I’m a fairly new whistle player but I played sax for 17 years which, surprisingly helped me pick whistle up quickly.
I’m doing ok so far on my little faedog and oak but I’m about to step things up and start playing the whistle in my little irish trad act that I take to ren fests.
The faedog and oak just don’t have the projection I’m lookin for in the lower octave. What I really want is a tunable whistle (preferably available in multiple keys) that has a nice loud tone and a clean bottom octave.
I don’t mind having to blow to hit my second octave but I hate trying to play out and having the bloody whistle jump to the second octave. I’d honestly prefer to keep the price range in the sub-100 dollar range for a single whistle but if it’s a set with 1 head and multiple tubes I’d be much more willing to fork over more cash.
Right now I’ve been eyeballing the Syn whistles, I’ve read they play loud but also read they have serious problems with wind. (I know most whistles do but some are more succeptable than others supposedly.)
For Ren Faires, some folks like to use the Sweetheart Dymondwood Pro D. It looks very traditional, (like wood), and is quite loud. It’s a very well-made whistle. It does cost over $100, though, and only comes in high D and C.
I’m not super concerned with look, as long as its not painted hot pink or something I’m fine with it.
I play a red starburst accoustic guitar and an octave mandolin with ‘modern’ fixings like the tail piece and clean finished front. ultimately i just need something that’ll carry well over a crowd, not be entirely too shrill when I play it loud and be able to carry the lower register at a higher volume than my little sub-10 dollar whistles.
Lance: Hm…if you weren´t worried about not too traditional look, you could try to write Colin Goldie - yeah, his whistles are about $200, but they´re just downright amazing. And he offers custom made 10 holed whistle - here http://www.overton.de/texte/pricelist.html. It will be more expensive probably, and you´ll have to wait some time, but it´s an instrument for your lifetime (there´s lifetime warranty indeed), it´s pretty loud (the loudest whistle I know), and with beautiful tone - which is chosen by you. As he makes all whistles custom, he can make it as you want it. And I think that one such whistle would be cheaper than 4-5 $100 whistles.
For what it’s worth, my Syns seem to be some of the best in windy conditions.
As previously mentioned, tunable Susatos seem to fit all your requirements (I think Susatos are a bit louder than I need indoors. Outdoors, they work really well).
If you’ve got the money, I also agree that Overtons would work really well, but they are well above your listed price range. But once you’re up into that range, there are quite a few others you might want to look at, too.
But I don’t think you’d go wrong with either Syn or Susato.
I frequently play outdoors and away from buildings. On mountain tops, gullies, stream sides – places where both wind and temperature tend to fluctuate. Susato and Sweetheart whistles have performed the best so far. (Have not had the pleasure of trying a Syn.)
Two very different sounds, however. The Susato has a pure, bright sound which has been improved (from my point of view) by the O ring tweak discussed elsewhere. The Sweetheart has a darker, more complex sound.
Both are loud and carry well, but this is not always an advantage when you are just playing for yourself and don’t want to disturb other people. If weight is not an issue, I usually carry my Hoover D and one of these. If the weather is not cooperative, I pack away the Hoover and pull out the backup. Amazing how well these whistles work in wind gusts.
I want overtons eventually and I’ll have at least 4 of them one day.
Right now I’m looking to get a decent little set and if I get really serious about the whistles in my group and solo then I’ll start forking over some more serious cash.
So far I’m not hearing many arguments against the Syns and a lot of folks tellin me the susato’s are good in the price range.
The susato’s are plastic, something I tend to avoid for a variety of reasons, most of all sound. I’ve played a few plastic whistles and when compared to the metal whistles I’ve played (especially the heavier metal ones) I preferred the sound on the metal. Though.. that could have been brands, I’ve never touched a susato.
I’ll keep holding out for a few more opinions, so far I’m leaning towards the Syns still since they’re metal, I like the look, and they appear to come in a fairely wide and affordable variety.
Please feel free to tell me I’m a fool and I should buy no other whistle than an “insert whistle”, thats what I’m looking for. Good opinions from experienced players who have played a variety of mid range whistles
In my quiver, Sustato high D and high C are king for outdoors.
I tried probing the impact of whistle material once (i.e. metal v. plastic v. wood). Certainly, everyone has their own impressions based on what they’ve played. My impression is that the make+design (fipple shape, hole placement, etc…) matter much more than material.
My Syn C was a champ in high winds this weekend (Ren fair). It cut out once when the most extreme gusts blew right into it, but a slight turn to the side solved that problem. I was told it carried well over the crowd and was the most audible instrument next to the fiddle. I wanted to be able to push the bottom two notes a little harder at times (i.e., in the highest winds and against the noisiest crowds), but other than that, the Syn was completely reliable and a pleasure to play. I experienced minimal clogging in the warm weather conditions with no warm-up – note, however, that this whistle normally requires a good warm up to avoid clogging, and that would need to be taken into account in cooler outdoor conditions.
Based on what I understand you want, I think you should consider Reyburn too.
High D (session) $110.00
HIgh D/C (session) set {one head, two bodies} $140.00
Reyburn also makes very well-respected low whistles.
I have not played my High D outside in the wind, but perhaps some others on the list have some experience with it outdoors. {maybe I will take it to Santa Barbara this weekend and try playing it at the beach or on the breakwater }
I love everything about it for indoors. Beautiful tone, in tune, tuneable, and reasonably priced.
At a guess, seeing as I don’t play them outside, The C, Db, D, Eb and E bodies would work outside pretty well. The A, Bb and B ones would struggle, as they take considerably less air than the higher pitched whistles.
I have an Impempe set of whistles. They are known to be soft. That’s not what your want BUT..T..T..T, for my set that goes a bit for the Bb and the C. Not the D, which is quite loud, but what’s more, it has a very focused sound, which makes that the whistle can be heard after all the other instruments cannot be heard anymore. The singer of our band could hear me at 50metres as loud as when he stood next to me. Also mine has very little problems with wind (any whistle has when the wind is heavy). The focused sound does magic things in this perspective.
I’m absolutely in love with the sound of Overton, especially when played by Brian Finnigan (Flook). I have a loud low D, made by Bernard himself and improved (as the fipple has fallen and put back not very well) by Colin Goldie. It has some problems with the wind though.
I’m a sucker for ‘sets’ and I really do like the look of the Syns, plus they seem to have most of the play characteristics I’m looking for at the moment.
I appreciate all the feedback, I’ll get some pictures and a follow up once I actually get my hands on my new toys
Another option you may want to try is using an A whistle. Most whistles are weakest on the low end. It is the nature of the beast… But having an A whistle will allow you to play in the key of D in its middle range offering a much more powerful sound. Note, you will trade the extreme high end of the the scale but there are lots of tunes that don’t go above A any way so…
Again, a vote for the susatos as they fit all the requirements you described.
The susato’s are cheap enough that I can pick up a high D to compare.
I’ve already got three saxophones, 5 guitars, an octave mandolin, a couple keyboards, multiple hand drums, a bass guitar, and already have 2 whistles.
By the end of the year I’ll be adding at least three more whistles (most likely 6) a mandolin and probably another guitar A chunk of my budget is allocated to “Toy acquisition” specifically to cover my gadget and instrument lust.
Syns and a susato D, then I’ll probably save up a bit and pick up an overton D as far as whistles go. I’ve actualy played a friends Overton and it seemed to take more control than I had at the time but I was a brand spankin new whistler at the time.
A chunk of my budget is allocated to “Toy acquisition” specifically to cover my gadget and instrument lust.