Hi all.
I need a B whistle for a performance on Easter. I need something, therefore, that will arrive in a week or two, preferably under $100. There’s always a Susato, but I’m not sure I want that sound. I like the re*****r sound, but this is supposed to sound Irish.
Can any of you point me in the right direction?
Thanks!
SwtCaro
Burke. Haven’t one myself, perhaps 120 bucks now, but I’m guessin it won’t go wrong.
on the contrary I’d also like to recommend a Susato and see if you really can’t make any Irish sound out ot it. The recor?-der like tone is not to be blamed entierly on the structure of the instrument itself.
I have a Burke brass pro session model in B and it is fantastic!
The Generation Bb is actually a fair whistle, especially for the money.
You can also tune it by heating the head in warm-hot water, pulling it off,
and removing 3/8" from the fipple end of the tube, and replacing the head.
You now have a tunable Bb for very little money.
To get a better Bb, be prepared to pay quite a bit more.
Dixon - nice but too quite for me - it uses the same tube as the sop D,
which isn’t really wide enough - IMHO!
The Alba tunable Bb is my preference - loud, in tune,
with a lovely tone.
You have to be positive with it i.e. blow firmly,
but if yer used to Overton style whistles (back pressure)
you’ll have no problem.
HTH
I have a Syn B which seemed the most economical way of getting one, for an extra fiver you get an extra tube in any key so I ended up with a d and b for 40. Does the job and arrived within ten days from ordering. Give me a shout [via PM] if you want a soundclip of it.
One of my neighbours has a Susato B and that is quite nice too, not at all like their horrible Ds, well worth trying.
Get a Burke. For the $, its scads above everything else.
Syn and Burke are good suggestions; which you go for might depend on your budget.
I think John Sindt makes a B but I’ve never seen or played one. An Overton would be fine as would an Abell, I’m pretty sure they come in B these days. You wouldn’t get any of these in time though.
i have a burke b. it is one of the best whistles on the planet. if you get it, it will become your favorite whistle for playing alone and solo work too. its magic lies in the fact that its sound is just a little fuller than the D but still has the brightness of the d.
meir
Alternatives:
Get a Generation and see if Mack Hoover or Gary Humphrey can get you a replacement head in a week. I have a Hoover and it’s a little quieter than the original Gen head but it sounds really nice. I don’t know if Gary’s is louder. I think there is a thread aboout it you can search for.
Every time I hear a good player playing a Sausato, it sounds like a whistle to me.
Thanks for the suggestions so far everybody.
I have to have a B because the song I’ll be playing is written in E, but starts on a low B. So a B flat won’t work.
I hadn’t thought of Syn, I’ll have to look into that.
I now have a Burke Pro-Session Brass D, and I absolutely love it. I just wasn’t sure I’d be playing a B enough to warrant the money. Especially since I wouldn’t even be buying it right now if it weren’t for this particular performance. Mack Hoover makes a B also (love my D Whitecap), but I think he’s done taking orders for March (and maybe even April).
SwtCaro
PS–I’m not sure I’m a good enough player to sound like a whistle on a Susato, FJohn. But my audience probably wouldn’t know the difference. 
I may go that route.
Duh. I need to read more carefully. Sorry.
Syn or Hoover. But i don’t know the wait time on either of these. I have a B by Mack Hoover that’s very good.
I have a Generations Bb that’s pretty good; i wonder if the Bs are good too.
I heard very good things about the Water Weasel E, BTW. I also have a Generation F that’s very good, but no E; i wonder if their Es are good.
Unfortunately,Generation don’t make ‘B’ or ‘E’ whistles.
You can often pick up Indian made cane whistles in the key of B from craftshops/charity shops that can be a bit wayward in tuning,but very cheap.
Hey look. Gary has a commercial thread and he makes his new whistle in B.
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=18520
See? I do pay attention sometimes.
Wait!!! Peter Laban has a SYN???
Not just one, no, he has TWO!!!
Cool…
I totally vote for the Syn, best whistles I have.
The B is amazing, I think it is my all time favorite whistle, and I do have a few…
Go for it, and later, if you need more keys, you can get E, Eb, D, Db/C#, C, Bb, and A to go on the SAME head.
The B syn ought to be good. I like mine. Save for the fact that hole 4 and 5 are sort of uncomfortably close together. But that’s a D.