I play Abell whistles a good deal, but I’ve never played a Rose.
Can anybody say how they compare? I’m not up for
judgments of value but differences in volume
and tonal quality. E.g. I’ve heard that the Rose D
is less loud than the Abell D. True? etc.
Thanks
Try to look Tony Hinnigan`s video clips on his site and also on kerrywhistles.com, there is a comparison of these whistles
I play Abell as well, and from my experience the Rose hi D I heard is noticeably quieter and slightly more pure than my Abell hi D. I didn’t hear the reedy quality in the Rose that I hear in my Abell.
thanks to both of you
Hi Jim:
I have both a Rose Blackwood D and an Abell Delrin D.
The Rose is a bit sweeter or clearer sounding than the Abell, but the Abell is indeed louder.
It seems to have a more rounded or full sound if that makes sense; even though it’s
chiffier.
I pretty much concur with what’s been said, but would take the tone comparison even further. The Rose was about the purest, sweetest whistle I’ve ever played. I once played a tune for my wife on the Rose and a soprano recorder, and she couldn’t tell which was which. (It was her recorder, so she knew the sound of it very well.)
Charlie,
So am I right to think that what you are saying is that a Rose D sounds exactly like a soprano recorder?
Cheers
HS
PS I probably shouldn’t join in as I don’t have a clue what I’m talking about but I just thought that many folks here might not see sounding like a recorder as a positive.
HS – A lot of what goes into the sound of an instrument is the player/how it’s played. I’ve done the same/similar experiments with Susato and O’Riordan whistles, with the same result. These are all pure sounding instruments, although the O’Riordan and Susato are quite a bit louder than the Rose, at least to the player. Thing is, these experiments all involve me, and I’m not a great whistle player, and not even a mediocre recorder player. So the experiment’s flawed, and I just presented the results, no conclusions. (Spoken like a true geek.)
I don’t know about Roses, but a lot of well-known players play Susatos and at least a few play O’Riordans. I don’t think you’d confuse those whistles, the way the pros play them, with recorders.
Another thing some folks haven’t pointed out is that Abells vary a good bit. I had a good chiffy one, just couldn’t stand the way the mouthpiece was cut. Possibly the easiest-playing whistle I’ve ever had, with the smoothest octave transitions I could imagine. It seemed to change octaves by telepathy, no physical effort at all.
Have to agree with chas on “Abells vary a good bit”. I’ve own 2 soprano D whistles. The first had bright, fairly pure tone. Judging from what others have said, an unusual Abell. The second had a much chiffier (reedier?) tone.
I also recommend a visit to ony Hinnigans site. Take a look at his review of my blackwood whistle which I sent to him in response to a comparison video he did with Abell, Rose and Oz Blackwood whistles.
Go to Weston Whistles revisited on his downloads>old grey whistle test page
His review speaks for itself
The Roses I’ve played (probably a dozen or more) have been very consistent. They tend to the “very pure” end of the spectrum. Abells (I’ve played buckets of these as well) have much more of the good chiff (not the breathy bad type).
Just depends what you’re after. Very different birds IMO but both lovely.
Doc
Jim,
The Rose is a fine whistle but I would have to say that it is quite different than then Abell!
I bought a Rose years ago after reading Dale’s review touting it as one of the best whistles. I would be curious if Dale currently owns or plays one? I have never owned an Abell whistle but I was lucky enough to have a board member send me theirs to try (thanks Judy!)
Yes the Rose is pure but to me it lacked a nice full sound, especially in the lower octave. The upper octave is sweet but it is easy to overblow and make it squeek. The finger holes on the rose are smaller and closer together than an Abell. The Rose doesn’t take as much air as an Abell, but the volume is quite a bit softer. Mick Woodruff has some great sound clips of a Rose on his website. His recordings are a great representation of a Rose.
Personally If I had my choice I would choose the Abell for it’s fuller more complex tone and session volume.
I have owned both, and I still have my Abell. I was not a huge fan of the Rose. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lovely player, but it was just too quiet and sensitive for me. I had a problem controlling those squeaks. I find the Abell way easier to tame and the volume is very nice.
Have to agree with all the positive things said about Abell and add that the intonation of Chris’s whistles is truely first class.
a few happy customers in Grace Kelly’s neck of the woods…
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