Hi, I’m a newbie to the forum and have only been playing whistle for about a year so newbie at that too. I got really interested in whistles and got myself a beginner’s set which includes Clarke Sweetone high D and Tony Dixon high D. Since I am getting more and more serious about playing these in gigs and sessions(I don’t really play traditional Irishi music, but the whistle is great for any genre of music, I think!) I am drooling over whistle catalogues. I wish to get something in a different key, perhaps C…
I loved Clarke Sweetone. Amazingly it gave me all notes throughout two octaves very easily, even with me being a complete beginner(although I am a saxophonist). But the intonation wasn’t very good(or maybe it’s just that I suck badly) and it was rather quiet. Tony Dixon I didn’t like at all. It sounded too thin and low notes were difficult to come out. I felt rather weird with its short mothpiece, what I mean by that is the part where you put in your mouth.
I have been looking at whistle like Harper C/D set, Water Weasel, Burke and Overton. I would like a tunable, and in-tune whistle that is not too soft blowing(I’m used to blowing hard on my saxophones) and gives pretty good volume.
I was attracted to Water Weasel three key set, but looking at the mouthpiece it was a lot like Tony Dixon while Overton and Burke seemed similar to Clarke. Does this make any difference to sound, or do Water Weasel and Dixon have completely different characteristics?
The Harper set is rather expensive, and I haven’t heard too many good stories about it yet… although they look beautiful.
Anyone care to give this poor soul an advice? Thank you very much in advance.
I’d seriously recommend an Overton. The Meister Colin Goldie makes both types of whistles i.e. soft-blowing or hard-blowing. Also it’s best to buy from Colin himself, or you might try a retailer like songsea (http://www.songsea.com) but you must check with the salesperson whether it’s solf/hard. Having said that though, in my opinion even the soft-blowing Overtons are hard-blowing compared to Sweetines. But if you’re used to hard-blowing instruments like saxophone (I used to play sax, too) I’d say you’d want a hard version.
Oops…wasn’t Overton soprano D’s untunable?!
Okay, how 'bout a Burke. It’s softer than Overtons and yet harder/louder than Sweetones. And it’s tunable!
Also, Tully whistles I think are tunables and come in different volumes (soft, medium, session). I haven’t tried Tully whistles but they might be the very whistles you are seeking. [/u]
Yes, they are VERY different-- each is good for it’s own purposes. The Dixon is indeed quite a bit quieter. The Weasels (wood or PVC) are nice gutsy whistles which will hold their own in a session. The multi key set is a good deal too. You won’t be disappointed.
For a hard blowing instrument with chracteristics you won’t get from other whistles I’d also recommend an Overton. It won’t matter what key you choose; they are very consistent in all important respects across the range. Tak covered the basics so I won’t repeat them. (I also have a background in sax.) Overtons were the first high-enders I bought and they are still either my favourites or very close to my favourites in nearly every key. I’ve never played one I didn’t like.
No other whistle you mentioned has as complex a sound as an Overton. I like Burkes but they are much purer in tone and have very little back pressure. I like my Thin Weasel but have never played a Water Weasel. I imagine they would be rather goood though, but perhaps not for what you want.
