Myself its a whitecap on a gen body. Mack makes an awesome fipple! But then again I don’t own that many whistles.
My thought is to still buy the Burke narrow bore high D as my first “high–end” whistle. I have been told its very playable. This is why the question came to me. Which of your whistles is the easiest to play?
Also, feel free to recommend a good “high-end” whistle the would be well suited for a beginner.
Burke narrow bore composite D.
Elfsong D.
Hoover CPVC D and E, Dixon G.
Dixon D
Burke Session D brass
Burke standard bore Brass Pro.
Best.
Byll
I second the Dixon D.
Mine’s tunable, beautiful jet black with brass tuning ring, spot on in tune, and AB-FAB to play! Reasonably loud enough, and very responsive.
It’s tough, too. I’ve dropped it often (wine and or Guinness are usually my ‘sessioneers’ 
)
Also, as a bonus, not quite as expensive as some ~$60.
I have a few other ‘high-enders’, which I love BTW, but I always feel like I’m ‘coming home’ when I pick up my Dixie.
IMHO,
LEE
Thin Weasel - Blackwood
Lon Dubh - Blackwood a close second (for sale or trade)
Burke composite D.
Sindt D
How did I know you going to say that?
One of the easiest whistles I have (and there are a lot) is still the trusted Jerry Tweaked Gen. It’s especially easy on the wallet too!
For me,it would have to be the Busman.I might say Sindt,except that for me it is slightly harder to half hole Cnat than to cross finger.Those are my only high-end high D whistles. However,a fellow once played my Busman, and the first thing he said was "It’s hard to play,isn’t it? So maybe I’m just weird.
-Kelly
I think the Burke regular session pro whistle is as easy to play as a narrow bore and has slightly more personality. I do have one in new condition available for $110 (I bought too many). I really think the Burke whistles are user-friendly.
For me the Humphrey narrow bore D is the easiest of my whistles to play, even easier than the Burke narrow bore D (my only high-end whistles). The Humphrey takes less air compared to the Burke and is more balanced in back pressure between the first and second octaves, especially second octave b,a,g. It’s also easier to play faster, and ornaments are noticeably crisper and easier, especially in the second octave.
For longer, continuous playing, the Burke is easier for me, though. The Humphrey takes so little air that the need to exhale becomes a factor, and I haven’t learned how to work that in yet.
Not that I find any whistle easy to play, some days especially they’re all hard to play. But some are easier than others.
I think those saying “Burke” are right - I don’t own one (yet), but every one I’ve tried was a joy to play. I know I’ll end up with a few Burkes sooner or later - just haven’t taken the plunge yet.
Of the cheapies, I think the Sweetone is the most consistantly easy to play. It’s not my favorite cheap whistle (I’ll take a good Generation, or maybe a Walton’s Mello D), but I think it’s about the best widely-available beginner’s whistle. I’d say the same thing about Megs (essentially the same whistle) but I don’t think Meg QC is as good. And even for more advanced players, the Sweetone isn’t a bad whistle at all.
I think the Serpent Sweet Polly has to fit in here somewhere, too. Although I have a fondness for all the Serpent Polly whistles, the earlier models (original, and Brassy) required a bit more attention to the embouchure. But the Sweet Polly competes with the Sweetone for ease of play. If you want an in-tune, well-balanced whistle with moderate backpressure and a husky/breathy sound these are a steal at $25. Just don’t get one if you want a pure tone - if you don’t like the sound of a Clarke original, you probably won’t like a Polly.
I agree that the Sweettone is an easy cheapie to play. (Mine is) horribly out of tune but it plays easy.
Hmm. All of my D Sweetones are pretty much OK. But I’ve never found a Sweetone C that was properly in-tune. My Meg C was pretty bad, but that might just have been Meg (lack of) QC.
Pulling out the head a bit on my Meg C helped a lot - still not perfectly in-tune, but much better.
I guess I’ll ‘third’ the Dixon. Mine is non-tuneable, and was only about $15. With the weather growing colder I must point out that it is a great winter whistle. It’s also the one I tend to use when figuring out a tune.