I recently picked up a Silkstone high D aluminum (aka “alloy”) whistle in eBay. This is my first experience of a Silkstone; i’d only seen them in pictures before.
Very nice whistle. It makes me think of a race car: streamlined, fast and loud.
The design is interesting: it’s basically a cylinder, but ends up in a short cone after the lowest finger hole. Also, the blade in this whistle is the smallest i’ve ever seen; it’s practically not there! Other than that, the fipple and voicing remind me of a Burke. The sound is not as flexible as my Water Weasel’s (the Silkstone can play loud or loud, you choose), but it’s much easier to play, and doesn’t squeak. The slide is very smooth. As with most aluminum whistles, i feel like i want it to be heavier, but that’s just a personal preference and doesn’t affect the playability at all.
I wonder why we don’t hear about these whistles more often.
Can you talk about the way it sounds a bit more? I’ve tried a few of these, also the plastic (pardon me: polymer) ones, and I’ve found the sound sort of thin and a bit uninteresting. Not sweet & pure, but not rich. They certainly are loud in my experience. Very nicely made, I thought.
These whistles have a strong tone with a nice balance between octaves. They are loud enough for a session but not so loud as to be really annoying (quieter than a Susato). I think they are underrated. I do have a few for sale.
I feel i need a little more experience with this whistle, since i’ve only had it for a couple of days. I’ll take it to session tomorrow night, and i think it will work well there.
I think the sound is pretty basic. Probably not something i’d play slow airs on, but good for a session or even for performing something fast in public. The sound cuts through.
I think the lack of variety is consequence of the very short blade. As a layman, i imagine that there are fewer places for the breath to strike. So if you blow a certain range of pressures you get the first octave, and past that, you get the second octave, but it’s basically just that same sound. The good thing is it requires a lot less control than a W.W., for example, and it doesn’t squeak; it always hits the right note with good sound.
The other thing i didn’t mention about the sound of this whistle is that it does have the little “kick” attack that i like, without hiss. Similar to a Generations, in this sense only.
I had a D and C Silkstone alloy but sold them. They are well-made whistles, dependable consistent whistles with a great hydraulic-feel double o-ring slide. I just didn’t find the tone particularly to my liking and found a bit of discomfort due to the spacing of the L 1 and 2 holes, if I remember correctly; likely a problem with my own fingers rather than the whistle as no one else ever noticed that problem. Unique sort of industrial look to them; tres high tech.
As for the PVC variety, Bloomie, also really well-made and rather racy looking whistles. I sold a D but still have the C and Bflat in British racing green metallic flake color. The Bflat is good, but I think the C is the best of the lot. I liked them a bit more than the alloys.
I’ve only tried Silkstone hi & low Ds. Maybe you’d let me try the C & Bb the next time I have supervised leave from the Institution? (I don’t get out much, you see.)
I have a borrowed Silkstone alloy here, with a C hole, and I’m rather fond of the whistle. I like the not ‘rich’ not ‘sweet’ quality in that it makes for a great all purpose sound that doesn’t push to the front. . . hard to describe. Its fairly weighty, and the fingerholes are very comfortable for me. Its my current not-Abell practice whistle (I do daily practice on the Abell that I usually play in session, and some other whistle, and usually have a third kicking around in the kitchen for variety, and another whistle in the car…coincidentally a narrowbore Silkstone that is starting to object to me playing it in a cold car).
I’m very fond of my Silkstone whistle. One thing that always impresses people who try it are the chamfered finger holes, which are very comfortable and give the whistle a sort of “fit” that I haven’t seen elsewhere.
I’d describe the Silkstone’s sound as very neutral. It doesn’t have a strong, unique sound in the way some (say) Generations do. To my mind that’s a plus, but others might find it bland. Add on that it’s very well-tuned, easy to flip between the octaves, and loud enough for a session, and I think it’s the sort of whistle that gets out of the way of the musician, if you will.
Of course, in my case I’d probably be better off with a whistle that not only got in my way, but knocked me to the ground and beat me unconscious, but let’s not get into my lack of talent
I am fond of mine, too. It stands out, is spot-on in tune, has a very pleasing sound and blends very well with other instruments. I usually don’t use it for Irish dance tunes for it sounds in no way “traditional”. But it fits very well for airs, ballads and other sort of folk music.
Paul Hayward - the maker of Silkstone whistles - says the cone is purely there for aesthetic reasons. Thought it would look good and it does.
I bought a seven hole alloy D+ from Paul last month. It is a beautifully made whistle and Paul could not be more helpful when I spoke to him. He is an engineer by trade, and his engineering experience shows in the superlative work on this metal whistle. The attention to detail is second to none.
I am still only a raw beginner compared to people on this site, but this whistle sounds great to me. It is a bit louder than my Feadog, and considerably louder than my Alba Q1. The Alba sounds great, but the Silkstone plays and sounds nicer to my ears. Having said that, it is three times the price of my little Alba, so it should do.
Paul designed the whistle to emulate the sound of a Fred Rose whistle, but did not want to use precious African blackwood. He chose metal which he knew how to work with. The ever so slightly ribbed turning on the outside of the whistle body is to make the whistle less slippery to hold, and it took Paul a while to perfect this. The shaped sound holes also ensure your fingers make a good seal.
This is one fine whistle and you will not be disappointed.
That is bizarre! I think the two have extremely little in common. Yes, they both have a pure sound, but the Silkstone is much louder than the Rose and the Rose is much sweeter than the Silkstone. I don’t think the designs are similar, either.
That’s what it seemed to me too. The “cone” seems to be made by shaving material off the outer wall of the whistle, that is, the inside profile of the bore is not affected. It does have one bad effect, that it makes the end less robust. The one i bought (used) shows signs of having been dropped, in that the end is banged up a little. To see what i mean, take apart the whistle, you will see that the end that connects to the tuning slide is a lot thicker than the cone end.
This is a rocking whistle. The more i play it, the more i like it. With some more experience now, i’m able to play loud or soft.
Yesterday i had a chance to play the Silkstone and the Water Weasel in a good high level session in a home, so i could actually hear what i was playing. Anyway, the W.W. is a beautifully sounding whistle, especially for stuff that requires subtlety, but the Silkstone is more than its equal in fast stuff. It has the right amount of attack that helps you cut through, and it’s so easy to play.
Now, being aluminum, it does require being warmed up before playing. The W.W. of course doesn’t. No big deal, though, it warms up quickly.
I’m going to have a vacation later this year and i’m thinking of taking the Silkstone. Nothing like having only one whistle to play on for a couple of weeks, to get to really know a whistle.
I play mine (seven hole) as my regular D session whistle for ceilidhs with the band. It is extremely reliable and balanced between octaves, beautifully made, but doesn’t have the character for solo work.
I didn’t like the sound of mine, wasn’t for me,
sold it. I thought it was a beautifully
designed whistle. I think I don’t like
alloy high whistles so well.
I just acquired a Silkstone D alloy a few days ago, I think Glauber’s descriptions are spot-on. The one thing that I would add is that my particular whistle doesn’t seem to be too deadly loud until you get up to the high B and C#, then it fairly shrieks. While I am not in love with this whistle, I will definitely keep it for a while and see what happens.
Anyway, the W.W. is a beautifully sounding whistle, especially for stuff that requires subtlety, but the Silkstone is more than its equal in fast stuff. It has the right amount of attack that helps you cut through, and it’s so easy to play.