UPDATING THE BEST HIGH END WHISTLE DISCUSSION

Whistle
1

Greetings! I’m new…well, at least to this forum, I am…I’m looking for a new, high-end D soprano whistle and all the information I’ve been able to access is quite dated - I’m sure there must be something since the advent of a tuneable metal whistle by Silkstone in '08 but so far that’s as good as it gets.

If anyone could either direct me to a more current discussion, or enlighten me with their opinions on this topic I’d be very grateful. I’m looking for a professional quality instrument with a less-strident, well-behaved second octave for sessions and performance. Wait time is not a problem - I have an aluminum Burke that can still be played despite an ill-advised foray into home repair, but it needs replacing…perhaps with another Burke..

Thanks for your time.
Small Potatoes

2

Hi, and welcome to the forum :party:


There is no “best” whistle. It varies from person to person. It’s a very regular question that gets asked, and simply digging through the general whistle discussion will bring up many similar threads, and dozens upon dozens of posts where people are all talking about which whistles they like, just to get an idea of what’s out there right now and what is getting good word. After doing this you should have lots of names of makers, and a simple search will bring up loads and loads of threads on each of the individual whistles to give you perhaps a bit of an idea about what might suit your tastes. However, there is no substitute for actually playing the instrument yourself, as writing doesn’t always convey accurately how the whistle will be in real life.

If you just want us to tell you what we all like, well , my own list of top makers would be (in no particular order) : Freeman, Sindt, Syn, Lofgren, Burke, Reviol, MK, Dixon Trad (for D whistle only).

3

I agree with Sirchronique. There are many good names out there to choose from. But you say you want a session whistle i.e. loud, that has a well behaved less strident second octave. My thoughts immediately went to the Freeman Mellow Dog which is a high quality though relatively inexpensive tweak. It is brass and has a wide bore which together make the whistle powerful but “mellow.” I really like it but prefer a quieter whistle myself so I’m selling mine as a D/C set at https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/fs-freeman-obriain-dixon-whistles/87226/1 though if you’re in the US you’d be better buying from eBay where Jerry Freeman sells them.

4

I would say that if you were happy with the Burke before damage then buy another. My first good whistle was a Burke DASBT and it was a very nice whistle indeed. Other nice whistles i’ve owned were the Dixon Trad (very nice), a Rose (extremely lovely but it had to be warmed up well before playing and swabbed out after), and after that i got my Sindt (the best of them all). I’ve tried a few others but those are the four that stood out for me.

But all four are very nice whistles in my humble opinion. I haven’t tried any Freeman whistles (mentioned above), so can’t comment, but they do get a lot of praise from a lot of people.

5

IMHO, a Burke or Abell whistle might fit your request.

6

Very true, free-feet.



If you already know you like something, it might be worth sticking with the thing you like!

Also worth noting is that makers will often repair whistles that they had made. Even if it’s past the warranty time, or you are at fault for the damages to it, most makers will still perform repairs on instruments that had previously made. Contacting Michael might be well worth it, as you could get your whistle fixed or have the faulty part replaced.

I bought a Burke secondhand once and the tuning slide was completely stuck. Michael Burke said he’d fix it for me. So, I think he’ll fix your whistle, too, unlrdd something that is impossible to fix.

7

Check out the thread on the Bracker whistle tour. I think his standard high D would meet your needs. It is an excellent whistle.

8

Welcome to the whistle forum SP.

If your recent search for a high end whistle only found the Silkstone back in '08… you must’ve not searched very thoroughly.

High end whistle could mean high budget so be prepared. Or do you mean a high end whistle from the low end? :slight_smile: A good playing whistle.

There’s a current thread about the John Sindt whistles that has mentioned other high end whistles too and another recent thread posting a high end whistle for sale. See here

https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/sindt-prices/88057/1
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/ebay-copeland-d-whistle-posted/88227/1

The Burke whistle is a good one and you already know its quality/character, perhaps replacing is best.

9

I highly recommend you take a look at the WD Sweet Black Pearl whistle. It sounds great and handles extremely well. This whistle just seems to do everything that I want it to do, when I want it. I also really like the conical bore, which, sadly, is not all that common in high-end whistles. Maybe I am getting old, but I really like the way a conical bore whistle sounds and handles compared to a mouthpiece at the end of a tube.

Josh

10

I second the post about the Abell whistles. Chris is an absolutely brilliant maker and I was absolutely astounded at the quality of the whistles I got. I ordered a D/C set with the protective case last year, and as soon as I played it I knew it was right. They tend to have a more “pure” sound than other more scratchy whistles but they are very easy to control and have balanced registers. I can even play into the third octave on my C without making people’s ears bleed.

11

Thanks so much everyone for chiming in with your opinions…and yes, I’d be the first to admit that my research skills leave something to be desired, so thanks for redirecting me to more recent posts.

If only there was a whistle store where I could just waltz in and try a bunch of these - there’s a Copeland on ebay right now that’s going to go for over $500, and for that price I could get a new Abell…but I’ve never tried either! Sigh.

Thanks again for your suggestions and wise counsel.

Small Potatoes

12

Disclaimer: what follows is my personal, strong opinion. Yours may differ.

For what it’s worth, I think a lot of the higher end whistles are more trouble and price than they’re worth. Most whistle players of an advanced calibre (that I know of) play whistles with very low backpressure, but virtually all the ‘high-end’ whistles that people extoll on these have backpressure that is medium to high. I, as well as the whistlers I know, feel that this really removes a lot of the grace, speed and flexibility of the instrument in an effort to cater to less experienced players with difficulty in breath control.

I’m not making a value judgement on these instruments, but commenting that I, and other experienced players I know, find them perhaps less than a perfect fit. Honestly, I like my dad’s old Generation more than anything I own, but that may change in the next couple weeks.

“High-end” whistles I’ve been impressed by are as follows:

Jerry Freeman: Jerry does awesome things to cheap whistles, making them excellent instruments at an unbeatable price. I use his stuff for basically every key except C.

Pat O’Riorden: These are hard to find, but if you can get one used they’re almost unilaterally freeblowing, air-efficient, and have excellent tone. Bit loud, though.

Jon Sindt whistles are also quite good, if occasionally more scratchy in the low octave than I personally prefer, but with good intonation and nice medium volume.

The most recent iteration of Carbony mezzo A and Bb are quite good, fantastic tone, design and easy to grip. Can’t speak for their higher whistles.

Also, I’m going to post some clips of the Noah Talmadge whistles I’m receiving soon. I had the occasion to play one of them at the Cascadia irish week, and was smitten. He’s a brand new maker, but very, very promising.

Final thought, after playing many of them, I have to say I’ve rather lost my liking for Copelands. I think some of the earlier ones I played had more character than his later work.

Anyway, obviously whistle tastes differ from person to person, but I think a serious student of this music should avoid overly high backpressure, as it often becomes a crutch and complicates things later down the road.

13

My favourite top end whistles in order of preference are

  1. My wee green Goldie
  2. My other wee Goldie
14

For starters I would advise sending your whistle back to Michael Burke even if you tried to repair it at home.

If it came apart in the first place I think that he would fix it for you at little or no cost. YMMV :smiley:


Second octaves do tend to be a bit louder and can be useful just to hear yourself in a session.

Personally at a session I like a whistle that I feel comfortable playing even if I can’t hear myself. I hope that makes sense.
I don’t like whistles that drop out in the second octave if you don’t drive them hard enough.

I once played a Milligan D whistle that I thought required way to much air in the upper registers. My Copeland brass D whistle also had similar attributes. I had heard that you could send it back to Michael to have it re voiced but then he closed up shop. Since I wasn’t particularly fond of that whistle I went ahead and sold it. (what? a person who doesn’t favor a Copeland???)

I recently tried a Hans Bracker whistle on the U.S. tour and I would have to agree that the second octave was well behaved. On the other hand the bottom notes were a little weak. I think it is kind of a trade off.

Cheers!
Nate

15

I’m going to second this recommendation – I own much more expensive whistles, but I don’t think there are any that I like more than my mellow dog C/D combo. This is a shockingly good-sounding whistle for the price. I just ordered another one for my son, who is hogging my MD C of late. And Jerry Freeman is a pleasure to work with.

Briant

16

One more person’s thoughts: Of the high end whistles I’ve played the Copeland is my favorite. I got that so long ago that Michael actually sent me three to try out and select from, so perhaps newer ones are not a good. However I also own a G, and A, and a lo D (again a very early one) and though they are not the same they are all extremely good. The G is best and the A is worst. I also own a Sindt and it is very fine indeed. I tend to prefer the conical bore instruments though, probably since I came from the recorder world and am more used to pitch favoring on a conical bore instrument. I owned a B/C O Riordan set that was wonderful, particularly the C. But it didn’t get enough playing in my situation to justify keeping it. If it had been a D/C I’d still have it. Great instruments. I have owned Burkes, and though they are very good instruments from my perspective they don’t match the other three I’ve mentioned. That’s just my opinion though, and I’d certainly support what others have said about trying to get yours fixed or considering another one if you liked the instrument well. At one point I owned an Abell C/D/Eb set in blackwood, but at that time I was not playing much whistle and I sold it. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I had one now…I don’t know. I’ve wanted to try the WD Sweet Black Pearl, but have had no chance. I have the Lo D Walt Sweet Onyx and like it quite well, though the sound is a bit too clean for my liking.

As to the back pressure issue: I’m a trumpet player. Having to support the sound is about the only way I can play. So, the extra push is useful for me to work against. YMMV

Hope this is useful.

17

Actually, I just played my Delrin Milligan D this evening, and thought it might be an appropriate and more affordable (than an Abell) for the OP. Mine does not require that much air for the 2nd octave, and it is definitely sweet, not shrill, and seems in good balance with the lower octave.

18

On a Bracker? :boggle:

19

Peter,

I am not trying to criticize the Bracker soprano D (.50 I.D. model). The person who originally posted this thread said that he was looking for a whistle with a less strident second octave. I found the Bracker to have a clear consistent tone with a pleasant 2nd octave but yes the first 3 notes on the bottom where a little soft. His low D on the other hand had a very full sound from top to bottom.

I have read in other threads that you have a good selection of Brackers. I am curious which soprano D you own?

Thanks,
Nate

20

Since (despite my known liking for Brackers) I don’t believe the flawless whistle to exist, I’ve no problem if you are. But ‘soft/weak lower notes’ (and you have now used both adjectives where I’d not have used either) truly surprises me where I can’t remember a single Bracker of any bore that made me think that…

I have read in other threads that you have a good selection of Brackers. I am curious which soprano D you own?

Standard 13mm bore (same as the tour whistle, which I believe to be its near twin). Mine are all standard or as near standard as possible allowing for some shared heads.