Hullo all. Long time no post, I know.
I just recieved my latest addition from Thom (thanks Thom! ), the Clarke Meg, and I have to say I’m really impressed, given what I’ve heard.
The whistle does appear to be, for all intents and purposes, a black sweetone, but I’m noticing some subtle differences, though they could just be me
For one, it seems less ‘chiffy’.. a little less breathy than my sweetones ever were, and I’m finding it quite easy to hit even the upper G-B, though I dare not try to bend a C that high, for the sake of my hearing soft laugh
The meg’s price lives up to its namesake, I must say. What surprises me, though, is that even with the “cheaper materials” and manufacturing, as Clarke Co. put it, this is still a nice little whistle, especially for beginners - but I think veterans will appreciate the playability, too
Slainté,
Daniel
PS: I’m glad to see things are back to normal =)
The only thing that I don’t like about the Meg is that it’s a bit out of tune. that’s what I really don’t like about whistles. Sure, the tone and price is good, but I wouldn’t play a Meg (or Sweetone) in a gig or whatever.
-Ross
I’m a beginner, and not a very good one at that, so I don’t jump into these threads very often at all, but having just gotten a couple of the new Megs I’d like to add my two cents (or six bucks in this case).
My favorite whistle of the eight or so in my growing collection (whoa!) is the basic Clarke with the “tacky gold diamonds”. It has, to my ears, a very pure and soft tone, and the response is positive. I bought a C and D meg recently, and I found the D to be a lot like my standard Clarke, with the most notable difference being the plastic mouthpiece. It makes the Meg more responsive to breath, and somewhat more shrill. The Meg is also less forgiving because of it’s responsiveness to air pressure. All of the little mistakes I make are amplified. It really shows a person where they need to improve their breathing technique.
I also find the Meg to be slightly out of tune with itself, more so with the C whistle than with the D, but only slightly; the B is a bit flat, while the other notes are a bit sharp. No bother for solo playing, and I’m not going to be doing sessions for some time.
All in all, I’d say the Meg is a nice little whistle, especially for a beginner, and a super whistle at the price.
Well, the Meg is certainly the EASIEST whistle to play that I’ve ever come across, I’ll give it that much. The 2nd octave (esp. above G) is easier to get than my sweetone, and the tone is generally smoother without having to control your breath so much.
I think it would be a really good whistle for children, probably better than the sweetone (except they’d probably like them better just because of the colors).
On 2002-07-25 19:04, Peter Boiney wrote:
My favorite whistle of the eight or so in my growing collection (whoa!) is the basic Clarke with the “tacky gold diamonds”. It has, to my ears, a very pure and soft tone, and the response is positive.
Don’t mean to hijack this thread, but it does me old heart good to discover another Clarke fancier. I’m thinking that those who get dizzy trying to play it are being tricked by the lack of back-pressure into blowing it too hard. It responds well to the faintest whisper of breath. When one blows hard, it just gets breathy-sounding (which some folks like) but it doesn’t get very much louder.
I heard a Meg at a session last Sunday and it didn’t have enough “punch” to be heard well when everybody else was playing (except for the high notes), but what I could hear I liked. Guess I’ll have to get one some day.
), the Clarke Meg, and I have to say I’m really impressed, given what I’ve heard.