OK, I think I’ll get a Burke, but which one?After a visit to his web site I find Bakelite,Brass, Aluminum,narrow,wide,session,pro…can somebody help explain in a practical way what the differences are? I want high D…
I’ll give it a shot in the spirit of others before me. I own the Brass Pro Session D and the AlPro Session D and I play a lot!. If you look back in archives you will find how I arrived at my choice as this comes up about every six weeks, it seems.
I bought the brass because I fit the “T” of Dale’s personality profile for traditional. Brass just sounded better as a concept even though more C&Fers recommended the AlPro because of higher clearer notes. I was suspicious of aluminum because I have an alum. Chieftains low A that is heavy, thick-walled and requires the lungs of an elephant to keep inflated in the upper register (sorry Phil).
So I ordered a brass. It came and it was great. It has a sweetness that will keep me off cheap whistles for good, no matter how folksy/irish authentic it is to tweak and file my old Feadogs.It makes you want to play and play because the notes sound so good in sequences.
But every once in a while I had some trouble with the high B and a little with the A. I pondered returning it because i thought it was clogging. So my strategy was to order an aluminum with the intent of owning both anyway because I use the D all of the time and send back the brass for Mike to look at.
By the time the Al came, I had come to the conclusion that my whistle is like me and the Bay Area weather: some days its a little foggy and other days not. I’m not famous enough to let it keep me from learning the whistle or embarassing myself onstage with a funny B. And I suspect that when stage-adrenaline kicks in, it probably won;t happen anyway.
The aluminum came and is a precious and beautiful-looking thing. Its very thin-walled and weighs next to nothing. It feels much more fragile than the brass and I worry about it a little more. It can be bent and I have suffered a little deformation of the inside joint just from opening it once because its a little tight. I am too selfish to send it back for now because I am that attached to the thing. Someday, I’ll let Mike look at it, in person, when I can have it right back!!!
To compare: I sincerely believe that the aluminum is a little louder and not quite as sweet and the upper register is a bit clearer. But it gets funny once in a while up at b too and I live with it.To clarify: sometimes the b squawks a bit and doesn;t sound quite in tune or wants to jump down an octave. I have tried the fingering of xooxoo and that controls it pretty much. Smarty pants will chime in and say buy something else but I am very happy with these whistles. I have since bought a brass C that is soulful and a high E brass that is fun. I’ll bet alum would have been just as great.
Now that I have both, I have the embarrassment of riches: somedays I just feel like playing the brass and other days the aluminum. I haven’t figured it out exactly, but I think they behave differently at different temperatures and relative humidity. We haven’t had a scorcher yet here since I got em so we’ll see…
They cost the same. If you’re rough with your whistles, the brass is probably safer to own.In all other ways, they are so close to equal that you should buy em both in D for the lion’s share of repertoire. My family likes the sound of the aluminum more though and its important because you just don’t know how it sounds from behind.
And just get the Pro Session models. I don’t know what the heck the other ones are but the o-ring works like a charm, they look great and are extremely tuneable.
Phew!
I somewhat concur with Weekenders. I own a wide-bore brass (I think the equivalent of the brass pro currnetly) in D, a composite in low-E, and Al pros in D, low-D, and low-C. All of Mike’s whistles are well-made, attractive, perfectly in tune, very easy to play (octave transitions, etc.). If that’s what you want, you can’t go wrong with any of his whistles.
The only direct comparison I can make is between the D’s, and I prefer the WBB. The AlPro is very clear, pretty pure of tone, and very light (low mass, I mean). I like the WBB better because it feels a little more substantial and the sound has a little more character. IOW, the AlPro is just a little too perfect. (I can also get about 3-4 notes in the third octave on the WBB, not that I often play up there.) I’m not knocking the AlPro, I love it, I just love the WBB a little more.
I also like all the low whistles, but there’s something about the composite E that I can’t put my finger on that sets it apart. It may just be that it’s a lot more manageable (smaller) or that it’s in E – I feel the same way about my Water Weasel high-E relative to all my other WW’s.
Charlie
When I was trying to decide between the brass or aluminum Burkes I went to clips and snips and listened to them to decide which sound I preferred. You might try that. ( I ended up choosing the Brass Pro Session and love it.)
I am fortunate to own a number of Mike’s instruments, both Brass Pro and AlPro. They help me to make a very pleasant part of my living.
If you like the taste of brass, buy Brass Pro…If you like a neutral taste, buy AlPro.
If you like a bit of weight in your hand, buy Brass Pro…If you like a feather-weight instrument, buy AlPro.
If you like a brown patina or wish to have a close relationship with the products of the Nevr-Dull company, buy Brass Pro…If you abhor polishing whistles, buy AlPro.
If you like the sound of odd harmonics, a bit of chiff, and a more traditional sound, buy Brass Pro…If you like crystalline purity in your sound, buy AlPro.
Play characteristics are so much the same between instrument types as to make a comparison an exercise in subjective futility.
You cannot go wrong with either model. The instruments are winners - as is Mike, himself.
Cheers and best wishes for a choice pleasing to you.
Byll
I own both an old-style WBB D whistle and a newer Brass Pro D, and I must say I actually prefer the old-style whistle. The Pro is louder and has less chiff, while the sound and volume of the old-style WBB is much closer to a “real” cheap tinwhistle. Of course the Pro whistle would be nice for cutting through a noisy session (assuming you’d want to do that).
Jens
If you like a brown patina or wish to have a close relationship with the products of the Nevr-Dull company, buy Brass Pro…If you abhor polishing whistles, buy AlPro.
LOL
I thought I liked shiny whistles but after getting the Burke I have since learned that, you know, I really would prefer that brown patina 
Sarah