I’ve been lurking for a long time now and now is the time to post since I can’t get any solid answers by just searching.
Luckily, I didn’t catch WHOA so my experience is very limited. Got only 3 whistles after 2 yrs of playing.
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Whistles have different characteristics, I was wondering if it’s possible to change a specific whistle’s characteristics without sacrificing its tone, pureness, sweetness, …
For example:
X Whistle has a pure, sweet, loud, little or no chiff… but has a huge air requirements.
Is it possible to ask the maker to change the whistle and make it take less air and add additional holes like a Bottom C - but it’s tone, pureness, sweetness, … won’t changed at all?
Of course it’s not a stupid question - and you’ll probably get lots of responses.
If you are shopping, there are some makers who will not even make you a whistle without talking to you about these issues. Ronaldo Reyburn, Bill Whedon, David O’Brien, and Colin Goldie come to mind. I’m sure you’ll get more recommendations.
I’ve noted that whistle makers seem to be a bit like chefs, try different whisles by the same maker and even very different whistles seem to have a common underlying flavor. Most recently I experienced this with David O’Brien’s Maple Soprano D - different material and fipple design, yet it has a touch of that O’Brien husky voice.
In my experience there’s some give and take when you pick one characteristic over another. But that’s part of the appeal. There’s a particular balance that I like, which means I end up with some extra whistles. But I figure, within this community and good prices on second hand whistles, a good whistle will always find a good home.
The simple answer is yes, there are loads of makers who will do this for you. Of course some makers will not. I would like to add Paul Busman, Dan Bingamon, and Mack Hoover to the list, I know all of these people will make a Whistle to your specifications.
and now is the time to post since I can’t get any solid answers by just searching.