When I first started playing whistle I couldn’t stand “hard blowing” whistles that took a lot of air and/or pressure to hit the highest few notes.
Now that I’ve been playing for a few years I find that I don’t mind this as much and actually am starting to prefer this type of whistle because the lower octave seems to be much stronger.
I was wondering which whistles people have found to have very strong lower octaves, and especially the low D since this can be a problem note even on whistles with otherwise pretty good lower octaves.
Very good question Bretton, I went down the same journey myself.
My Rose has the strongest bell note which is one of the reasons I like it so much; good also are Dixon, Oak, Susato, Overton. I found Burke weak and the Elfsong middling. And herein lies a mystery because each whistle is an individual - you’ll find all manner of contradicting posts on a subject like this.
That’s actually a very good question, but not all that straightforward. A bellnote can be strong because it’s strong relative to the rest of the range, i. e., well-balanced, or because it’s a loud whistle. Also, as Nick pointed out, whistles, especially hand-made ones, are very individual – my Oak, for example, has a very quiet lower octave and a particularly touchy D.
That said, Burkes and Busmans can be thought of as having strong bellnotes because they’re so well-balanced – the bottom has especially good volume relative to the top, although they’re not really loud whistles. Hard-blowing whistles like Overtons, Harpers, Susatos, and Silkstones have very loud bottoms. And, I think, for shear cutting power, the Thin Weasel might have to be mentioned, too.
I’ve been through quite a few hand-me-down inexpensive whistles (Gens, Feadogs, Waltons, etc.), along with a dozen or so new Sweetones that I tweak and sell.
What I’ve observed is that they’re all over the map, even with two of the same kind of whistle, as to how strong or weak the bottom two notes are.
One may have a strong bell note right out of the box, the next one of the identical whistle may have a very weak bell note, but firms up nice and strong with tweaking, while another of the identical whistle may have a very weak bell note that firms up a little with tweaking but never becomes really strong. (BTW, I won’t send out a tweaked Sweetone unless I’m happy with the bottom two notes.)
I’ve found that in many cases, a strong solid lowest note means the high end tends to shriek or gets hard to hold. This is the case with my Sweetheart (older style) and with a Chieftan D that I’ve got. They’re both really solid at the low end.
On the other side, a Hoover narrow brass is really tough at the low end, but is wonderful from the low G and up into the third octave.
Getting a good balance between highs and lows seems to be the tough trick of whistle building. My Sindts (D and A) seem to handle it the best of the whistles I have, and a Generation Eb does surprisingly well too.
There’s a reason that as whistles get longer, they also get fatter. Look at organ pipes - really just a bunch of whistles. You’ll probably find in general that a wider bore means a stronger low end and a narrower bore favors the high end.
Between my Copeland D and my Abell, the Abell wins for best bell note. Here’s a sound sample of me playing my Abell http://tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/Audio/10-02/MaidBehindtheBar2.mp3
…and of course Tony Higgins has a whole LIBRARY of tunes on the clips ‘n’ snips site playing his Abell!
Alba SE High D will blow 'em all away. You can hear that puppy for blocks! Soon, Stacey will have competition there, when the Serpent Dreadnought comes available, but for now, if you want to battle the fiddles, that Alba will kick butt on all the rest!
serpent
I think you could say I LURV it! Great growly, whistle-y, chiffy sound, not too much air for the volume, fully in tune with itself, and easy adjuster. I find nothing to dislike, at all! One great big fat, looud, tuneful sound! Buy one now!!
Cheers,
serpent
Interesting thread. There’s no doubt in my mind that Sweethearts have the strongest bell note. I’ve played a variety, though not all, of the whistles mentioned, and some I like better than others in this respect, but I can say that none of them compare to the Sweetheart for a strong low octave.
The conical bore does seem to help. I noticed that one of the other posters who mentioned Sweetheart wondered whether the strong low octave meant a squeakier high octave. That was certainly the case with the older Sweethearts: going above a high G was a bit of an adventure. The newer models are quite a bit better, and the latest, the Professional (which so far is only available in D, I believe), is the best of all. High C# and D are still a problem, and you need to concentrate a bit on high B and C, but that said it’s quite reliable in the upper octave. The lower octave is simply exceptionally strong and easy to deal with. No one can play a Professional without immediately being struck by that aspect of its play.
My Cronnolly whistle is made of black polymer, the same rod stock he uses to make his M&E flutes.
I believe Dale has one of these whistles in wood, as well.
It has a cylindrical bore–the bore is 5/8 of an inch, huge for a high D whistle–and two headjoints, the original, which as about as loud as a clarinet, and a new design that, while softer, is still quite a bit louder than a Susato.
