Hello whistlers!
I need you to share with me the great wizdom that you uphold in your mind that twists turns and makes wonders when a 6-holed pipe is at hand!.
I went to thewhistleshop.com, and went through some of the whistles. This of course, as known to the ones of you enjoying the mere picture of a whistle like a playboy centerfold(am I taking this too far?), wasn’t the first time, and will not be the last.
I came across the Susato whistle in D. Now, I assure u that it wasn’t the first time I was looking into it, but it was the first timw I was very interested in it. Several opinions on the matter of the Susato whistle were given to me, all of them possitive. I heard it sounds great, responses wonderfully and is very good at overall. Aside from that, the price was reasonable, a bit high, but reasonable.
I would like to hear you Susato owner or Susato tryer(I don’t think that’s a word), to tell me what you think of it.
My main consern is that the whistle is made of a kind of plastic(at least that’s what I heard…). I have a problem believeing that a plastic whistle could sound as good as a metal whistle…
Well, I for one LIKE the sound of the Plastic whistles.
Metal ones just sound like tin, which is fine if you WANT to sound that way!
I like a nice strong tone, which I don’t seem to be able to get with
metal.
Lolly
I have a Susato kildare D that I’ve had for quite a while, and it was my fav instrument until I got my Dixon (both are plastic/polymer type material). The nice thing I love about plastic/polymer instruments is that they are less touchy when the weather changes. My metal w/wood fipple clarke is soooo tempermental when it gets humid, as is any other wooden wind instrument. Polymer/plastic is a very good choice in my opinion.
About the whistle itself, it has the closest tuning I’ve ever heard on any instrument, and you can do various alternate fingerings for some of the accidentals such as G# or Bb (no half-holing unless you want to!). It is quite loud, so when I was playing it regularly, I preferred to play it outside. It’s got a quick response time, and can jump between octaves easily with a minimum of muddy tones in between. It has its own idiosyncrasies, so you’ll have to “get to know it” before you can really get the most out of it.
First of all I would respectfully like to correct Lothiel, saying that Susatos and Dixons are made or polymer. If not memory fails me they are both made of ABS/PVC kind of plastic. Tony Dixon however makes his luxury modell flutes in eighter polymer or wood.
About the Susatos I must say that I don’t like them very much. Just the wide bore ones for sertain occasions when I want to sound loud. But I can’t stand that recorder like sound on a whistle. The plastic is no problem for me, you kind of get used to it. But I would highly recomend Dixons ABS whistles. They are far better in my opinion with a lot more feel of quaility and not much more expensive. I belive they (Dixons) are kinda semi hand made like the Chieftain range and that might be the reason they are listed as high end whistles. Susatos are a bit over prized in my opinion, a lot of board members is gonna disagree, but we are a few who don’t like them. You can get one and try and you’ll probably join the club. Just don’t get to disapointed. But better get a Dixon in stead. Big whistle stocks the whole range of them, ready for shipment.
ABS plastic, wonderfully in tune,
loud, maybe shrill in the second octave,
worth owning but there are better
sounding whistles, IMHO. I’ve always thought
the C the best of the lot.
As we’re not talking big bucks,
go for it, I say.
I once had such aversions to plastic in everything including guns on purely “aesthetic” grounds. Glock makes some of the best guns in the world and all but the slides are plastic. As for whistles - Abell makes a wonderful all delrin whistle that sounds every bit as good IMHO as his wonderful blackwoods and looks almost as good and is more maintenance-free. Silkstone plastic whistles I actually prefer to the metals. Glenn Schultz’ PVC water weasels are wonderful whistles and excellent value. Many makers, including Copeland use delrin fipples.
Plastic has won a place in my heart and definitely has its place. I much prefer aesthetically and on balance the brass, nickel and aluminum whistles.
Lastly, the black plastic Susatos are kind of cool looking, and the D, C, Bflat set was one of my earlier acquisitions; I still have it.
I like Susato whistles well enough…but I also like to have a drawer full of whistles, all of which sound different and all of which I like for their own reasons. I don’t have one ideal “whistle” sound in my head.
The tuning on Susato whistles is excellent, and they have a round, robust sound which carries nicely.
The downside is the second octave…it takes a really experienced player to hit the second octave both without shrieking and without being shrill.
As to these whistles sounding like a recorder, I have yet to hear any whistle which actually sounds like a good recorder, though the Dixon I have comes close in some ways, as does the Howard low D in its second octave.
I don’t think Susatos sound like recorders.
I think what’s going on is this:
Many cheap recorders are made of ABS plastic, and sound
like they’re made of it (unlike most recorders).
Susatos sound like
they’re made of ABS, too. Therefore some
people conclude that Susatos sound like
recorders. They don’t–they sound like they’re
made of ABS, which is a lot more tolerable
in a whistle, I think.
I have Susatos (a Dublin and a Kildare, both Ds), and I like them. I use them almost exclusively for the Morris troupe because they have the volume to be heard over sticks and bells. And no…I don’t think they sound even remotely like recorders. I recommend getting the Kildare, just because it’s nice to have a tuneable.
My only beef is I wish they came in black. So far the only colors I’ve been able to find are ivory (acceptable) and a strange reddish brown (hideous).
For all of you who like your Susato D whistles, God bless and good luck! I’ll have to join the opposition opinions, though, on this one. Years ago I sent for a C and a D Susato as the least expensive upgrade to my Generation whistles. The C was not bad and gave an alternative sound to my C Generation. But when I tried to played the D whistle I was totally shocked when I tried to do rolls or cuts at the top of the second octave! I just couldn’t produce them without squawks unless I blew with all the lungpower I possessed! This is not very conducive to playing a nice slow Air! I have found that other whistles that I play are much more balanced in the breath requirements between the first and second octaves, for example whistles by John Sindt, Mike Burke, and even Generations and there are probably others. So I would caution anyone that’s having a problem with their whistle to try another brand. The fault may not be yours!
I have a Susato D in the ugly brown color. When I bought it I thought it was black. It is the most expensive whistle I own. It is in tune. It plays well. It is loud. I don’t particularly like the tone. I don’t know if it sounds like a recorder or not. The only recorder I have is one of the cheap plastic ones that the kids used in school. I tend to change from week to week on which is my favorite whistle. The Susato doesn’t usually make it as my favorite. I suggest you listen to a Susato, if possible play one. Then make up your mind whether you like it. We will be debating the merits of the Susato on this board long after you have bought your 50th whistle.
Ron
I’ll weigh in here. My wife recently got me a set of black 2 piece Kildare Susato’s for my birthday. I really enjoy them, although they do produce a distinctly different sound than my actual tin whistles (I own a Generation, Feadog and an Original Clarke – not the Sweettone). Like peeplj said, each whistle I own produces it’s own unique sound and I switch back and forth. I haven’t had too much trouble with the higher notes on my Susato. I can roll and everything else, and it sounds OK. Plus, it’s a fairly loud whistle – it’s my choice when I play with other people.
BTW. I recently sent an email to Stephen Jones (the tutor who runs the Brother Steve whistle site). To my delight, he replied almost immediately. His advice on whistles was this: “Don’t get sucked in to buying expensive whistles. It’s a mirage. Learn to play well, that’s what’s important.” As a newbie who’s been playing less than a year, I’m taking that advice to heart. My Susato is the most expensive whistle I plan on owning for quite some time.
my favorites are my water weasel and my dixon, both in high d. plastic whistles are a matter of taste, they have no down side.
my susato is not bad, but not my favorite. what i do like about the susato is that for some reason it responsed better than my other whistles to diaphragmatic vibrato, nice for slow airs where particular notes are held for a while.
Just checking in to add my voice to the chorus of those praising Dixon whistles. I was an anti-plastic guy until I met my first Dixon. Now I’m playing plastic and loving it! I’m also loving my new half-plastic whistle: a Hoover Whitecap on a Feadog body.
Susato whistles seem to polarize the crowd. I’m on the south pole.
I have a Kildare and I like it plenty. I find it too loud for personal practicing or lesson, but it has a good strong sound and is in tune. the upper half of the second octave can be ear splitting, but I find that wiht practice it can be mastered.
Most plastics are polymers. I’m not aware of a plastic that is not a polymer.
Susato’s are LOUD, and very much in tune with themselves. Perfect for sessions, especially where there is more than one fiddle. I never practice at home with one because they get on my nerves. It has an odd sound…buzzy. In a session I find that using a Susato makes me pay more attention to my playing because I know I can be heard. They are also good for learing by ear because the tuning is so accurrate.
Susatos are loud, but they are not the loudest whistles. The loudest whistle I personally own is the Cronnolly, but Serpent tells me he can make a whistle that’ll give it more than a run for its money.
Actually, the Syn is almost as loud as the Susato, as is the Mello D and even one of my Generation D’s (the bluetop). I don’t think it’s just the volume that some people find objectionable. My personal theory is that folks who are used to playing Gens and Waltons, etc, are not used to doing anything to hit the upper octave on the whistle except to blow harder, and on the Susato it will shriek if you do that. You also have to compensate with your lips and mouth / throat muscles, in much the same way that advanced recorder players control volume.
After you get used to this, I think you play all whistles better.
In fact, my experience has been that every new instrument I get improves my playing on all my instruments.
I think the biggest irony here is that if Susato whistles cost about a hundred more than they do, folks would sing their praises left and right. The fact is lots of players get this whistle before they are really ready, and then blame the whistle. If this whistle were expensive, I think the more advanced players would mostly be buying them, and they would know to take the time to learn the whistle’s personality before laying it down and giving up on it.
Just don’t get to disapointed. But better get a Dixon in stead. Big whistle stocks the whole range of them, ready for shipment.