About 10 years ago I bought in Seattle two Susato
whistles, a C and an A. There was no variety in bore
sizes at the time, I believe. These two are great
whistles, IMO, they sound beautiful. (A bit like
ABS Abells.) The bell note
on the A is a bit of a stretch but not too much.
I have made a lot of money playing the C on
the street.
Now there are four bore sizes. The Susatos I’m checking
out at local music stores are often quite good,
but not as ‘alive’ as these old whistles I have.
So my question is this: What bore size comes closest
to the whistles Susato made a decade ago? Are those
whistles still available in some shape/manner/form.
There are only a few keys that are available in more than one bore size. Bore diameter needs to relate to bore length, and while there is some room there, you couldn’t build a low D with the same bore diameter as a hi D.
The Susato D and Eb, for example, are both available in S (small) and V (very small), the Bb is available in S and M (medium). But the C and the A are each only available in one bore size: S and M respectively. So I don’t think you need to worry about getting a different bore than you have on your whistles.
I agree that the Susato C is a terrific whistle, and I do think it has to do with the diameter to length ratio of the bore. (I am not such a great fan of either the S or V hi D for example.)
I played Susatos a lot in the past. I like them. If you accept the plastic and the unique tonal character, there’s not much to complain about, IMO. I believe the S-Series bore to be closest to the whistle made in the 90’s. Most of the changes to that bore size since then came at the outside diameter of the tuning joint. I played at one time a set with that bore size from A up to high E. I still have the original D/C’s I bought because the newer ones didn’t seem as balanced for some reason. That bore size worked well for the D, C, and B whistles. I found the Eb and E required too much push in the high end (and we are talking Susato here). The VS series fixes that. The S-series Bb and A were weak at the bottom, IMO. The standard bore A played well but mine was so quiet at the bottom that it wasn’t my favorite. It was best suited to quiet play at home, IMO. I recall it had an extra section of tube glued at the top of the finger tube. I still have the first Bb Susato I bought. It is a terrible whistle. It breaks up at the low end without any provocation. I kept it because I wouldn’t wish it on anyone else and I am determined to figure out why it behaves as it does. It is a really early Susato by the way, probably cost all of ten dollars at that time. I have owned three other S-Series Bb’s since then which were ok but not the bees knees, IMO. I have also owned a couple M-Series Bb’s and A’s. These are good whistles provided you can handle the RH2 holes. I found them to be quite useful, good balance in tone, not shrill at the top end and very flexible if you like to bend the notes. The nicest Susato I have owned was a low G. Strangely, it had an unsusually small RH2 hole for a Susato. I’ve never seen another like it. It’s out there somewhere (it was black but had a white plug, I think). It’s been said here by someone else before that Susatos improve as the bell note gets lower. My experience is similar to that.
I have run across several NOS Susatos in my wanderings. I don’t buy them at this point. Susatos have been retailed at quite a few music shops around the country. They may be your best bet. Then there is eBay. If you find one without the o-rings, it may be what you are after.
Feadoggie
Thanks gang, I do wish I could find duplicates of the
whistles I bought ten years ago. I’ve played
new Susato C whistles that were OK but less good
than mine. I have a new Bb which is OK but
less good than the one’s I used to toot on.
At their best these are great whistles, IMO–
at least in middleish keys.
I wish I could find more like the ones I have.
you could always hunt for classic Susatos. I know that one of our members has several(he posted pics in the “photos of your collection” thread). I’m sure Dale has a bazillion in his vault-of-secrets. They’re lurking out there in steamer trunks, ebay auctions, the bottom of bagpipe cases, and children’s knick-knack drawers. Don’t give up!
Maybe Susato has a few stashed away they might be willing to sell?
Good idea! Anybody have any classic Susatos,
good ones, especially in Bb? PM me, if so.
I just bought a Susato D Very Small Bore and I like its tone and playability a Lot. It makes me look like a better player than I am !
Better whistle compared to the Dixons, the Clarke, The Generation that I had already bought in my search for the “perfect” (but not too expensive) whistle.