Treasured Whistles

Whistle
1

What are your truly treasured whistles (I know they all are) for whatever reasons - playing characteristics, sentimental value or other. Here’s mine, and this is not meant to say that these are necessarily my favorite players:

1 - A very old Thin Weasel cocobolo D because it was made by Glen Schultz and it is the first high end whistle I ever bought

2 - O’Riordan low G Traveler because when I want to hear heaven I pick it up and play

3 - Sindt sterling silver D because it was a gift from my wife and daughter, not to mention a wonderful player

4 - Parkhurst D/C set because Dave did some really thoughtful personal etching and gifted me the C tube, it looks like no other whistle, and is also a fine player

5 - 2 orange tube with yellow head joint Perri whistles because that’s my daughter’s name and I’ve never seen them anywhere else

6 - 2 Walton Golden Tone Cs because they are as good as any C whistles out there and are cheapies, and remind me of my whistle beginnings with Bill Ochs

7 - Clarke original C because its the first whistle I ever bought and played and it came with the Bill Ochs tape and book

8 - Copeland low G because it is an example of how good Michael’s whistles can be

9 - Busman delrin D because it’s green, a terrific player, my travel whistle, and reminds me of the NE Whistle Gatherings

10 - D/C/Bflat Susato set because it was among my very first long ago and still play wonderfully; they’re very cool

Philo

2

Thanks for the questions, Philo. I’m new to playing whistle and learning Irish tunes. My favorite players are my most cherished.

All in high D:

Gary Humphrey wide bore brass, narrow bore brass and aluminum. Grrrreat intonation and sounds.
Mack Hoover wide bore and narrow bore brass. They sound like no others…NB sweet and WB brassy!
Burke regular bore composite. On days when my embouchure/breath are in control…fantastic fun!
Gary’s are my favs and most treasured.

Dennis

3
  1. My first homemade Guido Gonzato-design CPVC high D whistle - it started the madness!
  2. A Mack Hoover CPVC high D - for demonstrating how sweet a handcrafted whistle can sound (and thereby reinforcing the madness).
4

My Water Weasel Bb - I had it with me when I was in a train disaster in Greece a couple of years ago. It was in the middle of the night and in the early hours of the morning I wandered away from the burning train wreck and broken bodies and sat down in the woods and played hymns for a while. It brought incredible calm and peace on a terrible night.

Overtons B, A & low F - I’m just so in love with the tone of these whistles. I have had them for some years now and I never tire of them.

Burke D & C - my first very nice whistles

Susato B, Eb & C - These are such a joy to play.

5

These are the three I won’t ever part with,

1.Shaw high D,this was very my first whistle and I just love the sound of conical whistles.

2.Sindt high D,all brass, bought second hand and play it all the time.

3.Copeland high D, in nickel again bought second hand, its that conical bore
thing again but this time a velvety smoothness :heart:

Nick

6

I tried one of these the other day. It looks like something that would be issued by CalTrans (California Dept. of Transportation) to road crews so they can whistle in traffic while waiting for the concrete to dry. It’s very, very orange. :slight_smile:

7

O’Riordan D/C concert set in African Blackwood. It is such a great player

Abell whistle in African Blackwood. It has a lot of sentimental value, and a great player.

8

Ditto to that one. Mine’s Rosewood, and I got it back in the '80s. As a bonus, it’s case was autographed by Joanie Madden. Plus, it led to me making my own whistles, so it’s definitely a favorite.
Other Weasels are on my short list too, including a Rosewood Bb that plays like no other whistle I’ve ever played, bar none and a killer low G Water Weasel. It’s humbling to see what Glenn could do with a couple of pennies worth of PVC pipe. Finally, a High G Blackwood Weasel that’s as fine an example of the machinist’s art as I’ve ever seen. Oh, do flutes count? I have one of Glenn’s D flutes and naturally it’s wonderful.

From other makers, I have a wonderful Goldie Overton A anodized blue to match my PT Cruiser, and a Sweet Resonance low D that’s really terrific. I play them both regularly with my band.

9

A stock Feadog from I-forget-where. I got it early on and couldn’t get a decent note out of it so I put it away. Six months later, I read a post on C&F about Feadogs being such nice whistles but a challenge for a beginner. I got my Feadog back out and, a couple weeks later, it sounded pretty decent. I was hooked!

10

I started out on a Meg like so many people, but when I found out that a very respected whistle maker, Mack Hoover, lives right here in my own state, I decided to order a Whitecap D and was very pleased with the result.

Then, as part of a bonus program at work, I had to select a gift certificate from some local company. I asked if I could get what I really wanted, a gift certificate for Hoover whistles. The company was very accommodating and in short order I had some excellent new whistles. But one is something special. A Blacktop on a Daniel Bingamon D tube, it has a sound and response that just does it for me.

It is looking rather worn and tarnished now and I have other whistles that I really like for various reasons. But if we ever have a fire in the house, after I get the family out, I am sure I will be searching for that Blacktop. :slight_smile:

11

Thin Weasels in C, D, and E. The C and E may be the best whistles I’ve ever played
Water Weasels in everything from low-F to E, except for the elusive B

Those two also, as others have pointed out, have sentimental value.

My wife won’t let me get rid of my Grinter D. Sweetest whistle I’ve ever played.

12

I have owned upwards of a hundred whistles made by various makers over the last twenty years or so. Some were great whistles; some were not so great. Only a handful are treasured.

  1. Feadog Mark I high D - This whistle has been with me longer than any other whistle. I have a handful of other Feadogs of that same design but this one whistle has the sound and feel that I like. It’s like an old pair of shoes, very comfortable.

Ain’t that the truth.

  1. Water Weasel high D - I owned a bunch of “good” whistles before this Water Weasel but this was the first whistle that I ever played that did everything I expected a whistle to do and then taught me a few more things besides. What Paul said is true. It was a truly eye-popping experience to play it when I first received it. Joanie Madden also added her signature to it a few years ago. Investigating what made this Weasel work, along with Glenn’s article in Woodwind Quarterly, led me to making my own whistles.

  2. Thin Weasel high D in cocobolo - after the experience with the above Water Weasel, I had to have a Thin Weasel. It just sounds great and plays like a dream. I have owned several other Thin Weasels but this one is a stand-out.

  3. Copleand high D in nickel - What can I say, it’s an ITM assault weapon.

  4. Brad Anderson high D in snakewood - an utterly beautiful whistle with very balanced tone. I won’t part with it.

I have several other whistles which I don’t think I will ever part with but those are not quite as special as the five listed above. And while those whistles may be treasures in and of themselves they are not treasured any more than the music they make and the friends they have introduced to me.

Feadoggie

13

my Fedog, i think its only a mark 3 but i have had it since the trun of the milenium, the mouthpiece is nearley gnawed off, and its so old the glue has failed on the head-joint making it tunable without mucking about with all that hot water shenanagans!

It is perminantly stationed in my bag an is quite horrendously sharp. but i still love it. I wish i could find my Mk I, i know i had one a very very very long time ago.

14

Most treasured: Busman D and C whistles made of American ironwood (aka hop hornbeam). The wood came from a 100+ year old tree on the mountain in western North Carolina where my dad was born and raised. (The tree had to be cut because it was too close to the road.)

15

Clare D - brought back from Ireland by my beloved late father-in-law as a souvenir for me. Got me started whistling 22 years ago. Sits next to the computer as I write.

Hoover low E - Made for me by Mack Hoover when I visited him. (Though I think I treasure the visit even more!)

Clarke D Original - Been through hundreds of music sets with me. The much-maligned gold diamonds wore away with use over 10 years ago.

16

I’ve got a lot of wonderful whistles that I really enjoy playing; it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few.

The Overton high D is quite simply the best whistle I’ve ever played, better than I had thought a whistle could be. When my wife gave me this whistle, I stopped purchasing any more whistles; I guess that kind of says it all.

Burkes are fantastic. I have three high D’s, which one I like best varies from time to time but they are all wonderful, and all different. My first Burke was an aluminum AlPro (session bore). This is the whistle that caused this sequence of events, many years ago now:

  1. my wife said “You paid HOW MUCH for a USED whistle from Ebay?!?”
  2. I bravely forge ahead and play my new whistle
  3. my wife does a double-take, looks at me, and says, in a much softer voice, “Oh, ok. I understand now.” :smiley:

She gave me my next Burke, a high-D narrow bore brass, which is just a wonderful thing. Then I bought a used Burke wide bore brass, which is different from the other Burkes, but is a whistle that I find myself picking up, again and again. It’s got a sound that’s a little hard to describe, not as sweet as the other Burkes, sort of dry, yet still with that wonderfully easy upper octave that all Burkes seem to share.

Mack Hoover has made me several whistles, two come to mind as just excellent, one is a two piece whitetop whistle with a C thumbhole. It’s got good volume and is a good session whistle, especially when you’re traveling. The other is a lovely wooden low G that he made me, which is just a lovely thing both to look at and to play.

I have a Parkhurst E-flat which was his “no. 1” prototype that I bought used from the original owner. It’s a limber, lovely whistle. Years ago when I was taking the online Scoiltrad lessions, this was the whistle I used for the whistle lessons that I took.

Finally, last but not least, I have two O’Brien whistles that are just outstanding. One is his metal 3-piece “rover” whistle, which is sweet and lovely and expressive and perfect for small sessions. The other is his narrow bore brass high D…folks, that whistle is just about in a class by itself. It doesn’t look like an Overton but out of all my whistles it’s the one that responds and sounds the most like my Overton high D.

This could go on and on, but I can’t… :wink:

Good thread, folks.


–James

17

I haven’t been at this as long as most of you so I only own four whistles at present. But out of them my most treasured is my Original Clarke D. It wasn’t my first, but it was the one I essentially learned on. It’s a pretty good player too after a fall prompted some amateur repairs.

18

There a lot all for different reasons.

Feadog D - split blade repaired with super glue and tape Great sound

Humphrey Hi D - the second more expensive whistle I bought wonderful sound easy to play.

Alba Q1 D - first more expensive whistle that I bought. I loved it when I received it and still do

Water Weasel hi D - the reason is the same as the others

Alba A - just a beautiful sound Also Alba lo F

Judy C - not on the market made for me by Judy. It plays hymns like it was made for them because it was.

Burke hi D - it is just great.

Other than that read the signature

Ron

19

I’m as fickle as the rest of you. :laughing: But the one whistle I don’t ever expect to part with happens to be an older (pre-blacktip) Burke aluminum D. If I had to pick just one, that’d be it.

20

My Bernard Overton Low D, restored by Colin Goldie is one I’ll never part with. Also my new model Impempe high D is a jewel because of its very specific characteristics.