God, I hope I’m not opening a can of worms here 
but, Ok on the forum I’ve noticed alot of animosity towards susatos. Some tounge-in-cheek and some genuine. Why is that? I know some have said that they sound “recordery” (leaves a bad taste in you mouth even if you type it) but having not heard one myself I can’t say. Is there something else besides the assosiation with the R-word? 
Well, I like 'em!
But that alone might be enough to make some folks not like 'em. 
I think a lot of the dislike stems from them being in the hands of brand new players who aren’t ready for them yet; and I think any of the louder whistles would sound just as obnoxious in the same circumstance. It’s just that at around twenty bucks, you’re gonna find Susatos in learner’s hands much more frequently than you would, say, Overtons at around $140.
–James
Mmm, that’s an interesting point, never thought of that.
I only have one (Mezzo A) and don’t like it, but more because of the large gap between R2 and R3 which makes it astonishingly uncomfortable for me, given that this really is no low whistle. And the sound is - well, unspectacular. Nothing special, really.
Sonja
I had a bad customer service experience with them while deciding between recorders and whistles. I could not get a staight answer to my question and felt I would have to accept George’s explaination regardless. There was NO attempt to come to my side and then relate it to what he knows and was trying to explain. Really turned me off to them. Has nothing to do with the quality of their whistles, but CS is just as important in my estimation.
Susatos are a pretty good whistle for their price in my opinion. They have a problem with splitting at the tuning joint if one is not careful and they do play a little loud for an inexperienced player.
If you reinforce the outside of the joint with fancy foil or “Duck” tape etc. to cure the splitting and use a blob of “Blu-Tack” on the voicing ramp to quiet this loudmouth, then the Susato is a tame animal. The curved windway is relatively clog free, compared to other whistles. and the saying “you get what you pay for” applies here.
Nuff said
T.H.
I bought two, at different times and ended up giving them away. To me, they sounded shrill, while my Dixon D sounded incredibly good (and still does). Maybe it was my playing, but that didn’t seem to hurt the Dixon. The person I gave them to loved them both, and Lunasa makes them sound fantastic. So maybe it is just me.
Susatos, like other whistle brands, have their detractors and their fans. Some like them, some don’t.
Some will play them, some won’t.
Some will eat them with green eggs and ham, I won’t and I’m not Sam.
Susato SB in D. Good whistle, nice tone, very stable, requires more breath support in the 2nd octave than Gen-type whistles. The response is similar to that of some high-end instruments.
I only tried one, a non-tunable D. It was absolutely awful. It played okay until about second octave F or G…then it refused to make a sound until I blew so hard I felt like my face would explode–at which point it would let out a lovely sound somewhat equivalent to a loud honking goose in wild death throes (not that I’ve ever heard one…but if I had…I imagine that is what it would sound like).
The sound didn’t change over several days so I finally gave it to my little sister.
I won’t try one again because even the non-goose sounds didn’t sound that great to me. I also ordered a bamboo Bb whistle from Erik the Flutemaker a couple of years ago and he uses Susato fipples…it sounded about the same.
I only tried one, a non-tunable D. It was absolutely awful.
Yeah, guess I got carried away there. Bloomfield must be right; they really suck. And obviously their customer support is very poor, or they would have replaced that absolutely awful whistle.
My Susato D is a Dublin model (ie, non tunable) and the upper octave is just fine. Loud, but fine.
Hay Jeffmeister,
Click on my web site and listen to tunes #8 Soldiers Joy
and #13 Maid = both are played on the untunable $20 variety
of Sustato B whistles.
#11 Bonnie is on the Bflat one.
Then you can judge the sound yourself.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lollycross
Lolly
I think some of the negative feelings toward Susatos are valid and some aren’t. The very characteristics that some don’t like, others do like. The main complaints are:
They’re loud. If you like quiet whistles, that’s a bad thing, if you like loud whistles, it’s a good thing.
They’re pure. That can be good or bad, depending on what you like.
They require a lot of breath. OTOH, they don’t require precise breath control (except for the lower keys).
The holes of the low whistles are hard to cover (the E hole is oblong).
Some people have found the staff not very helpful (OTOH, try talking to or emailing directly one of the higher-ups at Generation); I’ve had excellent service from them, some of which was above-and-beyond the call of duty.
Some of the prejudice against them: They also make recorders; they’re not a traditional design or look, etc.
Among the good things about Susatos:
Excellent quality control and tuning (Cees’s remark may be the first I’ve heard about one of the whistles simply honking).
Available in many keys.
So, draw your own conclusions. They’re not everybody’s cup of tea, but they’re not crappy whistles at all. I would take a Susato over a Dixon any day, but that’s my personal preference; I think they’re of comparable build quality.
I’ve aired my pro-Susato views several times previously, but will chime in again (feel free to skip this post if you’re bored!). I think they’re great whistles, esp. for the money. The thing I like most is that they’re in tune. Yes, they’re loud, but as others have said, that can be good or bad. The VSB ones are a bit quieter and made me like the Susato Ds again where I didn’t like the SB in D so much (also like the VSB Eb). But the A, Bb and C I have are very nice, and I even like the SB/D more now that I’ve learned more how to handle it (not easy when I was less experienced).
As for customer service, I’ve ordered from them directly and had a great experience. I’ve ordered them from Elderly and TWS, and they were fine too. I even like the brown color that most folks don’t, but hey, I like the tacky diamonds on Clarkes too, so there’s no accounting for (lack of) taste! Fortunately, they come in black and ivory too.
I don’t like the low Susatos yet (D and G), but this is probably due to inexperience with low whistles and my lack of skill. The low G I have is a laser-etched Kildare, and it looks cool.
I don’t feel that they’re as recorder-like as other folks–they sound more like whistles to me. However, I’m not a recorder-hater as some here are.
Bottom line: for the $, for the wonderful selection of keys, and for them being consistently in tune, you can’t beat the combination of traits. That being said, I like my Gens and Feadogs and Burke too. If I played in sessions, though, I’d probably take the Susatos for volume.
Whoops, double-posted . . .
I think the susato C is a very good c, and I like
the D, though it’s a bit shrill upstairs–but that’s
hardly uncommon in soprano whistles.
Found these of real value on the street.
Also perfectly in tune. When you consider
the price, they’re exceptional, I think.
George is a crusty character but a good
fellow. On one occasion when I called up
and asked questions about thumb rests,
he argued with me about various things.
Later I received a package, thumbrests
from George, free.
Whistlesmythes are going to be
individual human beings with their
frailties and idiosyncrasies. I don’t
expect them to be perfect, like me. Best
I have a Susato low D which sounds OK but not very inspirational. But then I only own one Low D and cannot compare. I have the Dublin model D which I use if I feel like making noise. Still have not quite figured out what best to play on the C model.
I’m not hostile to the Susato at all, and I can see where if you want to have your sound be heard that you might want to choose this whistle over others. I think that they are very good whistles, but they sure are not for everyone. It is never the one I reach for first (Sindt or Clark) but I will reach for the Susato sometimes when I want to belt out a tune.
I can’t wait to get my Python from Serpent to see how it compares to the Low D.
Thanks all for the replies
So, what did you think? Not a “tin whistle” sound thats for sure.
I used to play with a Harpest and the gentlier PVC sound worked
much better.
Lolly