Iv’e been reading some of the opinions on the susato whistles for a few months now, and have a good idea of their qualities based on the “strong” opinions people have of them. I personally tend to favor whistles with a rather pure tone and could easily see buying one of the vsd high d dublins to be able to give the “breed” a try. One playing quality I have never read anything about on the reviews is this… Well with my Dixons for instance, if your playing somewhat fast and try to hit the low bell note, it is very easy to either overblow to a ‘screech’ or to make no sound whatsoever. The “Trad” D model is much better in this regard but I have never read about how the D Susato rates in that department. One would think that the vsb model might be a little susceptable to this… I like the idea of the better volume balance and less volume overall quality of the vsb, but would not want to buy one if the bell note was that weak. Anyone out there want to talk about this? Side Topic… I was also considering the Bb small bore for the same volume/tone reasons …If anyone out there can speak from experience about one of these model Susatos in regards to their playing qualities, please let me know… Thanks
I’m quite a fan of Susatos and have 16 I think! I wouldn’t describe the Susato tone pure, in fact some of the range have quite a rich tone (which I like).
I don’t think I ever experience the problem of the bell note overblowing on a Susato but that may be because I’m used to playing them. The bell note is strong on the SB and not so strong on the VSB. After confessing I’m a big fan of Susato I have to say that I like the Ds the least in the range and rarely play them now. The VSB D lacks the richness i like and sounds a bit thin to me. The SB is wonderfully rich and loud in the bottom 1 1/2 octaves but then gets too loud for me.
On the other hand I think the Bb SB is wonderful whistle with a lovely warm rich sound. I played mine for quite a while today. It nicely compliments my other favourite Bb’s the Gen and Water Weasel. NOTE the tone is rich/complex not pure like a Burke.
Some more experienced players here will be able to point you to the right whistles for you I’m sure.
If you buy a susato, I’d recommend the VSB, because I had a SB and it was insanely loud, in my opinion. Also, remember that all whistles can sound good as long as you use the right breath adjustments. It just depends on what type of whistle style you enjoy the most. Anyways, the susato isn’t that expensive compared to other whistles, so a test might be justified.
I don’t think the VSB has an especially weak bell note, though it’s not nearly as strong as the SB (on the SB I can give it a bit of a breath accent and not overblow).
The SB Bb is a lovely whistle. It’s one of my favourites, even though I don’t get to play it nearly enough!
~Crysania
Thats good to know info about the bell note on the high D’s (both models) Yeah, I also thought that the small bore would be too loud for playing at home. Do any of you have the small bore C? Is that a bit quieter in the upper register? The Bb sounds like that would be a good low risk of disappointment way to try out a Susato. On the Bb, what is the hole spacing like? Are you able to play it with your fingertips or do you use a modified “pipers” grip… thanks… Robert
I use my fingertips on the Bb, but I also have rather long fingers, so it’s an easy reach for me.
I don’t find the high register on Susatos too loud, but I seem to be a rarity there. I tend to alter my embouchure slightly for the high register, tightening up or something along that line and it seems to keep them a bit quieter.
~Crysania
I had a Susato B-natural whistle that was wonderful…very even tone/volume across the octaves, a rich sound, and in tune.
I like the high D’s up to about high G, but high A/B take a bit too much oomph for me.
-Brett
Have the D-C-Bb small bore set; the C is really quite nice, not nearly as difficult to tame as the D. (The D can be tamed, however.) As already mentioned, the small bore B is also pretty good.
The optimal key for the small bore is probably not D; the optimal key for the very small bore is probably not D. For small bore, the lower keys (through Bb) are a better fit, and for very small bore, the higher keys are a better fit. (Haven’t played the VSB whistles enough recently to declare the best key, but it’s probably not the high G, either.)
I’d buy one.
-brett
I know that Susatos can be good whistles, I just can’t get into them. Sounds too plasticy when I play them. I’m probably just not good enough to handle them well.
The SB C is a must have for me and I love it. The SB B is my favorite of the high whistles (one of my all time favorites). VSB Eb is great and is one of my best Eb’s and is quite unlike the VSB D. I think the SB Db/C# is excellent and the upper part of the second octave is not overpowering for me while there is still the richness of the D and that too is not a whistle I would want to part with.
I don’t care too much for the low G but the low F is amazing. I’m shocked how nice it sounds every time I play it. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to take a half step to low D whistles etc.
I play it with finger tips.
I think Susatos are at there best when played confidently. They are not for the timid and lose their richness when played weakly. IMO
This has been a great thread to read. Next time I run across a SB or VSB Kildare D, I think I’ll go for it. The Dublin I have seemed far too loud at first, but the tuning, bit of backpressure, and the way ornaments come out have won me over. The feel of the plastic was annoying (same with lacquer and even sticky finishes on wood) but a bit of sandpaper solved that.
I personally don’t like the thin, pinched-nose sound of the V series bore, although I can see why people would like it for ease of response.
I have found that you can easily tweak the S series to make it both softer and more breathy/folky in tone.
I have used cloth tape a lot to do this. Finally I got more extreme. My favorite current tweak is to use marine epoxy to close in the lip (or cutting edge) of the fipple, making the lip about a millimeter smaller and thickening the lip. In other words, the window of the fipple is smaller and the lip edge is thicker.
If I don’t like the result when the epoxy dries, I can either apply more epoxy, or take a jewler’s file to reduce the amount.
Sorry I don’t have a camera now. Can’t show you my favorite.
Oreo
I own a Dublin sb Susato in the key of C. I appreciate the preciseness of its design, and I really like the shape of the beak and how the whole instrument feels while playing it. However, I only play it when I’m not intending to sound like a whistle. I’d describe the sound similar to an exceptionally loud Casio electronic keyboard. If it sounded like a whistle, I would really like it. Why they have settled on a non-whistle sound is beyond me.
Have you ever noticed that a whistle can sound better with time? I theorized that it has something to do with a thin layer of goop that builds up. So I decided to goop up a screachy Silkstone. It definitely improved the sound IMHO. I used extra hold hair spray. Thermasilk Firm Hold. It took a few applications, though.
But here’s something really odd. I decided that the mouthpiece of another whislte, a Susato was just too short for me, so I got a piece of clear soft plastic pipe, 3/4" od, 5/8" id and slid it over the beak. I had to cut an elipsis to keep the window clear. Good solid mouthpiece, but I looked like a porn actor when I played, so I slipped a narrower piece inside the wider piece. Finally a narrower still To keep from blocking the windway I had to cut another elipsis from this second piece. I left about 3/4" of the second piece sticking out of the first, so now I have something substantial to grip in my mouth. Here’s the odd thing. This arrangement seems to direct the air in such a way as to change the sound. More whistle-like now. Not quite as loud either. The bottom end seems more solid too. I never believed that embouchure had any effect on a whistle, but this has made me a believer in embouchure.
Finally I tried putting a piece of 1/4" id inside that again. The effect was to definitely make the whistle quieter, too quiet for what I want, so I took that out.
Susatos are very responsive to embouchure - and the beak design facilitates this wonderfully. I basically only play Susatos now for this reason, since I come from a background of modern wind instruments where things like embouchure and support can affect tone, tuning, and dynamics to a much higher degree than is generally possible with whistles. I like the back pressure they have too, for the same reason. Your beak tweak is intriguing though - might have to experiment with something similar!
A question for people here praising the Susato Bb:
Is this $35 model the one that you like, or is it this $60 model?
Also, for people that have a Generation Bb, how would these Susatos compare to it in tone strength and volume? I have a Generation Bb, which I like, but its tone and volume are not strong enough for certain situations.
Are there any other brands of sub-$35 Bb whistles that you like?
-I’ve had a Susato VSB D for years, and its true the bell note is not as strong as on the standard bore Susato D-but its easy to not overblow it.
-The VSB is a bit quieter than the standard bore to my ear and has a thinner sound. It can play at relatively low breath pressure in both octaves. Its my favorite whistle for picking through new tunes due to its low pressure needs. It makes me sound better than I am, but I may or may not move the tune to another whistle later for fuller tone. The VSB has a lively response and a sprightly tone which goes well paired with “Off To California”, a dry white wine and caramelized hazelnuts. 
Anybody?
Tweeto wrote,
Is this the 35 dollar model, or the 60 dollar model
. Well I don’t have either of the two models (yet). But the In the original thread question, I had asked about small bore and very small bore Susatos. I believe that the comments made on the Bflats were about the small bore versions which would be the 35.00 models. Only the small bore versions’ headpiece would fit the C’s, Bnaturals, and the Bflat tubes which the posters also mentioned. The medium bore (59.00) would only fit the Bb, G’s and A tubes…