I wrote this simple review for my blog that is read by many non-whistlers, by folks who don’t even know what an Irish Whistle is, and some who speak limited English.
It’s very simplistic - even over-simplified in some cases - but the pics and sound clips should fill out the details enough to give you a good idea what the Tully is like.
Oh! the Tully is only made in the key of high D, and the Shaw is Freeman Tweaked.
Enjoy!
I received a new whistle recently. Actually it is new to me, but not newly made. It has had at least one owner before me. It’s a Tully Session Whistle.
http://www.tullberg.com/tully/
In the second photo the Tully whistle is pictured with a Shaw. I compare it to a Shaw because the Shaw is an inexpensive, classic design whistle, made of tin. Irish Whistles are also called Tin Whistles because that’s the original material used to make them. The Tully however, would not likely be called a “Tin Whistle” because it is hand crafted and made of solid Sterling Silver.
I also use the Shaw as a comparison because the Tully has a traditional sound like the Shaw. You can hear a little rough wind-noise - which is called “chiff” by whistlers. Most all traditional whistles have some amount of chiff.
However, the Tully is different from the Shaw in several ways:
- The Tully’s voice is more pure and much brighter;
- The intonation is very precise;
- The volume stays more even from low notes to high notes;
- The Tully requires less breath in the high notes than the Shaw.
The differences come from the material (silver vs. tin), the design differences, and the fact the Tully is hand made with great care.
So the Tully is nice because it has a nice traditional sound and feel, combined with a lovely and bright voice. It is also a very beautiful whistle.
Here are two short examples of the sound of the whistles for comparison. I played one short sound clip right after the other, no changes in microphone or settings. You can really hear the difference, the Shaw is muffled sounding compared to the bright sound of the Tully:
Freeman Tweaked Shaw: http://members.cox.net/tofutaco/Whistle/FreemanTweakedShaw.mp3
Tully Session Whistle: http://members.cox.net/tofutaco/Whistle/TullySession.mp3
Tully in Case:
Tully with Shaw:
Detail - Back of Tully Headpiece and Tube:
Detail - Tully Mouthpiece and Windway:
Detail - Tully Wood Fipple Plug:
