I just took a look at the C&F pages for high end and low end whistles. Syns aren’t mentioned at all. Is that an oversight? 
Thanks Blackhawk - As a new guy, trying to learn, I’d come across many folks saying their “syn” was among their favorites. I probably scoured the low and high reviews to find them - to no avail. I was beginning think it was some cryptic whistle jargon. So, what is a syn? Who makes them and where can I look at one?
At Gaelic Crossing. You can get there by going to the links on C&F LINKS as Dale has kindly put it there.
Here you go: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=21831&highlight=bang+buck+syn
You can email the maker yourself and tell him what you want. He’ll email you back and you send the check to his sister here in the States and he sends you the whistle. The quality of my C and D and B are excellent. Just check out the thread by “syn whistles” about the T shirts that was posted today or yesterday, and that’ll give you the maker’s email address.
It is an oversight. I blame myself.
I’d be really delighted if someone with more experience with these would do a write-up kinda like the ones on the High-End and Low sections. I’d post it in a flash.
Dale
I have experience with the aluminum ones, but not the wooden ones he’s making now. Maybe Norcal can do that review.
I nominate James to do the Syn review, then.
Reading back over that, I should have pointed out that is one of the aluminum Syns, not a wooden one.
I wish I had a wooden one, I’d love to review it for ya! 
The aluminum ones have been reviewed here from time to time, but in a nutshell: medium resistance, some backpressure (more so in his early models than in his later work, which are much easier blowers). Pure sound, moderate volume in his earlier whistles, softer in his later work. Very responsive, can take aggresive play, which is as true of his later whistles as of his earlier ones.
Lots of folks find his later whistles to be easier blowers and easier players than his early ones. However, Jen tried both at session and liked his earlier work better, so there ya go.
The recording above was one of his later whistles. Here is a link to a comparison of both along with some other very nice whistles: (original Syn, late model Syn, Alba Q1, Oak, Hoover Whitecap, Burke AlPro session, and Burke brass pro narrow bore):
http://www.flutesite.com/samples/7whistlescomp.mp3
I like his early whistle quite a bit for playing with electric guitars…in addition to sessions, I also play with a rock-n-roll band now, and the early Syn works very well in “Brown Eyed Girl.”
–James
Talking of oversights, why aren’t Yvon Le Coant whistles mentioned either?
I’ve wondered that myself. Not speaking French, I get confused trying to navigate his website. It’d be really helpful to have a write up about him and his whistles.
Those guides are now several years out of date. A number of new brands have hit the scene—Syn, Boisvert, Raindog’s whistles etc. Grinter is now no longer just a rumour. Established makers now offer greater variety of style and/or key—Burke, Sindt and Abell come to mind. Opinions expressed in the guide at present might be modified as more consistent makes have become less so and other makes have seen substantial changes and improvements.
Dale shouldn’t blame himself for any of this. Some months ago he announced the project of completely updating the guides but sought help in doing so. I can only suppose that the required help has not yet been forthcoming.
One would also think, with a vested interest, that the makers of the whistles would be providing information to Dale as well. You think?
That’s true. But, for the purpose of the guides, the information they supply needs to be sifted and somebody has to review their products fairly extensively.
In the case of the maker I quoted (YLC), he doesn’t read nor speak English, and is too busy to spend time on the web.
Old dear Mr Gruber (right, the Silverton) speaks only German (or Hungarian) and didn’t access Internet before retiring.
Both are talented and long-established makers. Well, they never heard of C&F or Dale Wisely. Btw, I wouldn’t, if I hadn’t bumped into its URL in The Low Whistle Book.
There are probably other cases around, with similar or different reasons. Often, there are talented craftsmanship who just don’t communicate well, for lack or time or because they’re plain bad at it–take Jon Swayne, for instance.
Should this, or grumpiness, or language barrier or computer allergy disqualify them? Not to me: I believe what makes such a site a form of independent press is it seeks the information, not just receive and dispatch it. The whole difference between “desk” journalists and reporters. Take the latter’s spirit away, and you end up with a hardware advertising catalog, even if it’s labeled “magazine”. Some of the computer press comes to mind :roll:
I don’t say this is what we may fear here–I just answer your question. And I know the community Dale started, and himself, have brought quite a few “scoops”… and exposed some vapourware. Here, Micr##### comes to mind, with his Riverdance 2004 Spillover low whistle. 
The website is rather awful, and the pictures don’t even show the new trim of the whistles, coming with silver-plated ferrules as standard since 2002 or even earlier.
Should I compile what I posted here to make it a write-up?
Why not? Obviously Dale can only speak for himself, but I think he would welcome it if you distilled the information you have on Yvon le Coant and also gave a brief description of what the whistles are like and of their quality along the lines of what’s already in the guides. I think that if those of us in a postion to update the information on a particular make did so in a way that saved Dale having to do the research work he’d welcome it. He could then edit as he sees fit without having to chase up the details and he could add anything he might want to say (and delete those things he might not want to say.) I think this is what he had in mind when he appealed for help in updating the guides some months back.
Indeed I really appreciate it when people submit entries to any of my “guide” pages on whistles. Good idea to roughly pattern them after the ones that are there.
Dale
Thanks. I frankly do wish I could get more help with the guides.
I don’t have Syn. But, for the record, I do have Grinter, including a full review. I do have Boisvert on the guide and have posted review(s) in the newsletter. I also have raindog’s up. Read the guides lately?
As for the updates on keys & prices., if any maker or any user contacts me about this stuff, I sure try to post it.
It’s hard for me to keep up with it all. I am now the Disputed King of Internet Whistle Journalism. Always seeking help, especially from my critics.
Dale
Well, I haven’t read them cover to cover for a while so I obviously haven’t kept up. My apologies for those remarks that are outdated. I’m guessing that this stuff must be pretty recent because I’ve sometimes gone to the guide to get a link to a website and noticed things that needed updating. But I don’t keep a diary so I can’t say when I checked it through most recently.
I would offer help, BTW, if I thought I had something valuable to offer. I suppose a note about new models and keys would be a good idea when I notice them. But, since I rarely get to play whistles I don’t own, I can hardly comment on things like consistency.