G’day all,
I’ve recently had the good fortune to aquire a couple of Water Weasels and have developed a great admiration for the late Glenn Schultz’s workmanship and genius…
The Weasels that I have are a Low G,an A and a D which,as we speak (type?)…could be in the hold of a jumbo cruising at 30,000 feet above the Pacific on its way to OZ…
What I am wondering is…how many different keys did Glenn make his Weasels in ???
Would anybody here know the answer ???
Best wishes from Oz…weedie…
This is what is shows on a website that I found. It doesn’t mention the non-tunable whistles though.
CPVC Tunable Whistles…The Water Weasel!
CPVC Tuneable Whistle E down to C $84
CPVC Tuneable Whistle Set E flat, D & C $174
CPVC Tuneable Whistle B flat or A $90
CPVC Tunable Set B Flat and A $138
CPVC Tuneable Whistle G to E $98
I don’t have the answer regarding keys, but I just wanted to take the time to agree with you about Glenn’s work.
He did stunning work, in wood and PVC. The only other PVC instruments I’ve seen near Glenn’s standards are Tipple Flutes.
Now if I could just get a fipple head for a Tipple Low D flute…
I think Glenn, worked in about any key. I have an E (no, it’s not for sale) as well as D, C A Bb and G in my personal quiver. I don’t think he went lower than G. I have heard tell of odd keys like C#.
Doc
You’re right on the first part. I have all key signatures less B, C#, F#, and G#. I know he made at least a couple B whistles; I’d be really surprised if he didn’t try making one of each of the others, too.
As for the last bit, I have a WW low F, so he definitely went lower than low G. I’m not sure if there are low Es and Ebs as well. I’ve been told he never made a PVC low D he was happy with. I don’t remember ever seeing a wooden Weasel lower than low G, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist.
Going the other end, an E is the highest WW I can remember seeing. I know he made a few wooden high G whistles – far too small for my fingers.
I personally know of the existence of one wooden Thin Weasel in low F. My understanding is that it was a special order.
I’d love to get my hands on a Low F or E water weasel.
Doc
While I don’t have a Thin Weasel (yet..) I do have Water Weasels in D, G, Bflat - and they are extremely nice instruments.
Although his site doesn’t show it on the main page, evidently it’s still intact and can be accessed:
http://www.thinweasel.com/priclist.html
Reg
I have only had the good fortune to acquire two Water Weasels, a later non-tunable high D (which is just slightly sharp) and a low G tunable. I doubt I will ever part with either, as they are absolutely wonderful whistles, with a sound that is hard to match.
Just to pile on my praise here, I likes my Weasels! Glenn made really good whistles. His were the first whistles I played that did everything I expected in a whistle. I smile everytime I pick one up. I have a couple Thin Weasels and WW’s from high Eb down to low G.
I have never seen the low F Water Weasel. I’d like to have a look at one sometime and maybe play a couple tunes. If anyone has pictures…?
Feadoggie
True about the low D. Glenn was a “fussy barstid” (his own words) and didn’t like any of the low D’s he’d made. Last thing I saw him working on was a way to heat PVC pipe and stretch it over a steel mandrel into a conical shape to eliminate some of the intonation problems he found in low D whistles.
I’m fortunate to own one of those little high G whistles. It’s a showpiece of the woodturner’s art-- the walls are so thin you’d think you could crush them with your fingers. This thing is not much thicker than an ordinary pencil! Glenn couldn’t find telescoping tubing in the appropriate size for the tuning slide, so he machined it himself from stainless steel. Amazing work and a wonderfully sweet sound-- not at all shrill as you might expect.
If you’ve seen the low G, the low F looks pretty much exactly the same, only longer.
If you’ve seen the low G, the low F looks pretty much exactly the same, only longer.
Thanks, colomon. I have a low G and it’s a favorite whistle. I take it that the low F is made from the same CPVC pipe as the low G then. Is it also a two piece whistle? I’ve seen Thin Weasel low G’s that Glenn made in three pieces and imagined the Water Weasel low F might have three joints as well.
Hopefully I’ll run into one some day.
Feadoggie
Yes and yes.
Colomon, thanks and thanks.
You know, when you have heard of a beast but never seen one you imagine all sorts of things that may not be accurate. Is it myth or fact? Does it have two heads? Does it have scales on its body? Does it freighten little children? The Water Weasel low F is kind of like that to me. I know they are out there but…
Feadoggie
I had one here once in blackwood. Absolutely a masterpiece as you say. I wasn’t in a financial position to keep it at the time…one of those you never forget and kick yourself for selling.
Doc