We have two whistle players at our session (not counting me or this other lady – neither of us is any good at it.)
One guy plays a Feadog and also has some Generations in his bag. He knows almost every tune and can play tunes he doesn’t know after hearing them once. His playing is very, very good.
The other guy, who normally plays a high-end flute, pulled out a Sweetone last night. I had never heard him play the whistle before and I had never heard a whistle that sounded as lovely as that Sweetone.
I suspect that a lot of high end whistles are being purchased unnecessarily.
A Clarke Sweetone or a Feadog could be enough, even for a session.
Maybe in a big session you could need something more powerful, with a louder sound.
But you know how it’s this… the problem is the damn WhOA.
Of course a Feadog could be enough, but if you could afford a beautiful and great sounding Burke, would you be able to resist to buy it? I wouldn’t!
Now I have about a dozen of whistles, none of them “high-end”, and I KNOW I don’t need another (at least not another high D). I have a Clarke Sweetone, a Feadog, an Everywhistle, a Susato, and 2 more.
But what can I say? If I had the possibility of buying a Burke or an Alba or an Overton, or a Copeland, I’d definately buy them.
Maybe I’m an insatiable addict.
It all depends on how you look at it. It might not be necessary to buy a high end whistle because there are some great cheapies, but it sure is great to have a beautiful whistle. I love playing my Thornton and my Hudson, so to me they were very necessary.
They don’t make me play better, but they sure are fun!!
Oh man I would LOVE to have that little Datsun. I used to drive a Toyota Corona (not a Corola, the Corona is way older) and it was the most fun thing to drive. I loved that thing.
I guess I’m just a cheapskate at heart. But was I ever impressed by the beautiful sound of that Sweetone. That’s the one with the little drawing of the dancing guy on it. Looks like a toy but sounds like birdsong. Anyway, our session had about 25 musicians last night and I could hear the Sweetone just fine.
Hey - my wife and I had a Toyota Corona as well…back when we got married in 88. That was one great car. The only sad memory related to the Corona was that we had to sell my little 78 brown Honda Civic, nicknamed the little brown log, because we were living in an area with no real parking and finding a space for one car required enough faith to feed the masses.
FWIW - I’ve heard great music made on a gen. Flashy whistle are pretty to look at but it’s the engine behind the whistle that makes the true difference.
This topic is actually quite timely for me. I have recently been wondering whether I am a total idiot for spending so much money on high end whistles when really, my favorite soprano whistle to play is the Clarke original I keep in my car. I wish someone could figure out a way to make a high end, tunable version of that whistle. It has the most beautiful chiffy sound, and the chirps it makes when notes are cut are lovely.
I agree the whistle is a paradox. There is someting with the cheap tin whistle, and I don´t know what… Generally the rule is that a more expensive instrument also is a better one.
I play a lot of instruments: classical guitar, flute, recorder, piano, mandolin, ukelel, bass, harmonica, ocarina and tin whistle. A cheap classical guitar or a cheap recorder doesn´t make anybody happy. And the more expensive the piano is the better it becomes. Nothing beats a Steinway! But with the whistle this is not the case. I would not trade my old original Clarke for any other whistle. And I have tried a lot of different whistles both cheap and more expensive. And if I had to choose I would rather play the whistle for the rest of my life than the piano!!!
As long as the whistle is well in tune, than it is a good whistle. More expensive whistles tend to be hand-voiced so their tuning is more reliable than inexpensive ones which may have some flaws from the manufacturing process. There may be some duds among both expensive and inexpensive whistles but, when you find a good one, it’s still a treasure.
I have recently found a great whistle, Becker Penny Whistles, in “D”. I liked it so much I bought a “C” the day I got it. It is PVC, witha wooden fipple, and beveled tone holes. It might not be a great session whistle, but then again in the right hands it might. This may be hard to believe, but sounds as good as my “expensive” whistles, at least to me. I haven’t had a chance to share my find with anyone else, but I can’t wait to see what others think. I paid $8 shipping included. If any one is interested Becker is selling them on e-bay.
Cheers:)
Well, maybe somebody has. (Or not.) Here’s what fancypiper had to say about an Every whistle that was on tour: (shameless plug)
YMMV, that’s just one opinion. But recently fancypiper sent me an e-mail regarding the whistle he bought that said in part “This whistle tops my list of preferred soprano whistles, even beating out my beloved Clarke Original design.” I’m not sure what he likes about it, but I’m glad he likes it.
My first car was a green '78 Civic CVCC. I had it for 9 years and it’s the only car that I really miss. I loved that thing!!
I saw them on eBay and was wondering. Thanks for the information.
I totally agree. I’ve heard awesome music come out of a whistle that sounded pretty bad when I played it. I think a great whistle player can make any old piece of pipe (or PVC ) sound great.
Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? Some people love a shiney well engineered BMW; other people get a kick out of an old beater pickup truck. I guess instruments are’t all that different.
From what I’ve heard, a good player playing a Burke still sounds better than a good player playing a Generation, but I love the sound of every Burke I’ve heard. Sadly, my words mean little, as my experience is very slight.
The Sweetone, however, is special. It sounds great in the higher octave. It has a really nice pure sounding second octave; not full and pure like a Burke, but a different kind of pure. I like my Sweetone a lot.
That said, buying different whistles with different sounds has simply made me appreciate each different one more. The comparison makes it worth buying different ones.
Personally, I would never feel comfortable in a shiny BMW, Mercedes, etc. They don’t look to me like something you drive, and I’m kind of an everyman; I don’t like the status car thing. It’s just not me. I like ordinary cars, but with room. I like the Chevy Impala. Unfortunately, I can’t afford it yet - it’s my dad’s. Or maybe ever. Sorry about the car spiel, it’s something kids my age (21) think about a lot.
If high end whistle are bought unnecessarily then definitely the fancy cars are and the designer clothes and sunglasses and most luxury items.
If there is no real improvement in quality and sound in a high end whistle than a cheepie, then we can compare it to the fact that that a jumper with a logo keeps you no warmer than a generic one. But people still buy the ones with logos.
So, are expensive whistles simply a fashion statement?
I personally like the tone of wooden whistles (and I accept that they cost more to make), my father only plays Clarkes and hes always going to sound better than me (and he would think it an unnessasary waste to spend as much as i do on whistles).
) sound great.