Anyone out there have a whistle in E or Eb (low whistles) that they absolutely love? I find myself wishing I had those keys (hardly ubiquitous, I know, but handy when playing with various pipers and such). That, and they would round out my whistle collection, as far as commonly used keys are concerned. Look forward to hearing from you!
–Blake
I’d put in my vote for Burkes. I have a pretty complete set going from high E down to low C. The low Eb is the only key I am missing in that set at the moment. The low E gets plenty of use though (songs played in E and A, guitar friendly keys). One reason that I like Burke whistles is that they all retain the same playing characteristics across the range of keys offered. I don’t have to think “What whistle is this?” when I pick one up. They all respond similarly.
I used Susato Kildares for key coverage prior to settling on the Burkes. I had both the low E and low Eb in that set. I found them useful and I played them for five or six years without any difficulty. “Love” wasn’t a word I’d use to describe them though. The Burkes are just smoother and easier to play, YMMV. The B2 holes on the Susato low whistles are pretty large and that is my only real complaint with them.
Feadoggie
One reason that I like Burke whistles is that they all retain the same playing characteristics across the range of keys offered.
Yes indeed this is one of the several things I love about Burkes. You don’t have to tailor your playing for each whistle you pick up; you can just grab a whistle and play.
I used Susato Kildares for key coverage prior to settling on the Burkes. I had both the low E and low Eb in that set. I found them useful and I played them for five or six years without any difficulty.
Again I’m in the same boat for “key coverage”. I still use Susatos for Low C, E, Eb, F#/Gb, and G#/Ab. I’ve got Burkes for Low D, F, G, and A. Eventually I’d like to go all-Burke, but for now the Susatos are OK for keys I rarely use. I actually really like my Susato bent-neck keyless Low C. It’s extremely expressive. My Susato Low E is a great player also.
I have a Reviol Low C/D/Eb combo coming (from a forum member) so I’ll see how I like those options.
OK I’ve had a bit of time playing the Reviol Low C/D/Eb combo (one head, three bodies).
The Low Eb plays very nicely. Right in tune. As one would expect, the Reviol with the Eb body plays somewhat stronger than with the D body.
The timbre is more dark, musty, and woody than the Susato Low Eb.
I do though still like my Susato Low E. It plays great. One thing about Susatos, it seems that each one has a scale unique to itself. My Susato Low C, Low Eb, Low E, Low F, Low F#, and Low Ab each came with somewhat random scales and I had to do quite a bit of carving and taping to get the things in tune. One might have a sharp bell note so that I carve out all the fingerholes; one might have a flat bell note so that I have to chop the end; one might have a sharp upper hand so I either have to put tape on those holes or chop the end and carve out the lower-hand holes; one might have a sharp lower hand so I have to carve out the upper hand holes; one might have a single very sharp note so I either put tape on that one hole or chop the bottom and carve everything else; and so it goes. No two Susatos are the same.
Not that this is unique to Susatos. The Generation C came with a rather sharp F (fingered G, sounds F) and I played it for years with tape on that hole until I finally bit the bullet and chopped the end and carved out every other hole so that the darn thing is perfectly in tune with no tape. Been playing that one for 30 years now.
Hi Blake,
I used to have a Cillian O’Briain non-tunable low Eb that was amazing! Sold it like a nucklehead, like his non-tunable low D that was also a great player. Well fortunately, I now am happy to say I have a Reviol tunable low D that I believe is the equal or better to the great O’Briain low D I had. So, I would think the Eb of Maurice’s would be a fine choice too now-and he only makes them tunable now (unless you special order a non-tunable).
Maurice made whistles for Cillian when he worked with him in Dingle, and his design is basically still the same, though it seems he’s narrowed down the height of the windway a bit since. Really nicely crafted too, with the anodizing, and non-slip finish (as others have said, takes a bit of getting used to), and nicely priced too for the work in them and end product you receive.
I love my Burke, and Mike makes a great whistle and is a really great fellow to deal with.
I also really love my Colin Goldie tunable Overton Eb, and the F, and the low D… and he and Brigette are also wonderful to deal with.