Hello - can anyone please tell me the make of whistle used in this song from the Spanish Cloak album. The sound is gorgeous and is one of the factors involved in me becoming interested in playing myself - if only I could play like this !!
Thanks
p.s. for anyone unfamiliar with the song, I urge you to check it out
I doubt if anyone knows other than Finbar. I listened to the track, and it’s in the key of D. What you need to remember is that this track appeared on a record made in 1968. I’m pretty certain Finbar was living in Edinburgh around then. At that time in shops in Scotland, the only whistles you could get were Clark’s "C"s and the “Generation” range, a far different situation from today. There were no other commercial makers that I’ve heard of.
Having said that, the sound is very mellow, and doesn’t sound at all like a Generation to my ears. I think it might be a whistle Finbar made himself. Finbar was one of the first musicians to play Bernard Overton’s large aluminium "low"whistles, but I think this would have been before Overton came on the scene. I don’t recall seeing them before the early 70s, but I suppose it is possible it was one of the very first Overtons. No, my best bet would have to be that it’s a whistle Finbar made himself.
As an aside, the first low “D” Overton whistle I came across was played by the late Tony Cuffe. Tony gave me Overton’s address, and I got one for myself, but found the stretch too much. How much did I pay for it ? - £6.50. 
Kenny’s right - the Overtons didn’t appear until '72 or '73 - I’m pretty certain Finbar was in Edinburgh in '68, though - I left and came back in '71, and I had definitely seen him in Sandy Bell’s in '67/'68.
My first Overton was an A, and I got that in Autumn '73 or spring '74. I still have it - it was a devil to play in Scotland, because in the cold weather it had to be really warm before it would play at all. It still clogs up easily unless treated with washing-up liquid.
I first met Tony Cuffe in Bell’s in '68, I think: we were both just beginning the whistle, and we watched Finbar, Cathal O’Connell, Alex Greenan and Alex Green there - they were our mentors.
And last August I happened to be in Bell’s again, taking delivery of a set of smallpipes (where else to meet the maker but there?), when the crowd from Paddy Bell’s funeral came in - Cathal and Finbar and many others of that generation - what an afternoon! The years rolled away, and the place was as packed and as crackling with activity as it had been back in the day - a singing session away in the back, pipes and fiddles going at the table in the middle, and, for an hour or two, great crack and great music.
It was like being young again…
b
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/lowhistory.html
It’s not Undisputed for nothing y’know.
Thanks very much, Gary and Craig. Always great to have the record set straight by the original people involved. However, this doesn’t necessarily answer the "Rogue’s"original question. We know the origins of the low whistle, but is it an Overton “low” D that Finbar uses on this particular song ? [ and it is a song - not just a tune ]. I suppose it must be, but it just doesn’t sound like it to my ears. I’d better listen again, maybe. Anyone else have that LP/CD ? The CD is available in shops in the UK for around £4.00, in either “Virgin” or “HMV” and is well worth it.
It is clear from the page I linked that the answer is no, at least not on the 1968 recording. Bernard did not make the whistle he eventually gave to Finbar until at least 1971, well after the original recording was made. One could infer that Finbar was playing the Indian bamboo whistle he describes on that track, but the article is not precise about his.
Finbar picked up an Indian whistle in the key of G at a stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition in Edinburgh in 1967. He played it for a year until, “One night at the Dyer Arms, I put down me whistle and some redundant bloke sat on it. 'I’ll $%^&^& kill him!, I thought. I even remember his name…”. (The Low Whistle Book)
If this is the only non-stock whistle Finbar had in 1968, could it have been the one? G whistles can sometimes do a good job in D, depending on the tune.
Edit: This post is redundant: Craig put in the whole link, whereas I just grabbed the book off the shelf and paraphrased.
You’re quite right, Craig The mystery continues…
I remember seeing Finbar play in East Kilbride around 1971/72. He played a whistle that was all metal but the mouthpiece was shaped a bit like a small recorder and I’m sure he said it was made in America.
Jack
Thanks for all the replies guys - I don’t suppose Finbar himself hangs around on this board does he !! Kenny mentioned the song is in the key of D, I have been trying to play along and although can play along to certain parts, in places it seems to go lower than ‘D’ and I can’t follow. So perhaps he is playing on that Bamboo “G” afterall. At the end of the day, I just know it sounds great !! Thanks again guys.