Hi there,
Just wondering what people would regard as their top 5 tin whistles.
Taking into account; quality, value for money etc…
Thanks
J
In no particular order - and for a variety of reasons:
Mike Burke instruments
Water Weasels (Glenn Schultz)
Goldie Overton instruments
Mack Hoover instruments
Pat O’Riordan instruments
Best to all.
Byll
John Sindt
Mike Burke
Freeman Tweaked MellowDog
Humphrey
Water Weasel
Of the ones I’ve tried, my top 5 would include:
Abell
Burke
Feadog
Reyburn
Rose
I have never tried a Copeland, Sindt, Overton, or O’Riordan, which one would expect to top these kinds of lists.
What about Copeland…Awesome Low D
Not in order, but here’s 5:
- Copeland
- Abell
- Burke
- Humphrey
- Overton
Byll’s cheating; I’ll name five specific whistles:
-
Burke black tip D
-
Copeland G
-
O’Riordan G
-
Abell bflat blackwood
-
WW bflat
-
Walton Golden Tone C
Ok Byll, I couldn’t do it either; so that’s 6. Rules are tough for whistlers.
Philo
Sindt D/A/Bb
Water Weasel D
Thin Weasel high G
Reyburn narrow bore low D
Rose/Busman (tie)
haven’t played a Bleazey, heard they’re good.
Burke High whistles (C&D)
Overton low whistles (A, F, D)
Dixons tunables for fills (Bb), car (D), extras(D&C). (good value for money) any where I don’t want to risk a burke or an Overton.
Megs (D) for give-aways (bought by the dozen).
I play low whistles, and have tried many over the years. The following whistles are, in my experience, solid, wonderful players.
Burke Composite.
Burke Aluminum.
Copeland Brass.
Overton (Bernard)
Overton (Colin Goldie)
Here are my 5 favs:
Busman Olivewood D
Sweetheart D
Sindt C
Water Weasel A
Harper G
Here are my honorable mentions:
GFM D
Black Diamond D
Harper A (they came in a set)
Water Weasel Eb
That is most of my collection, the other ones I have I just don’t liek as much.
Hmm, of all the whistles I’ve owned or played (100 or so I’m ashamed to say) and in no particular order, my top five would be:
Abell Eb/D/C combo (hey it’s only got one headjoint so I’m counting it as one whistle 
) I bought this set from Chris Laughlin, bless his heart, and vowed never to part with it, and I never have. Best overall “expensive” D whistle I’ve run across, with the exception of one other Abell D from the same batch.
Fred Rose D…I think the Blackwood Rose I had was my favorite of the 3 different woods I owned from Fred. It was sold to someone on the west coast I think. Ya wanna sell it back, whoever you are? Great response and wonderful tone, really top notch workmanship as well.
Overton (Goldie) anodised Blue Low F - which I have plans to re-acquire, thanks to the good graces of the person I sold it to when I had to part with it. Amazing tone and response - sounds good for slow or fast stuff, and everything in between. This would be my “if you were stranded on a desert island which whistle would you have” choice.
Copeland Soprano Nickel C, an older one, perhaps the best single whistle I’ve ever played, at least most of the ways that count. Gone forever.
Last, but not least, a really wonderful Overton (Goldie) soprano C: This whistle has a great, solid, low end, but surprisingly is amazingly well balanced (volume wise) between octaves, and is not ear splitting at all in the second octave. Wicked response for playing fast stuff, very crisp with ornamentation (as is all of Colin’s stuff.) My only regret is that it’s not Anodised black, which is about the only way it could be any cooler 
Runner up to all of the above, and top in the bang for the buck department, IMO, an O’Briain improved Nickel D that I got from Blackhawk - thanks again man! I’ve kept and enjoyed that whistle all this time, and I still play it regularly 
Loren
I haven’t played enough “high-end” whistles to have an educated opinion, but it’s interesting to note how many times the names Burke and Sindt have come up in this thread.
And just when I was starting to think ‘Alba Q1’…Dang, I hate it when these things happen!
FWIW, put me down for:
Sweetheart Pro D
Black Diamond
Syn
Hoover Whitecap
(…fifth spot remains open…)
In no particular order, my current favorites are:
Burke D Brass Session BlackTip
Sweetheart Pro D
Water Weasel D non-tunable
Howard Low D
Generation Bb
My pleasure, Loren! I thought about that recently (hadn’t thought of it in years before this) and wondered if you still ejoyed it. I’m glad you do.
My top six (in no particular order.)
Copeland low D
Overton Bb
Grinter low F
Busman D
Sindt Eb
Humphrey D
Other Copelands, Overtons and Sindts are right up there, as are a few Burkes a few Abells and a Thin Weasel. Top ten would have been easier.
Abell C/D/Eb set in Delrin
Abell C/D/Eb set in Olivewood
Burke Black Top Brass in D
Alba in A
Seery Delrin in D/Greenwood C/D set in Cocobola (tie(
On the expensive side:
Burke.
O’Brien.
Hoover.
Syn.
Black Diamond.
On the inexpensive side:
Oak.
Clare.
Walton Mello D.
Feadog.
Susato.
Generations would make my inexpensive list if it weren’t for their abysmal quality-control issues.
–James
Top five? Hmm.
-
O’Riordan Concert D/C
-
Humphrey
-
Sindt
-
Susato
-
Reyburn
They all have their own unique sound.
-James
A Stor Mo Chroi
I don’t have that many whistles so I can nominate five, but the two greatest, which never will leave my hands (and lips) are:
- Burke DAN
- Alba low F