tried one of these whistles yet! There are only five made so far and Thom at the whistle shop has one! Here is part of an e-mail from Paul Hayward "Only five Ace whistles have been made so far. One D and one D-Plus are my
‘prototypes’ and stay with me. I sent an Ace D-Plus to Thom Larson at The
Whistle Shop - he liked it and asked for more of each type. I have two more
D-Plus versions made and ready to send to Thom. I’m not sure what he will be
charging in US$, so perhaps the best thing is contact him if you are
interested.
(sigh)
Too rich for my blood - but lovely. I’m interested in whether anyone has tried one of the D-Plus whistles. I know it looks ‘recorderish’, but have you ever noticed how many songs there are in D that insist on dropping down to that low C every once in a while? I know I can just play them an octave higher - but it is sort of frustrating sometimes when I WANT to stay in the lower register.
I totally agree Chuck!!! That is the big problem I’m having right now. I can play with the tune all I want, but I can’t hit that low C. I need one more hole LoL. Seriously though…how do I get around this without playin’ an octave higher? Get a whistle in a lower key?
Edit - and if so, which one?
thanks
Would rather go whistling where there is no path…and leave a trail.
Uriah
[ This Message was edited by: 2nd Wind on 2002-12-05 10:34 ]
I’m a big fan of Silkstone, but I can’t believe that this new whistle is that expensive, especially when only a few people have tried it.
On 2002-12-05 10:25, Chuck_Clark wrote:
(sigh)
I know it looks ‘recorderish’
Does it ? I think it looks flutey, rather.
But your right about that down C. Then you want the low C#, then the low Eb… 
Here’s a trick to play re[censored]er in a session and survive it. Borrow a fiddle, or berzerki. Leave the bow, especially for the latter. Carefully tape your bl[censored]löte on the back of the black handle thingie with them strings, fipple side upwards where the duffle-coat buttons get the strings reeled around.
Now go to the session, casually blow in your fiddle, and you’ll look perfectly trad. Note : It should take time to get the hang of fingering the bloo[censored]der with the holes downwards, but when there’s a willie, there’s no nillie, eh ?
If you came on a bike/motorbike in our usual celtic weather, you can use the strings to dry your gloves and socks.
If you try it and win lotsa friends 'n musical recognition, don’t bother thank me, pals.
(edited to duck for safety)
[ This Message was edited by: Zubivka on 2002-12-05 10:46 ]
On 2002-12-05 10:33, 2nd Wind wrote:
Get a whistle in a lower key?
Edit - and if so, which one?
thanks
This would be either a chromatic C whistle (see the trick up î thar), or a D with C extension, i.e. with F#, C# not =F =C.
Precisely what the new Silkstone seems to be…
On 2002-12-05 10:51, Zubivka wrote:
On 2002-12-05 10:33, 2nd Wind wrote:
Get a whistle in a lower key?
Edit - and if so, which one?
thanksThis would be either a chromatic C whistle (see the trick up î thar), or a D with C extension, i.e. with F#, C# not =F =C.
Precisely what the new Silkstone seems to be…
That’s pretty funny up ^^^thar…but I don’t think I have the skills for all that LoL. Today is the first day that I have seen a D+ or D with extension for low C. For me, this would be the perfect whistle. However, be honest now when you reply, if I busted out this whistle over in McGuire’s Irish Pub Hill #16 and the local Irishmen got a good look at it, would they laugh at me & take my Guinness away? I just don’t wanna play a D+ if that’s not keeping it Traditional …ya know?
On 2002-12-05 10:33, 2nd Wind wrote:
I totally agree Chuck!!! That is the big problem I’m having right now. I can play with the tune all I want, but I can’t hit that low C. I need one more hole LoL. Seriously though…how do I get around this without playin’ an octave higher? Get a whistle in a lower key?
Edit - and if so, which one?
thanks
Tunes in D can be played on an A whistle with the G-natural cross fingered. If the tune is in G (the other common key for D’s), it can be played on a low-G. That’s what I usually do with a tune that has a C in it. I recommend the Water Weasel A or G, which will give the tune somewhat of a low-whistle sound, but have a ton of character.
-I have a Silkstone Alloy D+, love it for many reasons, not just the extra low note, 'though that note permits
a nice whistle intro to “Maria” from “Westside Story”. -Its well tuned, loud but not overly so, has good volume balance in both octaves, and a nice, pretty whistley tone on the pure side which gets slightly chiffier near high B. -If the ACE whistle is as good or better, the lucky owner will have a wonderfully responsive soprano whistle.