ok so the great news first…
I got another $5000 dollars in scholarships from Marquette University!
That now equals $14,000 total! Yay!
ok, so now the whistle part of my post…
I am looking for an Overton High D hand out, just to hop on the handout bandwagon, lol.
but seriously,
Whats the difference between the Syn whistles and the Black Diamond Whistles? I am looking for more of a traditional sound, as I can drive 15 minutes to go play my dad’s burke d. I like the burke, but like I said, I want the more trad sound.
and I can’t afford an overton, so I am kinda thinking these are the ways to go right now, seeing as I can’t afford a tank of gas…
I am a huge fan of Burke, and why they don’t sound “trad” enough is something for the ear of the beholder, if you will.
I know that I’ve seen Liam O’Flynn and Liam Kelly both play Burke whistles and the Burke certainly has a great tone for ITM if you ask me, but then again this might be conjecture.
My advice is if you like a particular whistler, find out what he/she plays and pick that particular whistle up!
Congrats on your scholarships!! 
Matt
I agree.
I happen to be a Burke fan, but the truth is that the difference between a $10 whistle and a $150 whistle is small enough to make it a nitpick. I have Gens, Black Diamonds, Hoovers, a Burke, and others. I favor the Burke above all, but could do quite nicely with the others. The point is much more to listen, play, listen, play, and repeat… Congrats on the scholarships!!!
Congrats on the additional scholarships!
Now … Syn vs Black Diamond: both are made by Erle Bartlett, both nifty whistles. The Syn is made of aluminum, with a small acetal top; the Black Diamond has a larger acetal head on a brass tube. Of the two, I think the Black Diamond might have more of a “traditional” sound. (YMMV) For the best answer to the differences between these two whistles, I’d ask the maker.
Well as a Syn fan I would say get the Syn - looking at the prices being charged for each whistle, you could get a D,C and Bb set for the price of a Black Diamond D or C.
David
I prefer Syns to Black Diamonds. I like the backpressure on the Syns a lot,
but was never able to adjust to the second octave on the Black Diamond.
Anything above the second octave F# sounds way too airy compared to
the rest of the whistle’s notes. (But I’ve only tried one Black Diamond, so
that could easily be a fluke.)
well see I can hear the difference between the burke and others. I love the burke but I want something that doesn’t have that pure tone, seeing as I already have that…
and I see the difference between the syn and black diamond prices, trust me.
thanks for all the help.
From my point of view, it’s the BD if you are looking for a traditional/Generation sound. I make three lines of whistles, the BD’s, Syns and EB wooden whistles, and the dimensions and voicing are almost identical across the three. Very definite characteristics from each however! I hope the different brands can each find their own niche.
Why are BD’s more expensive than Syns? A lot more work involved in making the head and then the brass tube is expensive over here!
Cheers!