Hello all
I was wondering what the cheepest price you can get a low whistle for, because I really want to learn how to play it, I blame that on this site 
, and being in university, and wanting a new clairnet, I dont have that much money. Thanks! 
wait, is the irish flute more or less expensive then the low whistle, and theyâre similar right?
Check http://www.tinwhistles.us/jubilee.htm for a good price on low whistles.
Flutes are generally far more expensive than low whistles. Flutes are
conical and often made of wood using more difficult techniques. The
cheapest D flute that I know of that is playable is the Tipple plastic
PVC flute, which is around $70. Wooden flutes start at $300 and go
well into the thousands. But, like Walden said, you can get a PVC low
D whistle for $25, and most of the really good Low D whistles top out
at $500.
All true. And yes, theyâre similar. But also quite different! Youâll want to browse recent threads to learn more about how people feel about this.
thanks!
I believe that a Dixon polymer, one piece, low D is about $70.
look at ebay, there are low whistles for E20,-. Donât know what you get for it though.
You normally get a Pakistani, cheap, out of tune (usually), poorly made whistle.
true, but cheap. Susato also makes relatively cheap whistles, and they are getting more and more good comments.
You can get a chrome-moly alto âAâ from Bill Wheldon (serpent music) for under $100 and these are very fine, generally recommended instruments.
For me, the plastic whistle is not an option - it sounds too much like a recorder to me (a thousand pardon to plastic whistle fans everywhere!).
I have not seen Billâs whistles recommended by a serious whiste player whose opinion I respect, nor âgenerally.â I am sure I am not in a good position to judge Billâs whistles and I donât know what people say on other message boards; but I think itâs seriously misleading to call them generally recommended
If you are looking for something cost effective, try a Doug Tipple flute. For about 80 bucks, you can get a PVC made flute that sounds great, has all the bells and whistles you could want, is indestructable, and you wonât grow out of for a very long time.
thanks for all the advice, now i just need to go find a music store that sells them, because iâve never seen low whistle, but then again i hadnt seen any high whistles untill i started playing those
Master Bloomfield,
My humble apologies in speaking for you, or for any of you who find yourself in the enviable position of being respected by Mr. Bloomfield.
To clarify, I have heard some people say good things about this whistle. dfernandez77 in particular likes the whistle. BrewerPaul seems to like his soprano âDâ, which I have also played. I liked the sound, so I chose to purchase one and I believe that I will receive it sometime this week. Wanderer also posted a review about a Serpent whistle, although it was not one of Billâs chrome moly ones. Bill Wheldonâs âSerpentsâ have been mentioned in quite a few threads and while there have been negative comments, none of them seemed detrimental.
Although I am not (by any stretch of the imagination) proficient in the whistle, I will probably let you know what I think of it when it arrives and I have had a chance to play it. I might also be willing to let some of you more knowledgable and proficient folks have a crack at it as long as I can get it back right away. I could certainly have no problem with running it over to BrewerPaul and let him take a look at it - I think youâll agree that his opinion would carry considerably more weight than mine.
Sorry, didnât mean to tread on anyoneâs toes. What should I post when someone comes and states in a thread asking for buying advice that a whistle which most people blackball or politely ignore is âgenerally recommended?â If thereâs a way to balance such a statement for the benefit of first-time buyers without people getting their knickers in a twist, Iâd love to hear about it.
And do let us know what you think of it when you get it, please.
Do you avoid buying things on the internet? Itâs probably the best if
not the only way to find low whistles and Irish flutes (depending on
your location). They tend to be hard to come by in most brick-and-
mortar music stores.
You could try:
The Whistle Shop in the US
You did not step on my toes, my friend. I spoke above my knowledge, and you pointed it out, thatâs all. Causing somebody to clairfy what they said is the beginning of understanding.
I was actually serious about your knowledge and âenviable position of respectâ and all that, although I did present it a little âtongue-in-cheekâ. There are people on this forum that give you a great deal of deference. You certainly have more skill and knowledge than I in regards to the whistle.
I certainly hope that Billâs whistles are not in the âignoredâ or âblackballedâ catagory that you mentioned - as I said, I liked the soprano âDâ that BrewerPaul let me try out. Maybe my ear prefers a âpoorer qualityâ of whistle (whatever thatâs supposed to mean). Regardless, the proof is in the pudding, and I will give a thorough review of the whistle to the best of my humble ability on receipt.
If BrewerPaul asks, I will also give him a crack at the whistle. If the whistle performs well for him and me, maybe Iâll send it on a little tour for you all. The whistle is pretty sturdy and would be difficult to break during the tour - Iâm sure that Bill would appreciate the exposure. Of course, the size of the tour would depend on how attached I become to the whistle!
A ticklish topic! In clear consience I canât recomment a Serpent Low WhistleâŚand this is from personal experience. Without going into detail, since I have respect for ALL who make whistles, Iâd try a low whistle made by someone else.
Bloomfield tried to politely steer newcomers in a good direction.
Serpent whistles have a lot of backpressure and they donât handle much like other whistles.
That said, the ones I have are certainly playable. They have their own feel and sound, which wonât be to everyoneâs taste.
I like his metal whistles better than his plastic onesâŚI have a B-flat and a low A which are both quite good.
âJames