Lunasa calls the set “Island Paddy” – the tunes are “Rathlin Island” and “Sporting Paddy”. The set goes back to those dark pre-Lunasa days when Donough and Trevor played in the Sharron Shannon band. And for what it’s worth, that’s a Susato C whistle he’s playing, not a D.
It is damn funny (and impressive) to have the video go close-up on his fingers!
I’ve owned a couple of dozen susatos and never had one that sounded out of tune. I get very, very few complaints about them regarding tuning. (Which is probably good, because those guys over at Susato get a bit testy when people suggest there’s a tuning problem.) No doubt, they are a kind of love-it-or-hate-it product, based on the feedback I get. (I like them myself and, at worse, would say they are a good speciality whistle.) Wouldn’t want to detract from their success though, which speaks for itself–they sell a lot of whistles. I think more in Europe than in the USA.
Now as I write about this, I remember this: I think almost every complaint I ever got about tuning on Susatos was a few years ago when I got, in a cluster, maybe three or four complaints about D Susatos. I thought maybe there was a problem with a batch, given the proximity in time of the complaints. I wrote the makers and they assured me that wasn’t possible and called into question the competency of the complainers. There you go.
Does anyone know the name of this tune?[/i]
“Fasten the Leg in Her”. (And this is a Susato Eb, BTW.)
My favorite tune name.
My only Susato is a Dublin D. I used to hate it, but now I love it. It has fundemental. It’s the only whistle to play when yer mad.
My other two faves are a Mello Dog, and an O’Brien that I’ve increased the ramp angle by a few degrees, roughly matching the Susato. Don’t tell David.
The Susato is the most flexible whistle I own, but forget soft. It doesn’t do soft.
Thanks. That’s a good tune for working on one’s rolls.
The Susato is the most flexible whistle I own, but forget soft. It doesn’t do soft.
That’s true, Susatos aren’t particularly soft.
However, my Susato and my Feadog are about on a level with each other, volume-wise.
The classic beginner’s mistake on a Susato is to underblow, which makes the upper octave squeaky and hard to hit.
Then those who stick it out learn to blow the thing hard enough to hit the upper octave cleanly, but they go around playing the whole whistle right on the edge, all the time..and yep, played that way, they are plenty loud, and have no place in a session.
The next step is in learning to pull back a bit again, and use the muscles of your lips to control the air. This is where the Susato really comes into its own. Played properly, neither the tone nor the volume are excessive, and the Susato whistle becomes an amazingly responsive, pleasant instrument to play.
A lot of people damn these whistles simply because, in my opinion, they’ve never put in the time to master them.
–James
Played in the Greenvilee St. Patrick’s Day Parade (in Dalls) today. I have to say, it’s lucky that me and Whitmores had Susatos. They were perfect for the wind conditions–being in a moving float definitly makes for a steady cross wind. 
Though I’m pretty sure his Abell and my old Copeland might have also done the trick. But the Susatos worked perfectly.
Very nicely stated.
One of my fist whistles was a Susato D, and I had nowhere near enough breath control at that point, so I put it away. After a couple of years, I got it out and played it in stage two – way too loud.
Now, another couple of years along, I’ve been picking it up more and more and am just now starting to edge into step three. And I like it. It’s responsive (rolls seem easier); it’s in tune; the oxxooo C is dead on; and it would make an excellent Kubaton. I find myself using it more and more instead of my Dixons, especially outside, where it’s nigh onto wind proof (see Whitmores75087’s post The Blessed Susato).
I’m sure if I had stayed with it more along the way, it wouldn’t have taken four years to get that whistle tamed, but the point is still there – this whistle takes some work and it’s not for the beginner or the half-hearted.