I’ve played a bit on a clarke sweetone for like 8 euro’s (which doesn’t sound as sweet as one would expect from a “sweetone”. but i’m looking
for a very decent tin whistle now in the key of D. does anybody have a good tip/advice for me?
Also: can anybody see what kind of tin whistle is being played here? Its sound is beyond magical…very smooth.. → : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNFRvQrvLtM
Kind regards
DJ,
You don’t give us much information to go on here for playing characteristics or price other than you seem to want a more pure tone in D.
The whistle in the video is hard to see well but from what I can see and hear it might be a tunable Burke composite though it’s definitely not in D. It’s bigger than D or C. Might be a Bb, but if I were betting I’d guess it’s either alto A or possibly alto G. Others should be along soon to offer additional opinions. It clearly is either matte black or very dark gray and has a separate head (as opposed to integrated - like MK or Goldie) and a sleeve around the tube where it would normally break for tuning. My Burke composite G looks and sounds a lot like this.
ecohawk
Definitely Bb!
I’m sorry. My question wasn’t put very general I guess. There are so many kinds of whistles in all kind of keys which makes it difficult for me to choose what’s nice and what’s better to leave alone. I thought: Perhaps you guys have an idea what tin whistles are good to play on. not looking for whistles for hundreds of euro’s/dollars but a bit more professional whistle than a sweetone clarke of 8 euro would be great.
Thanks for the key of the whistle in the movie 
it sounds brilliant but I suppose it’s better to start with D first before going to other whistles?
Kind regards
One suggestion I would make is to buy a set of Generations, at least the D, C and Bb maybe the Eb. You could skip the F and G unless you have a rodent problem you’d like to also take care of.
You could then look into a Dixon whistle or two. There are a lot of options there. You could try the Dixon Trad first and maybe a few of his tunable polymer models in other keys.
Also the Susato Oriole whistles are moderately priced, sound nice and play well.
Get out and about and try some different whistles if you can.
That does look like a Burke Composite whistle in the Dervish video, as has been said, it is not easy to tell. That is a very good whistle in any case but the operator, Liam Kelly I think, is a big contributor to how it sounds. He could make your humble Sweetone sing like a lark as well.
Feadoggie
Hey Feadoggie,
Thanks a lot for your reply. I’ve seen the generations on uilleannobsessions yes. I heard they are very good tin whistles for only about 10~ euro’s. Haha alright, i’ll leave the F and G alone.
I guess they are not used a lot?
I checked out the dixon trad ones…there is a cheaper version and a DX204 dixon whistle…it sounds really good in my opinion but it’s like 80 euro’s.
Ah susato I recognize that name. I’ll check that out too.
Thanks for your advice and suggestions. i’ll go work on it.
I’ve seen the generations on uilleannobsessions yes
You’re probably better off going to your local(-ish) music shop and try a few before you buy them
I guess they are not used a lot?
Up to ten, fifteen years ago they were pretty much the only whistle available and very widely used.
As for the Dixon trad, you should be able to get one of those for under €30 but opinions vary, not everybody likes them.
There is only one “Dixon Trad” whistle in D, which can be bought with nickle or brass body. The other more expensive dixon whistle you are referring to isn’t a Dixon “Trad”, but one of the other models dixon sells.
The Dixon Trad and Jerry Freeman’s “Bluebird” whistle are the two I would recommend if you want something that’s very high quality, yet not so expensive. Both are around 30$.
If you plan on spending 80 Euro, I think there are many better choices than the expensive dixon.
As Mr. Gumby said- It’s best to try out several to find one you like. You will find people who like or dislike any possible whistle you could ever mention. It’s all about personal preference, and only a person can decide for themselves what they like.
I agree on getting some generations in other keys, too. It’s a great way to have access to many more keys for cheap. Not to mention, the generation Bb is a very good whistle.
Many makers or shops have a return policy, which would allow you to try the whistle, and if you don’t like them you can send them back for a refund. This is a good option if you don’t have stores that sell whistles where you live.
But yes, in their price range I’d say Dixon Trad and Jerry Freeman’s whistles are both widely loved instruments that I think for many people can compare with whistles that are many times more expensive.
BINGO!!
You won’t know what you really like until you try a range of whistles.
Moreover, your tastes in whistles may change as you grow in experience and knowledge.
BTW, its often possible to buy used whistles as a way of trying different models
for not too many scheckels.
I like Freemans, Susatos, Dixons, Cillian OBriens, Oaks, (I haven’t tried many of the more expensive high d’s).
Good untweaked Generations are out there but I’ve yet to make ones aquaintance.
I totally agree with the statement : you won’t know which whistle you’ll like before you can try it, at least for a few days. And I even agree more with this other statement : your tastes will change as your playing abilities increase; or you start playing in sessions, or you start developing your own style. As most shops won’t let you try a whistle before you buy it, this makes life interesting. The only real solution is to let a session friend lend you one for a few days.
This being said , here’s my personal point of view : all Bb Generations I played sounded good to my ears, all C Feadogs ( or oaks ) I played sounded good to my ears, but finding a cheap and good D is another story. Not everybody likes the dixon trad D but it’s in tune and plays well. So a gen Bb + Feadog C + Dixon trad D would be a nice starting point under 50 $ IMHO.
And you still can have a look at my humble soundcloud page to have an idea of how the aforementioned whistles sound :
but finding a cheap and good D is another story.
If your average Generation, Oak or Feadóg isn’t good enough for you, there’s always the Cillian O Briain improved for €30. You can’t beat it.
You’ve guessed it, Mr Gumby : my outstanding musical skills deserve much better products than those designed for the crowd.
Or more likely, I’ve been unlucky with D traditionnal whistles as out of 9 different ones ( gen, feadog, oak, accorn ), one only sounds as good as it’s Bb and C counterparts, a blue gen. I’ve been more lucky with Waltons D though as I own two and both sound really good.
As for Cillian O’Briain improved, I’m going to Kerry on holidays next month ( first time in Ireland, by the way ) and I’m planning to go to Dingle and buy one directly from him. If they’re good enough for Mr Gumby, they might be good enough for me, who knows ?
Have you tried just doing some simple tweaks to the ones you already have? Worst case scenario is that you make it even more unplayable.
A bit of putty and some gentle filing away of excess bits of plastic in the windway can do wonders. Those tweaks are fool-proof. The tricky part is if you start messing with the blade itself.
Thomaston, I don’t know if you were replying to me, but in case : most of my traditional whistles have at least the putty tweak, and for some of them I carefully filed the blade as well. I followed the advices from members of this very forum. It lead to a noticeable improvement in many cases ( especially walton D, gen D and Feadog C ), and was less convincing in others, such as my gen Bbs which already sounded good out of the box. It didn’t help for some others, including unfortunately my feadog Ds.
Sorry, I was replying to the OP. But congrats on your tweaking successes!
And agreed that the Gen Bbs are mostly perfect as is.
One other thought while I’m thinking of it… The poster putty can make some whistles worse, at least to my ears. The Dixon Trad is an example that comes to mind. Sometimes it’s better to just leave it as-is if it doesn’t have any major playing flaws.
I’m a beginner, but I didn’t really care for my Generation D. I think the sound is a bit too shrill. I hear they you can play a case of them and many of them will sound different though. I wish my local music shop would let me actually play some without buying them, and carry more whistles than just Generations.
I bought a Kerry Optima (low D) a few months ago, however, and I love it.
Beginner and sounding shrill often go hand in hand. I don’t think Generation/Feadóg/Oak type whistles suffer more from that problem than some expensive whistles to be honest.
You do want to try a whistle, any whistle, before you buy and pick one you like best. In my experience very few, if any, makers or tweakers produce 100% consistency. They may produce consistently decent whistles but there will often be a (significant) difference in some aspect or other.