What does the future hold??

Whistle
1

Well, I just placed an order for an Overton tunable tenor E. I’m really excited about it but I’ve had something on my mind lately. I feel an urgency when it comes to collecting fine whistles. I have nearly a full set of Burkes and just a few Overtons. I don’t “need” a complete set of Overtons right now. I don’t have the money for a full set. But my question is: how long do I have before these can’t be ordered any more? Should I be purchasing them while they are still available?

This doesn’t concern me just for Overton’s but any maker that makes fine, handmade instruments. All of the great makers are making very unique sounding, high quality instruments that have a voice that seems to be unreproducible. So when these guys retire, what happens? Will someone else come up with something similar sounding? Or will the classic airy drainpipe sound be lost?

I just don’t want wait until it is late. So, do I have time to wait on my Overton and Sindt purchases? Does any one know?

P3

2

wondering turns to rambling…rambling turns obsessive…at which point do we call it WHOA?

3

That’s creepy. I’ve been thinking along the same lines myself about the Burke whistles. Getting a spare and all that. I wish Michael Burke and his wife a long and productive career – not only because they make great whistles, but because they are really nice people.

Will O’Ban

4

P3: I am going to attempt an IMHO shot at this, but I may end up cancelling the post…You are asking an intensely personal and psychological question. It goes way beyond the philosophical into an impulse that some have trouble controlling.

Pat O’Riordan has created a well-deserved hiatus in his new order list, and we have all seen what this has done to the perceived value of his instruments. None of us know whether Pat will again take new orders…Could this happen with Mike Burke and Colin Goldie? Of course it could. Even if Mike and Colin do what Bernard Overton did with Colin, things would never be exactly the same. One cannot go home, again.

Would the ensuing changes be perceived as negative or positive? It would depend on the perceiver, completely. Read any one of hundreds of threads to see how different we all are…No one knows how long Colin and Mike - and others - will do what they do. They could leave the arena because of choice or necessity, at any time.

Each person who plays these wonderful instruments reacts to this situation in his/her own personal manner. Some try to get ahead of the perceived curve by purchasing one or two of each. Some replace existing fine instruments with the perceived newest, whiz-bang- flavor-of-the-month improvement. Some hang tight, save their money, and learn to play their particular instrument, well. It partially depends on the way each individual looks upon music and the instrument’s relationship to it…It partially depends on the individual’s personal need to have the perceived newest and best - a battle that I feel cannot ever be won…And it partially depends on psychological precepts that I do not understand…

I am rambling. I apologize. No one can answer your questions with any modicum of validity, P3. What is the driving force in your musical world? Is the the music, itself? Is it the instruments that bring that music to life? Is it much deeper than that, and not really related to the music or the instruments at all?

I find that personally jumping through the emotional and monetary hoops necessary to deal with the new musical ‘stuff’ that is always available out there, ruins the greater spiritual joy for me…Having more stuff does not equal greater satisfaction. It also does not make one a better whistle player… Everything - including any individual whistle - is already obsolete by the time it is sold…There will always be ‘improvements.’ I suspect that suppliers of instruments and other gear do not stay in business because of people like me…

Enjoy your music and the joy it brings you and others, P3. They are more important in the grand scheme of things, than any concerns about a particular instrument. Your mileage probably does - and will - vary.

Probably should have deleted this…

Happy New Year.
Byll

5

The future will never be the same,
and it never was, either.

Happy New Year,
Denny

6

Byll, I certainly can’t answer for P3. My reason for wanting a “spare” Burke is because I have such an easier time playing those whistles than any others that I’ve tried and they (the composite) sound so nice. The Burke feels more like an extension of my body than it does a whistle (sounds weird, I know). If Mike Burke quit making them and something happened to mine, I don’t think I’d get the same kind of joy out of playing. Other whistles I’ve tried just aren’t as much fun – for me – to play.

Like you, I also don’t know why people are so quick to want something just because it’s new, or because they just want another whistle. I guess we’re fortunate not to be afflicted with whoa too badly.

Will O’Ban

7

Don’t delete that post, Byll! Well said!

8

I was just thinking about this like 3 seconds before I opened this thread! :astonished: I don’t know what opinion I have about this, but I do have some things to consider.

I’m just 13, and I plan to play a whistle for the rest of my life. I’m probably going to see the retirement of all of the great whistle makers, but who knows what new ones will step out. Hopefully many of these makers will take on apprentices and teach them the art. I can only hope that the overall (playing, making, debating) interest in whistles continues for future generations.

By the way, P3: You’re taking the rambling Gollum thing a little too seriously. :slight_smile: