The pictures look fairly high-quality, although they still seem to be unsure which end is the business end (check out the second picture). Honestly, at first I thought that they were just selling Killarneys on AliExpress, maybe for the Chinese market. But a few differences from my own whistle, along with the slightly lower price points towards a knockoff. The blade/windway looks kind of odd as well, almost a wave pattern or something.
As an owner of the real deal, I’d be sort of interested in this one as a novelty/comparison, but the price is way too high. I see no reason whatsoever for anyone to get one of these, since at most you’d be saving about $10. It is curious, though, and either the market for whistles is larger than I thought, or these knockoff companies are getting more and more niche…
I posted about those a while back. They look a lot like killarneys but with different tooling on the blade.
The economics are odd. It’s not really cheaper than a Killarney. And the they’re offering to sell me a feadog, or at least a whistle with a feadog sticker on it, for 39 US dollars which is roughly three to four times what it would cost here. Or they will sell me a “Feadan” which has a feadog sticker for 12 bucks, which is still no cheaper than they cost in the states. Or a “Jude” with a feadog sticker. There are a whole bunch of oddly named whistles with feadog stickers selling for the same US dollar price as feadogs.
Why are they ripping off feadog and not generation? Makes me wonder if feadogs are made in China. Although it could just be some guy likes feadogs and decide$ to copy them.
Very odd that there’s no low whistles. I’ve been trying to figure out where kerry whisltes are made for a while now.
As I said on an earlier thread: if one crowd can rip-off (the main elements of) the Sindt design, why can’t another? Killarney opened that door, don’t be surprised others decide to walk through it.
The late Paul Hayward’s Silkstone whistle heads had the same basic structure long before Killarney. Though the outer collar extends beyond the windway and the machining on the ramp is different. He did say that “the mouthpiece design may not be unique” which I assumed was a reference to Sindt, and maybe others.
I am not sure it is I can see what you mean but the silkstone appears from that family of whistles that uses the edge of the tube to split the airstream, rather than having a machined window like the Sindt. Caveat: I only have an small image (below) to go by.
I only have photos of the Sindt and Killarney to go off - but I have an alloy Silkstone in my hand. Am I right that on the Sindt/Killarney the sharp end of the ramp is curved like the windway (not a ‘blade’ as on most plastic headed whistles)?
If so the basic contruction is the same but rather than having a long ramp with a ‘wall’ machined out of the metal head the Silkstone has a wall formed by an extension of the outer collar and the head is machined down to nearer the diameter the tube - it is the same piece of metal that forms the sides of the windway
I’m more surprised that it’s worth their while to do so. Obviously there is a very fluid concept of IP in whistle design, and there’s certainly no outrage here that someone else would be making a generic one. I just didn’t realize that there was enough of a market for a mass manufacturer to make $85 whistles like that. $30 ukes and $10 Gen clones, yeah, but it doesn’t seem super profitable to go up against a much better established maker at the same price point. Maybe it is, that’s why I’m not an instrument manufacturer…
Is AliExpress mainly aimed at the European/American market? Because otherwise they could try to sell “locally”, i. e. to Asian customers who may never have heard of Killarney. Though somebody seems to have gotten the idea that Feadog is to Irish whistles what Hoover is to vacuum cleaners and Kleenex to tissues
I just didn’t realize that there was enough of a market for a mass manufacturer to make $85 whistles like that.
Killarney seem to be churning them out. You see an awful lot of them around. So the market is there (even if it won’t be huge by some standards).
I don’t know what sort of outfit is behind the Chinese product, it doesn’t need to be a huge manufacturer. Perhaps they are just sounding out how they go. If they have good wholesale prices and they get places like Thomann or even McNeela to pick up on them, they’ll be flying it.
Most whistles from China try make connections to other brands: Feadan and Feadóg usually. That’s no coincidence. See their Chinese Feadógs: here, for example.
Does the windway look wobbly on these? I haven’t the energy to go downstairs and dig out my whistles, but I don’t recall seeing a windway like the one pictured. Looks can be deceiving. Both the Sindts and the Killarnys have a lot of heft to them. I wonder if the chinese factory invested in the right metals. I am also sort of paranoid about chinese plastics and metals in my mouth. Their safety records for nasty stuff has never been good. And I agree with everybody their prices seem odd.
That’s sort of my point, many Chinese manufacturers seem to be setting their sights on smaller, more niche (but still profitable) markets nowadays, and not necessarily competing solely on price. I know that a few direct-from-China ukulele makes have gotten fairly popular among uke enthusiasts, and I am quite pleased with the quality of one that I have from the “Enya” brand (they seem to have no connection to the singer other than the name). This style of whistle can’t be the cheapest thing for them to manufacture, which gives me some hope that they’re actually trying to make a good product. Hey, it used to be that Japan was thought of as the place for cheap electronics, now it’s cutting-edge. Maybe we’ll all be clamoring for high-quality Chinese instruments soon…
And yeah, there are plenty of outlets for them to sell through if they can. Local shops always have a couple Pakistani flutes and such around, and Cork Pro Musica carries the Smart/Woodi/Woodnote/Jinan Susato clones under the “Glenluce” mark along with the usual Dixons, Chieftains, and Susatos. Plenty of online outlets like Amazon, eBay, etc. Still wouldn’t buy one online for that price, since I already know the Buckleys make good whistles for around the same price, but it’s interesting.
till wouldn’t buy one online for that price, since I already know the Buckleys make good whistles for around the same price,
I don’t know. It’s pretty much how the Buckleys started out, we all took a chance, knowing already John Sindt made a nice whistle. The difference is ofcourse the Buckleys had videos showing the instrument played well and they got the instrument in the hands of good players. Still, if the Chinese ones get to a wholesaler who gets it into the shops in Ireland the market for tourists and comhaltas mammies is all open to them.
It wasn’t so long ago that horrific Chinese made knock-off brass and woodwind instruments began (mysteriously) showing up on Ebay. The forums roundly criticised them as second rate works of third rate plumbing. Anymore they’re being appraised with increasing frequency as adequate to good. And talk about niche! You can find any number of natural horns with assorted tuning crooks & nicely painted bells for $500 to $700. A craftsman might charge $5000 for a natural horn with crooks. I think if I were interested, I’d seriously consider a Chinese made horn and perhaps a craftsman made mouthpiece.
And yeah, there are plenty of outlets for them to sell through if they can. Local shops always have a couple Pakistani flutes and such around, and Cork Pro Musica carries the Smart/Woodi/Woodnote/Jinan Susato clones under the “Glenluce” mark along with the usual Dixons, Chieftains, and Susatos. Plenty of online outlets like Amazon, eBay, etc. Still wouldn’t buy one online for that price, since I already know the Buckleys make good whistles for around the same price, but it’s interesting.
Woodnote have really gotten ambitious! I was astounded to find on Ebay that I could get a six plastic recorder set (garklein through bass) for a mere $9369.99!! You can put together the same set from Aulos or Yamaha for around $500 to $600 (most of that cost being in the bass). Thing is, they’re getting good reviews and are apparently well made. Clearly, the Chinese factories are paying attention to what folks have long said about the poor quality of Pakistani & early Chinese knock-offs. The newer Chinese brands, I think, are come into their own.
Already there in some places. Thinking of Eastman fiddles, mandolins, and guitars. From what I have seen and heard, they are very good quality, and great value. I considered them when my daughter stepped up to a better fiddle (though we bought an old German one from a local player who sells fiddles on the side). The Chinese can manufacture very well when they want to.
You can put together the same set from Aulos or Yamaha for around $500 to $600 (most of that cost being in the bass). Thing is, they’re getting good reviews and are apparently well made. Clearly, the Chinese factories are paying attention to what folks have long said about the poor quality of Pakistani & early Chinese knock-offs. The newer Chinese brands, I think, are come into their own.