Just received my Burke Al-pro A - it looks and plays beautiful!
Also got a Dixon tuneable Bflat - talk about bargains!
I’m whistlefully happy again…
I had to send my Al pro A back to be looked at. 
I do hope I get it back soon.
In re: WhOA, I’m wondering if there is a whistler out there who can claim the distinction of NOT having WhOA. I think I may come close. I have four very inexpensive D whistles (the first being a Clarke, and two subsequent ones acquired because I didn’t have an instrument with me on vacation and needed something, the fourth given to me), and my Burke pro D, and the MIA Burke Al Pro A to give me another key.
I have no particular reason to acquire another D whistle unless one of the current ones gets mangled, and no reason to get another A. I can imagine getting a C, and possible a G, but not multiples of either. Is this unusual? Am I hormone or vitamin deficient. . .and when I’m back in balance I’ll go out hunting the ownerless D?
On 2001-09-30 11:36, tyghress wrote:
I have no particular reason to acquire another D whistle unless one of the current ones gets mangled, and no reason to get another A. I can imagine getting a C, and possible a G, but not multiples of either. Is this unusual? Am I hormone or vitamin deficient. . .and when I’m back in balance I’ll go out hunting the ownerless D?
If non-Whoa is a disorder, then I’m a sufferer too. I started on an Oak, then purchased a Sindt D, was given an Abell D, have a Sindt A, Generation Eb and Overton low D and am perfectly happy. Personally, I can’t see the need to buy multiple keys either. I guess we should be glad, from a financial standpoint, that we aren’t stricken with Whoa 
My problem is acquiring tunes. I have about 3,000 on the computer, stacks of books and am still looking for more. Then there’s the desire to have/learn more instruments. I want to learn fiddle, tranverse flute, gaita (already have uilleanns and sold my great highlands)psaltry, dulcimer, harp… you name it! Life’s too short!
Teri
““I can imagine getting a C, and possibly a G…””
Noooo, you don’t have WhOA…
Let us know when you haven’t purchased, ordered, or lusted over a new whistle for more than 6 months.
Why are the new ones always in denial?
Loren
It has just occured to me that I although I know what the condition is,I dont know the actual words except I guess WH is probably whistle…whats OA?Ive always thought of it as WAS (Whistle aquisition syndrome),an extremely mild strain ,and recommended substitute for GAS:guitar aquisition syndrome. Mike
Whistle Obsessive Acquisition Disorder.
Thanks Avanutria,
I Should have known..the D makes it so obvious! 
Mike
Not in denial! Not!
Am I?
You’ve got six whistles, I think that qualifies for WhOA. In my view, a Non-WhOA person would have one whistle and have never heard of Chiff & Fipple because they would not have sought out information.
So, anyone here automatically has WhOA!
A G whistle is pretty useful, as is an A,
as is a C, if you are playing with
other instruments. A Bb is useful
too, just to play (especially hymns).
Then one needs
a low D because they’re an entirely
different instrument, really, which
one knows how to play in advance.
Of course one wants good whistles,
and how do you find out which are
good unless you play them? And the
only way to do that is to buy them!
It’s not addiction, I tell you–
it’s reasonable…reasonable…
In a week we vacation ‘up North’, which leads me to my twice a year visit to Song of the Sea in Bar Harbor, where I acquired my Burke early last summer. I rarely come away from the store without spending a tad more money than I anticipated, much to the glee of the proprietors, I’m sure.
A reasonably good dulcimer costs upward of $450. A reasonably good whistle costs…let’s say $50 (some would argue that that’s high, others low, but I’m not talking concert-level, here, just sweetly playable). If we equate what I’ve spent on one dulcimer with whistle expenditures, I can get about 10 more whistles and still be ahead of the game!
"In re: WhOA, I'm wondering if there is a whistler out there who can claim the distinction of NOT having WhOA. I think I may come close......" by TyghressTyghress,
I’m really, really, really sure you don’t have WhOA.
I mean you don’t have ALL the symptoms and the ones you have, like:
- Has multiple posts to C&F.
- Has more than one ‘inexpensive’ whistle.
- Has determined the Justificaton Factor. This is the economic justification with regards to determining the base factor between buying a whistle and buying another instrument (10, whistles to dulcimer).
- Has the ‘oops, I left it at home’ excuse down for purchasing a new whistle when out, weather on a trip across the country or across the street.
- recognizes ‘denial’ as something she does not not have on the topic of her lack of WhOA. (Is that a double or triple negative).
- Accepts that her basic constitution requires her to spend a “tad” more than she intended at the music store each time she visits. See Economic Justification Factor sighted above for approximating the size of “tad”.
- All periodic vacations are punctuated by trips to music stores where she can spend that “tad” and using the justification factor to still denigh her WhOA denial.
Of course these symptoms can be overlooked, right?
With tongue firmly embedded in cheek, I ask you, how many whistles it takes for you to really, really, really, …
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2001-10-01 18:31 ]
Enjoy your vacation; Bar Harbor is one of our favorite places and we usually stay at the Motor Inn that’s at the foot of town and on the pier and harbor. Park and leave the car for a week, a short bike ride or walk to Acadia National Park, whale watching, kayaking, nice shops, and of course Song of the Sea, where my wife and daughter usually leave me. Oh, I’m curious about the reason for the Burke A return, if you don’t mind. Was there something specifically wrong or just not to your liking. I ask because, although mine suits me, the air requirements seem high (but I’ve been sick so that could explain that)and the finger placement and reach took a bit more getting used to than say an Overton, Sindt or Copeland A. Play on…
Okay…I yield…My name is Tyggy, and I am an obsessive musical instrument collector.
Phil, we’re fortunate to have a cabin on the quiet side of the island, in an itty bitty village called Bernard. I sit on the deck and play music across the cove at dawn and dusk, and the gulls don’t seem to mind. For anyone else venturing up to Mt. Desert Island, keep an ear open for one of the best community radio channels in the world, WERU out of Blue Hills.
I returned my Burke Al A because the fipple seemed to have shifted or something, so that it wasn’t set smoothly within the headjoint on one side. I had had a bit of concern about what can only be described as an octave whisper…that is, when I was playing the higher notes there was this echo of a note one octave lower. But as I listened and played more, I came to think of it as part of the tonal color, not a flaw in the sound. I’m hoping the fipple gets repaired or replaced soon, and I get the whistle back!
Can anybody really tell me why it is so easy to come down with this “WhOA” thing. I ordered a Clarke last spring and since have purchased several more of the cheapies including a few different Waltons, a Sweetone, a Bb Generation (which I really like) and a Feadog (which I can’t get anything above a high G out of). I then found myself investing in the more expensive Dixon D, and a Dixon Low D (both of which I love and play most of the time). I keep reading about this disorder and keep telling myself that it can’t possibly happen to me. But I’m afraid, VERY AFRAID!
How can one “nip it in the bud”, before it gets totally out of control?
Thanks,
‘How can one “nip it in the bud”, before it gets totally out of control?’
The Whoa flower has no buds.
There are no warning symptoms.
One day you are innocent and free;
Next day rationalizing the irrational purchase of a Generation D which you can’t even get a sweet sound from, but you know intuitively there is a whistle out there somewhere you can. Or you can make one, or you can tweak one and get “that sound” and then you have not just Whoa, but WhIM (Whistle Improvement Malady). And then you get CAFE (Chiff and Fipple Effect)and then…
Yeah, WHOA can be pretty nasty. It’s unique in that the vectors are inanimate objects (whistles) rather than living organisms. (Also I heard rumours that you can somehow contract WHOA from doorknobs?)
I’ve been playing whistle for 2-3 months now. I already have an Acorn, a Clarke original, and a Howard Low D. I know of a shop in Santa Monica where they sell Clarke Sweetones (I saw it before I caught WHOA), and that’s gonna be my next. Maybe today at lunch. Probably both a D and a C.
WHOA also exists in the House of the Lord… If only the hymnwriters would have taken a cue from Irish music, all the hymns would be in D or G, and a couple of whistles would do the job. But, NO… we have to contend with pianists who can’t play in sharps but flats, so here we go into Ab, Eb, Db and other murky waters. So, what’s a hymn-playing whistler to do?
Smiling my way to the shelf lined with lots of whistles in a huge assortment of keys…
Cal
Speaking of shelves lined with whistles, does anyone know of any source for a whistle/flute rack? I have three wooden flutes (well, two and a half, I haven’t finished the one yet) and I’ve been looking for a wall rack to horizontally hold them. So far a gun rack is the closest thing I’ve seen. They are native american style wooden flutes, if anyone is familiar with them.
“How can one “nip it in the bud”, before it gets totally out of control?”
That’s easy. Spend lots of money on a variety of cheap and expensive whistles. It’s even more fun when you have a spouse that doesn’t understand your preoccupation.
Tony