On 2002-12-05 21:05, dlambert wrote:
OK. But whats going to motivate me to plunk down some pretty good cash. Why not just stick with my cheapie? They don’t clog, have pretty good volume and air requirements and are in tune for the most part. Over the past few years I’ve owned pretty much all of the expensive whistles and the only ones worth having IMO are Sindts and possibly a loud Copeland for group play. I know that you fall into the cheapie camp Steve. What would be your reasoning to buy a Reyburn?
As the politicians say, “that’s a good question.” Let me start by saying that I have no desire to induce you to spend money. As for my reasoning for buying a Reyburn, I have to say that I didn’t buy the one I have - Ronaldo offered it to me for review. (Although I did subsequently buy one for a friend who makes whistles and who would I thought find it interesting.)
I wrestled with the question of whether the fact that it was free influenced me to give the whistle a more positive review than if it had been handed to me to try by someone else… All I can say is that I kept this in mind, and I stand by everything I said in the review. (In future though I think I won’t accept any more such deals, for the sake of fairness to readers and sleeping well at night.)
Yes I fall into the cheapie camp and practically all I ever play at home are various forms of tweaked Generations. I also find them fine for the kind of session that I like best, in people’s homes and sitting in quiet corners at festivals and the like. What I like about them is that I find it easier to play in the style that I like - in other words, I think I sound better on a cheap whistle.
To my mind the only reasons for playing anything else are tuning and volume. The one session that I go to in Montreal is in a pub that is usually shockingly noisy. I put up with this for the sake of the crack, but I usually play a louder whistle. Apart from the Reyburn the only maker’s soprano Ds I have are an Overton and an old Jon Swayne boxwood whistle. I’ve tried various others and passed them on, including a Sindt D and a Burke WBB.
Being perfectly in tune with other musicians might also be an issue. I say might because I don’t really do any gigging as a whistle player apart from a somewhat informal occasional dance band in which there tend to be tuning problems anyway (with usually 2 flute players playing what seem to be incompatible instruments). In this situation I have found that if I play the Overton (which is not tunable, but very well in tune) the clashes seem fewer. At least I can tell the others they have to tune to me and if things sound off, it’s not my fault! I also played the Reyburn this summer at a couple of gigs involving a variety of musicians and tuning seemed to be excellent.
I am about to start proper rehearsals with a smaller new band though, which includes some very experienced and very in-tune musicians, and I intend to experiment carefully to see whether a cheapie can cut it in this company.
For most of my musical life I was a fiddle player and I never had tuning or intonation problems. The world of the whistle and its tuning “issues” has been an often unpleasant surprise. (Q: How do you get two whistle players to play in tune with each other? A: Shoot one of them.)
Why buy a Reyburn (or anything else costing more than $20)? Only if you want to spend the money and you think it will suit you.
However I stick by my usual advice, which is that if you are really looking for an instrument that you can use, and you want to avoid cluttering up your house with whistles you don’t play, you should try before you buy. Or at least try one of the same make before you send your money away. Failing that, you should have no compunction about returning an instrument for a refund if it’s not what you want.
