Now I’ve got to be very careful how I put this haven’t I? A high C Alpro and a low G Alpro arrived today and I’m more than a little excited. These are the first whistles I’ve ordered from this esteemed craftsman and I can’t wait to try them. Now be quiet Wombat; go home and play your new whistles.
Come on Wombie old mate, let’s hear about them!
On 2002-10-15 05:03, nickt wrote:
Come on Wombie old mate, let’s hear about them!
Now I imagine someone somewhere is going to find this quite funny. I only got to play the high C this evening because the low G came in two pieces and I didn’t want put it together without petroleum jelly on the tuning slide which Michael recommends. I couldn’t get to the supermarket until it was too late to play without annoying the neighbours. I asked to be pointed in the direction of said lubricant and was surprised to discover that it was none other than vaseline. I had a vase of that sitting in my bathroom all along. (On the jar it says white petroleum jelly—all these years and I’d never noticed.)
And just as well. I don’t think that one should fall in love twice in the one day. That’s unseemly. Koalas go in for that kind of behaviour. And I’ve fallen in love with the high C already. What an incredibly beautiful whistle. I can’t say that it exceeded my expectations because they were already extremely high. But it’s every bit as good as I’d hoped.
I suppose you all know what they sound like. Pure, yes, but just the slightest hint of chiff as now officially defined by Jim Stone. Easy to control, very low breath requirements, loud when I wanted it to be but in no way shrill not even up to D (five hole note, it’s a C) in the third octave which was as high as I went. Solid and consistent in the bottom octave all the way down. Very responsive. Am I going to enjoy playing this whistle. And I still have my Overton for those days where more chiff is definitely required and especially for those days when too much chiff is barely enough. I wanted a high C to complement the Overton, chose the Burke for precisely that purpose, and I know already that I made the right choice. Wow, am I pleased.
Tomorrow I fully expect to fall in love with the low G. Perhaps I’ll write another love letter.
And, to think, a Copeland low D is quickly crossing the Pacific in my direction. Mmmmmm!
I got a low A from Song of the Sea. We’ve changed the keys of some of the tunes we play just so that I can play the low A more. Everybody loves the tone and I recommend Burkes without reservation–also doing business with Song of the Sea.
L.
On 2002-10-15 11:24, ysgwd wrote:
I got a low A from Song of the Sea. We’ve changed the keys of some of the tunes we play just so that I can play the low A more. Everybody loves the tone and I recommend Burkes without reservation–also doing business with Song of the Sea.
L.
I know exactly what you mean. In the coming months I get a Grinter low F and a Sindt high D and I expect all of those on the way to be exceptional whistles. But, if it weren’t for the new house I’m supposed to be buying, the new bouzouki and the high-end anglo concertina (ouch!!!) I’d order a few more from Michael straight away. What’s the currently fashionable phrase—‘can be equalled but not bettered?’
I ordered directly from Mike. Everything went smoothly, there was really no significant waiting period and he was the complete gentleman in all dealings. Just before I started posting here, was there some fuss about his not answering emails or something like that which turned out to be a misunderstanding? Well, he apologised to me for answering no sooner than the following day. I’m absolutely delighted and … I’ll stop raving, you get the picture. No reservations here either.
[ This Message was edited by: Wombat on 2002-10-15 11:41 ]
I love my Burke C also, though mine is brass. Burke’s Bb is every bit as wonderful, with the added darkness of the lower range. I am crazy about my Bb.
Carol
[ This Message was edited by: cskinner on 2002-10-16 07:15 ]
[ This Message was edited by: cskinner on 2002-10-16 07:30 ]