I now own one of Ralph’s new Professional models in treated birch wood. I needed a loud whistel with lots of body for when I find myself in the unenviable position of being the only melody player in a band of 4 or 5. Well, this sucker meets the need. I was using a Syn, which is loud. This is louder, and more full bodied.
Yes, yes, I know, it looks like a recorder. But it sounds a lot less like a recorder than Susatos do, and they get to be called Whistles. So, this thing about Irish musicians not liking them…sorry, I have to disagree. I was born in Ireland and raised with Irish music all around, and to my ear this whistle is every inch a whistle.
Right on! Zub and I were just touting this whistle again on another thread. Among whistles under $200 I think its unrivaled in its ability to carry the melody in a band setting. This is even true when playing Em reels that use a lot of work in the low register.
Totally agreed!
I don’t care about the looks (although…*) and try open my ears first.
My kingswood G by Yvon Le Coant looks to some even more of a “recorder” than the Sweetheart, yet I’m still to find more of a “whistley” sound.
- As for its looks, I saw an aluminium whistles maker take it out from its case and murmur “wow! how beautiful!”. This was just a craftsman’s opinion of the woodwork.
Again, if you’re to make a fully wooden whistle, i.e. limiting or avoiding brass inserts for the tuning slide and reinforcing ferrules, and you build it seriously, to last… well, then it has to look like a Sweetheart, Le Coant or Swayne!
Which, btw all look much slimmer, slicker, than a standard baroque recorder, of which they are a stylized, modernized form.
I’ve been thinking that a Sweetheart may be my next high-ender, especially as I’m so impressed with the little Sweet piccolo I got my husband for Christmas. Is the new professional model superior musically, in your opinion, to the original style (some of which are still available)?
Redwolf
Far superior, IMO. I have a quite old D and a year or two old C in Rosewood. The Professional is far superior. BTW, if you check the Sweetheart site you’ll see that they now offer a fife version of the Professional–you can even get one body with interchangeable whistle and fife heads.
Hi Redwolf, I’ve never played another Sweet product, so I can’t comment on previous models. As someone said earlier, the new Professional model is clearly audible towards the bottom of the lower ocatave, where most whistles get drowned out. At the top of the second octave some whistles (Susatos especially) need extra puff to keep them from dropping “between octaves”. With the Sweet it works best not to push too hard at the high end. The result is a high end that is not at all shrill. I played against a harp, bodhran, guitar and double bass last night. Much of the time I was the only melody player. A gal went to the Ladies’ room (at the opposite end of the pub, then down a short corridor) and she came back saying she could hear every note of the melody…from the cubicle yet.
That a common acoustic quirk anyone who has been to a session in a noisy place will have noticed you can invariably hear a piper or whistleplayer who is lost when you are in the same room noteperfect while in the jacks.
That’s interesting, Peter. ( I’m tempted to make jokes, but I’ll refrain. )
I know I know, I held back a story about one occasion where a few of us stood in the jacks for a while listening to a particular piper playing in the bar, we could hardly hear while standing quite close to him but the sound was perfect in the gents. I knew I’d be inviting silly jokes with that one but what the heck, here you have it.
Quite. With a fiddle on my side and a Sweet, we can balance a tenor sax, alto sax, acoustic guitar and a cello unmiked. Mostly..!
Trisha