I have purchased several whistles via mail, but not completely happy with my selection. (Mostly D and Low D). So I am looking for retail stores where they don’t mind customers trying a variety on-site. I am located in Cincinnati, OH, so OH, IN, KY, MI,PA, and WV are some possible states I would be interested in.
The River Song Music Shoppe in Ripley Ohio has a good reputation in some quarters. It looks like their whistle selection is pretty basic though. There’s an active music scene in Bloomington Indiana but I don’t know what stores there might be there.
http://www.riversongmusicshoppe.com/
Steve
Here’s a few I’ve found on internet directories:
Folk Notes, Fort Wayne, Indiana: (219)484-9078
Jubilee Music Instruments and Crafts, Kings Mills, OH: (513)398-8617
Also The Whistle Shop’s store is located in Bloomington, IL, if you’re interested in that, http://www.thewhistleshop.com
I haven’t been to any of these stores yet, but I was planning on taking a trip to Ohio this summer (I grew up there, sort of) and wanted to stop at whistle stores along the way. There are a couple in Pennsylvania, but I didn’t write them down, if I find those I’ll post them later. Good luck!
Don’t bother with World of Music in Erie, PA. They had three whistles (all waltons) and about three dozen transparent recorders last time I was there.
okay, go to http://www.ceolas.org/ceolas.html and click on their sources link and there’s pages of places and descriptions.