I know it was hyperbole Phil, but it looses it’s value if anything that is half decently made is called a ‘work of art’.
If I read you well you’re really saying by the end of the day between whistles there’s only ‘slight’ differences in sound, some differences in playing characteristics and that any whistle is as good as the person driving it. And ofcourse an up to fifty fold price difference. Yes, I can agree with that.
Peter,
Just out of interest, what whistles do you personally prefer to play?
Not having one in my hands, I wouldn’t disagree with you Dale. It seems like this is a carefully crafted instrument. The care of the maker, the “story,” and the pride of ownership can be an X factor that some people want in their whistles. There’s also the fact that you can get a full set of 6 tweaked Generations from Jerry Freeman for the price of this one whistle - a heck of a deal from an objective viewpoint.
I also don’t disagree with Peter. The review had a lot of subjective information - which doesn’t help me choose to purchase (or not purchase) the whistle from an objective viewpoint. But I think there is value in review points that are subjective and come from the gut - perhaps as much value as objective observations and comparisons. However, I wasn’t really interested in a debate (though it’s interesting).
Now there are many reviews (including mine) that have a fair amount of subjective information posted here - and I have a new Low G Reyburn that I may post some comments on. So I was thinking how I could stay focused on providing decent feedback for all types of folks - the romantics and the critical thinkers alike.
Maybe it’s a good subject for another thread, but I was looking for Peter’s (and any other knowledgeable and critical whistle fan’s) take on what would go into an “objective” review. What would be the most pertinent criteria, and how would they be measured or rated.
So what do you think?
I believe this is a subject that is hard to debate, because it is one of completely subjective nature. In my first post I described this whistle as a work of art, because that is how I viewed it in my personal perspective.
What’s hard about debating in a situation like this is it in brings in these personal perspectives.
I still think this looks like a great whistle, and price-wise, it is pretty good compared to more expensive whistles that get up to $300+. It’s all a matter of perspective, and everyone has their own.
-Casey 
I would like to hear about balance between octaves, responsiveness (and I like to hear a soundclip with clean ornaments to judge for myself whether I’d find the whistle sluggish), tonal characteristics such as chirpiness or breathiness. I like to hear about tuning between octaves (and I don’t mean play the thing into a tuner; I mean: how much effort does it take to blow the top g, a, b into tune?). I thought easily most helpful thing the review mentioned was the ease of playing The Inner Light. I don’t know what it means that the reviewer would be “comfortable taking this whistle into seisiun.” (I think ‘seisun’ Comhaltas-Irish for session). When I read that the whistle is “well-behaved” in the second octave, I get worried because that reads like the whistle might be not very responsive. A fundamental issue here is that what a player wants from a whistle changes over time: In the beginning, many want a whistle that props up the player, that is forgiving. Once you don’t need to be forgiven for your playing anymore, though, such whistles tend to hold the player back, and you’d want something immediate, responsive, a bit dangerous, if that makes sense.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone disagreeing with you that the whistle beautiful, I can understand calling it a work of art. That just whets my appetite for hearing how it plays.
Seisiún would be comhaltas speak. Seisun is just a brainfart.
And I agree with the rest of what you said. How does the fecking thing really play when a full note is blown into it? It does look nice and the pic did whet the appetite which is a definite part of the frustration.
Makes sense.
I’m still a hack/hobby player - but I prefer a diffferent whistle today than the whistles I loved the first few months I was learning.
I remember I used to hate backpressure. Go figure.
I agree. When I was first starting years ago, I could hardly play some whistles that are fine now, and I also didn’t like some whistles that I like now. It’s all a part of developing as a player.
-Casey
You’re a bad boy Peter. 
You need one of those tough looking Liberace leather jackets that Flatley favors. 
Agreed on all counts; but a point or two. Are forgiving and responsive necessarily mutually exclusive? It is funny how I now care less about the actual whistle, except for say mostly physical comfort. For example, I love my Abell delrin but occasionally find it a bit fat and round and difficult
to hold comfortably for extended periods (more than say 20-30 minutes), while having to pay just a tad more attention to the embouchure because of the stubby mouthpiece. Also, I took another whistle to an accomplished player who remarked that he didn’t find it responsive enough; that’s when I began to understand that whistles can be better measured in the hands of more accomplished players. Finally, this same player remarked initially that he wasn’t overly fond of my favorite player at the time, but later changed his “tune” and acknowledged that it really suited me in that I could easily push this whistle as far as needed in any way. I guess that brings me to the original question re responsiveness/forgiveness?
Philo
Plus quote all the stuff Peter said, but I’m to lazy to cut and paste.
My response (Rodney Dangerfield style):
Whoa! Tough Crowd! Tough Crowd!
Loren
I agree with Bloomfield and Peter Laban that some concrete items should be included in any review. For me, balance between octaves (if I understand the term correctly) is very important. For example, I enjoy playing The Inner Light, but don’t often do so because the upper octave “D” and “C” are so shrill on my whistle that it discolors fine upholstery. 
I myself enjoyed the review and the subjective information. As a newbie with a little over a year on the whistle (and despairing of ever playing as good as anybody who posts here), I respect the opinions of those who have played the whistle longer and who play better than me. This is why Slowair’s opinions are just as important to me as his more objective comments.
I also know that people look for different things in the sound of a whistle. Breathy, chiffy, buzzy, flute-like, loud, soft - everybody has their own preferences for their own reasons. I take my own likes and dislikes (my own baggage, if you will) into account when considering the quality of a whistle.
Assuming that the posted MP3’s are a good indication of how the whistle sounds, I would have to say that this particular whistle is to my tastes. Although I found the high “C” and “B” in The Inner Light louder than other notes (ie: out of balance with other notes), I was surprised that the high “D” was not so loud, which could mean that this whistle has well balanced octaves and some volume control - or it could mean that the high “D” is not as loud as high “C” on this whistle. At the end of the day, it is up to me to determine if it is to my tastes to the tune of $150.
By the way Bloomfield, Peter Laban, PhilO - as respected members of this forum, I would be eager to hear reviews from you in regards to different whistles, especially since it appears that Wanderer isn’t going to be as diligent in reviewing whistles as he has been in the past.
/agree.
-Casey
I have posted my fair share of reviews over the years, some short and some long, although I don’t pretend to match the dour and plodding throughness of Wanderer’s reviews. 
Searching for keyword “review”, author “Bloomfield” in the Whistle Forum is likely to bring up a good crop.
The last whistle review I recall Peter doing was on the Humphrey, although he recently had things to say about the Dixon Trad (or whatever it is called).
Bloomfield’s powerpoint on the Feadog Pro still makes me giggle just thinking about it.
You know, no one ever asked me what “box stab” meant. Self explanatory, I guess… 
Well, with this particular review we do learn a few things, after all: Appearently the whistle has a strong low end, is pure rather than airy or complex, takes (more than?) a bit of breath pressure in the second octave, and is louder than the average cheapie without being unbearably shrill at the top of the second octave.
Not exhaustive information, perhaps, but certainly better than nothing.
Yes, and then you listen to the clips… and all that stuff, to my ears, goes out the window. And that’s why I posted my comment.