For awhile, I had been planning on building a collection of Thin Weasels, all the way from E to low-F. But a number of things have happened: I played a Burke AlPro low-G; I’m a little underwhelmed by the Water Weasel low-F, so will be getting a Grinter; and I don’t find the TW Bb any better playing than the WW. So I’m broadening my search for an A whistle.
I like a hint of chiff, but a generally pure sound, but not too sweet, and pretty low breath requirements. I would prefer wood, but a woody sounding whistle would be fine. My favorite high-D’s are TW, Bleazey, Wilson, Grinter, Burke brass, and Silkstone alloy.
My initial list would include TW, Grinter, Swayne, and Bleazey. How do they (any/all) compare with other keys? Any other suggestions?
I kind of agree with you as far as getting away from the smaller Weasels. I’ve got a low F WW and it’s really not my favorite instrument. The bore is the wrong size: it’s in tune with itself, sure, but Glenn chose a size of PVC that necessitated HUGE holes for the fingerspan.
As for A whistles, I think you’d like a Grinter. I’ve got two low A whistles myself, an Abell and a Burke composite. Both are quite nice. Abell’s whistle is a little quieter than the Burke, but you won’t go wrong with either. My now deceased Grinter low G (I still can’t talk about it) was very nice as well.
I have heard nice things about Burke aluminum whistles as well as about Rayburns . . . anyone with more experience care to comment?
I was reading you guys because I’ve been considering expanding my WW collection - I have a world class A WW and people seem to think that the Eflat, D, C set is worthwhile. Jim D. as always helpful is sending his set and some others as well to me for tryout.
Also glad for consistent feedback on the WW low F, because I was thinking about the one I saw on the Andy’s Front Hall site, and did say to myself that the bore seemed narrow for a low whistle.
I was a little confused though Stuart because you said that you agreed re getting away from the smaller WWs; I didn’t think there was a problem with the high keys just that he was looking for another maker A, had found a Low G more to his liking and was considering a Grinter Low F.
Anyway, my Grinter LOw F in red lancewood is terrific.
Good luck in the search and let us know.
BTW, how do you guys feel about the Burke composites, haven’t seen much on them lately.
Philo, as you know from our correspondence, I really like the Burke Composites. I’ve got them in Session D, C, Bflat, G, and low D. I had an A but had to trade it off to help complete a trade on a Grinter High D. I only traded it because I knew I could get another and I’ve found M. Burke’s whistles very consistent. The A was the best of the bunch and I like the bunch.
I may be having an Abell A/Bflat set on the way soon. I’m looking forward to that.
So my 2 cents worth is that the Burke Composite A is very good…I liked the water weasel I tried at the Hobgoblin Shop in Red Wing, Minnesota but I liked the Burke better.
jim
[ This Message was edited by: livethe question on 2003-01-12 19:03 ]
I was a little confused though Stuart because you said that you agreed re getting away from the smaller WWs; I didn’t think there was a problem with the high keys just that he was looking for another maker A, had found a Low G more to his liking and was considering a Grinter Low F.
Yeah, I realize now that what I said was confusing. What I mean is that I agree that WW/TWs get worse once you get away from the small ones. Moreso that it’s my opinion; I don’t think he was actually saying they were ‘worse’ but rather more unremarkable.
I own two A’s - Hoover aluminum and Burke AlPro. Both are excellent instruments. The Burke is full-bodied and has an even-ness of sound pressure level from low to high A that is hard to beat. It is a bit louder than the Hoover, but is in no way a loud whistle. Playability is excellent. You will not go wrong with a Burke A.
Best.
Byll
Do you have other Abells? If so how do they compare? I just got a standard set and like the sound of these.
After I got my Rose, I asked what whistle came closest to that sound in an A whistle and Dale and another board member said the Abell. I don’t want my A pure as the Rose but I’m not sure about the breathiness thing.
Any others out there have Abells in A and/or Bflat? What are your thoughts? Phil, is your Abell “breathy”?
I second Tony. The Abell A/Bb is
very good, breathy, and perhaps
a bit quiet. The WW A is a very good
whistle for the price. Glenn made
me one with a Bb tube to go with it.
The Copeland A is very good,
but maybe not what you’re looking for.
My Abell Bflat/A set is definitely somewhat breathy and less volume than my Copelands. There is something so - and here I don’t quite know what descriptive words are best - sweet, mellow, warm. I’m having a hard time explaining. I have 4 Bflats - Copeland, Abell, Grinter (lancewood), and Silkstone PVC. The PVC is a step down from the others in tonal quality to my tastes (but quite good).
Among the other 3, the Copeland has the greatest volume and overtones in the low octave - I love it more each day. The Abell somehow seems to float as opposed to cutting or piercing and the Grinter seems closer to the Abell but not quite so airy and sweet. The Abell, however can kick out some volume and sustain notes (all 3 can).
I know, not very helpful. All 3 sound terrific and are a joy to play.
Lots of helpful comments already! Thanks for the ideas.
I find the Copeland high-D way to breath intensive for me. I expected some votes for Copeland – Can anyone make a comparison between the high-D and A? I find the Copeland low-D within the range of my other low-D’s (Shaw excepted).
Abell hadn’t crossed my mind. I have an Abell D; how does the A compare? I find that the D offers less backpressure than I’m used to, but is a dream to play. I find it records well, and that it’s breathier to the player, presumably because of the geometry. How is the mouthpiece? I would think that, as it gets bigger, the low-angle straight cut might become even more uncomfortable (I’m not crazy about it even in the D).
Burke composite had also occurred to me. I have a low-E that’s just to die for and a B that I haven’t made up my mind on yet. I suspect that I’ll get one, especially if I order something with a long lead time.
Thanks for all the input. I meant to include in my original post tha thet A is a really useful whistle. It’s probably, for the amount of potential use (i. e., every tune in D that goes below the keynote), the most neglected. It’s not discussed all that much on the Chiffboard, and probably doesn’t sell as much as low-G, and possibly even low-F.
Stuart - Really good point on the difference with respect to airiness and how you blow the Abell.
Jim - I have an Abell soprano D in delrin that is very close in appearance and tone to the blackwood Abells I have. It’s excellent. Perhaps the tone of the blackwood is a bit warmer. I got the delrin so it would travel well and not be a maintenance issue. However I find blackwood to be so stable and dense that it requires minimum maintenance and holds up well. I’d go with the blackwood in a tossup.
A Rosewood set is available without the wait and you know how it is when a person succumbs to “you know what.”
Jessie and Loren have had good luck with their Madagascar Rosewood whistles. When I first saw my whistles I thought they were Blackwood. Jessie is right, not that I doubted, the whistles do smell good.
I had thought about eventually getting a Delrin D for outdoor stuff but I think I’ll just see how I get along with these.
I’ve got a Thin Weasel in Blackwood and the Rose in Blackwood. I just wanted to try something different. But you’re right, the Blackwood is really, really stable.
Just to muddy things further – I don’t own one (yet), but the O’Riordan (Traveller) Bb and A whistles I’ve tried have been absolutely top notch.
I haven’t tried the Thin Weasel A, but the Water Weasel Bb/A are my favorite WWs, and the Thin Weasel G I tried was excellent. I’m inclined to disagree with the comments above – Glenn’s whistles are even better once you get off of the high key signatures. (Though the WW F is definitely a bear to play because it is so long, I don’t think that applies to the TW F – but I haven’t had the chance to try one.)
