I’ve been playing the whistle now for five whole days (impressive, eh? ) and ordinarily I would agree five days is not nearly long enough to become competent on an instrument, but with 7.5 years of wind instrument experience, breath control comes quite easily. However, my second whistle finally came in the mail, and I noticed the two have very distinct tonal qualities.
I’ve got a Clarke Celtic (which is a Sweetone, right?) and a black Feadóg, both in D, and I find that the Clarke has a nice, “airy” tone, whereas the Feadóg sounds almost “manufactured” or “electronic.”
Which brings me to my question: What brand/style of whistle produces your favorite tone, and what does it sound like?
Whistles, and instruments in general, have different tones; you can’t logically deny that. I’d write a ton more about this, but I don’t like your tone. Have a splendid day .
If anyone out there is actually willing to give this some thought, I’d love to hear from you.
My favorite tone, and whistle changes, sometimes daily.
While I’ve got a small collection, most have been inexpensive ones.
Freeman whistles, Bluebirds(d & eb) and Mellowdog(d & c) usually get the most play.
But at the monent my current fav is a Sindt D which I finally got after an 18 month wait.
Braker, Impempe, and Goldie whistle are on my short list of whistles to aquire.
Whistles, and instruments in general, have different tones; you can’t logically deny that.
Not sure that I did.
I’d write a ton more about this, but I don’t like > your > tone.
Can’t make you (and wouldn’t want to), but tempted to blame the inadequacies of written communication…
If anyone out there is actually willing to give this some thought
Funnily enough, I did. But (forget cynicism because I’m just not cynically minded!) afraid it’s difficult to respond to instant competence and an electronic Feadog with a wholly straight face!
I guess I may still be rather excited about the new instruments, so competent by my standards and yours are probably two entirely different things. Also, I understand that music, like all other things, will always be a learning experience. In no way do I ever want to think that I am done learning, but on the same note (and trying my best not to sound presumptuous) I consider myself to have passed some sort of milestone in my career.
As for calling you cynical, I got a little upset when you said they all sound like a whistle. Yes, and a car drives like a car… . Whistles do indeed have a sound that separates them from other instruments, but different materials and different manufacturing techniques produce instruments that resonate differently.
all good?
so competent by my standards and yours are probably two entirely different things.
Who knows, but can assure you I’m both more critical of my own playing (= fiercely!) than anyone else’s and acutely aware of what’s wrong with it!
As for calling you cynical, I got a little upset when you said they all sound like a whistle.
Pity you couldn’t see my smile, but promise it wasn’t cynical (more droll if you must!) and apologies if it came over wrong.
Whistles do indeed have a sound that separates them from other instruments, but different materials and different manufacturing techniques produce instruments that resonate differently.
Of course, but who’s comfortable with describing and interpreting these things unambiguously in writing?
whereas the Feadóg sounds almost “manufactured” or “electronic.”
… these are indeed interesting words to describe the sound of a whistle… for what it’s worth, I prefer the sound of the Feadóg to the Sweetone’s; even more, since some recent tweaking made this old cheapo my current favourite…
That’s C&F for you: 100% daily value of crotchety ol’ folks. Thing is, crotchety or no, when it comes to the trad music community, they tend to know what they’re talking about.
wouldn’t you know I’ve been playing on the edge of an octave this whole time? hehehe…that’ll do it I suppose. still, what’s this buzzing? I don’t dislike it, because I played brass, but I can’t imagine why it does that. is this the mysterious “chiff” I hear about? and perchance, does it come from the “fipple?”
Any buzzyness on a new whistle will be made worse from blowing too hard. This can even create a buzz where there isn’t a problem . You might be getting a bit far on the octave barrier. My green and brass feadog is a bit prone to buzziness too. It’s definitely an adjustment to play it after playing a different whistle, moreso than usual, anyway.
My favourites? Burke’s, Freeman, Goldies/Overtons . These are my three favourite brands I own. I favour them almost equally, although my preferences change from day to do, depending on my mood, depending on the tune, etc. Also as I progress a bit in skill I find I appreciate certain things about certain whistles , more and more. Next week I might have different favourites .
For now though, I like the burke when I want something pure sounding, I like the overtons when I want something complex , and I like the freemans when I want that classic metal-with-plastic-fipple sound, but in a higher quality than the standard whistles of that sort. I value all three of these types of whistles equally, you can’t go wrong with any of them! I would say I do like the burke’s probably the best of the three, but it’s a really close tie. I am still new to these overtons I got, and I have a feeling once I get more used to them, my answer might change about that! All three types of whistles really are great. I hope to try out an MK whistle soon!
I should add that my goldie/overton whistles are between a medium and a tight blower. I am not sure if the wider windway ones are as complex as these, in comparison.
Frequencies from an octave not intended to play; if the register transitions are too “flippy”, you may get buzzes from the 2nd 8ve when you’re playing the 1st, and if the transitions are too sluggish vice versa (3rd/2nd 8ve accordingly). This can be fixed by adjusting either the blade or your breath control.
In answerance to your original question, though, I find that conical whistles have a superior “basal” tone quality than cylindrical whistles. Sure, there are some great cylindrical ones out there, hell, 99% of whistles today are cylindrical, but a conical whistle just inherently has a “rounder” sound, for lack of a better word. I’ve played a lot of whistles at this point, and my favorites have been Copland, Shaw, and the Clarke Sweetone. Most Irish flutes are conical, so why not a whistle? It smooths the octave jump, improves the high/low tuning discrepancies and takes the “bite” out of the high notes. Trouble is, a conical tonebody is much more difficult to make and tune than a cylindrical one, though I think many of our modern whistlesmiths would be up to the challenge.
I for example have a Burke brass narrow bore, about as smooth and mellow a whistle as you can get. It cost me $220. I also have a Clarke Sweetone in C, which cost me about $10. I like the Sweetone only a little bit less than I like the Burke. Sure, the cheaper construction is definitely audible, but the base tone is just awesome. I’d love to do a side-by-side comparison of a conical whistle and a cylindrical whistle made by the same maker…
First off, welcome to C&F and the world of whistles. I find my favorite whistle seems to evolve over time…I’ve had different favorite whistles over the years (Clarke original, O’Briain Tweaked Feadog, Dixon Trad, Clare 2 Piece, Freeman Mellow Dog, Parks Every Whistle, and Susato Kildare). My current favorite is a Freeman tweaked Clare, and I think I may just stick with the Clare and the Susato (perfect for outdoor playing where volume is needed and wind resistance is key at ye old renaissance festival). Jerry’s tweaked Clare is the perfect whistle IMHO.
Hard to go wrong with any of Jerry’s tweaked whistles, I’ve found every one I played consistently good.
That’s ok Peter. I’ll be the crotchety ol’ one instead. And I’m not trying to be insulting to anyone. I’m attempting to explain that statements like these in answer to the original question, which is impossible to answer adequately, are based on opinions formed without having most of the data at hand combined with inadequate or at least inconsistently applied terminology.
I can’t take enough time to list all the different arguments against “superior basal” and “rounder” tone qualities being attributed to conical bore whistles over cylindrical bore. So to the OP’s original question, this is my impression of Peter’s original answer. Tone is really difficult if not impossible to describe in words. I have no idea what a superior basal quality means to anyone other than me. I’m interpreting rounder to mean full and possibly flute-like but I have no idea if that’s what was intended. If this is accurate, then my Busman Boxwood (cylindrical) is rounder than my Copeland brass (conical) but my Copeland nickel (conical with lower blade/ramp placement) is rounder than both. And my Mellow Dog brass/plastic head (cylindrical) is rounder than my Hudson Wind brass (conical) or my Sindt brass (cylindrical) or my Freeman Bluebird nickel/plastic head (cylindrical). But the roundest whistle I own is either my Burke brass session (cylindrical) or my Thin Weasel blackwood (cylindrical).
Of course I could be completely misinterpreting the words you’re using - “rounder” and “superior basal” (I have no idea what this means). If superior basal means that it is the tone you prefer, then I like my Sindt brass head/silver body in high D. Unless I need more volume and roundness, then I’m all over a Busman dymonwood/delrin (cylindrical) or the aforementioned Copeland nickel.
I can find no justification for preference of tone based on the material used for a whistle. Nor can I find a reason to prefer conical over cylindrical or vice-versa. It is the construction and talent of the maker that makes all the difference to me.
) and ordinarily I would agree five days is not nearly long enough to become competent on an instrument, but with 7.5 years of wind instrument experience, breath control comes quite easily. However, my second whistle finally came in the mail, and I noticed the two have very distinct tonal qualities.
.
. Whistles do indeed have a sound that separates them from other instruments, but different materials and different manufacturing techniques produce instruments that resonate differently.
I guess I just like pennywhistles for what thay are… deadly funsome tools of enjoyment. 
