Picked up one of these this morning in Ennis for 4.50 in a (school-) book shop.
There’s no identification on the whistle, they came in green head/brass tube and red/nickle plated.
Nice little whistle and as close to the older Generations as ever I have seen one.
Anyone?
thats funny there is no id. were they all like that? whats the usual story with no name stuff then? well I guess you may need to test them for consistency. that might tell you something.
i reckon it’d be hard for a product with no name to bring a defamation action.
Mel Bay? I’ve not had one, but I seem to remember them described as a redtop with a nickel plated body.
–James
Looks like a Clare I have. I’ll confirm when I get home.
I played five or so from a bucket on the counter they were pretty much the same. I was buying the schoolbooks for the youngfella, whistel is on the curriculum of the primary schools so the bookshop had loads of them, half of them greenheaded Feadogs, the rest of them these. I don’t think Mel Bay would be on the market here, Generation folkwhistles are not sold here either. The head is very close to the Generation but the shape of the ‘bump’ is different from both the present and the pre 80’s design. Tube is fairly light. They’re sensitive blowers (but the type always is) but not scratchy or anything at all. As I said, not a bad one at all.
I don’t see Clare whistles often (contrary to what you might expect) so I wouldn’t know.
It looks like a Clare, but a Clare would have its name on it. My guess is that someone saw the commercial success of the Meg and got a factory in China to do cheap (but evidently well made) knock offs of the Clare.
I am not sure about ‘the commercial succes of the Meg’ I rarely, if ever at all see any of those. The concert I was at last week had over 100 children playing in it and no Meg (or Sweetone for that matter) in sight. I expect these are produced with the Irish National school curriculum in mind and sold throug hchannels supplying that market. I f I were to pick between the Feadog and this one (which was the choice available in the bookshop, both at the same price) I’d go for this one.
Looks like a Clare head to me, too. My red-top Clare on a two-part brass body has no maker-ID or other markings. I like it better than other cheap D Gen-style whistles I’ve played. That’s probably it.
On the tube, are the tone holes ever so slightly raised along the edges, feeling almost like they had been punched from the inside out instead of the other way?
–James
I doubt if Megs or Sweetones will ever find any market in Ireland, nor should they. But something resembling a Clare or Feadog might find a market, especially if it could be made in China for a fraction of the cost of making it in Ireland. I bought a licensed Guinness hat a few months ago and was chagrined to find a label that said “Made in China.”
The Clare whistles only have their name on a sticker on the fipple, as far as I’m aware. I’ve seen enough of them without the sticker that I guess they either fall off easily or occasionally ship without them.
-Craig
I would say that’s a Clare.
I pulled one out of my collection, and it looks identical.
Best wishes,
Jerry
They appear to sometimes ship without the sticker. I found this auction via David Le Bas’s site so I’m sure it’s genuine.
Peter, did you like the sound of the nickel version more than the brass or were they pretty much the same? I have only heard the brass Clares.
I generally prefer the brightness of the nickle although there isn’t a huge difference. These seem only nickle plated on the outside, the inside has the brass colour.
Thanks for your thoughts, Peter. I’ve been meaning to pick up one of these whistles.
-Craig
I have one on my computer desk that looks identical. It has no branding of any kind. The one I have has a green head and nickel body. i was told it was a Clare. It plays very nicely.
Ron
OK A clare it is. Thanks all, including the few private replies from people who didn’t want to be seen on the forum 
Another “Aye” vote for the sound of Clares. The tuning is good, and the box I got (light green heads on brass bodies, but I had the choice of red and nickel) were very consistant, once the bits of plastic fluff were removed.
I’ll do a sepparate post on Clare tweaks; after 50 whistles, I’ve got a couple tricks.
Does anybody know if Clare has something to do with Walton’s? My Walton’s Mellow D has exactly the same head, just made from green and not red plastic. But the shape etc. is the same.
Anyone?
I have a couple of Clares and a couple of Waltons, two each of the plain D and the Mello D.
The Mello D has a wider mouthpiece, and longer, than the Clares, and has a sort of faceted base, where the Clare is smooth all the way around.
Also, the Clare has a bit of a bump on the blade, the Walton’s whistles do not.
–James