I’ve gone through the Megs I had around to give to people who fell in love with whistles after hearing or playing with mine. I’m not happy with the overall quality control there – I’d rather give away fewer whistles and have a better chance at them being good. If you were going to give a whistle to a friend (or three) who might or might not ever get serious about whistling, but who really likes Irish music – and who might be more likely to stay interested in the whistle if he or she received one that was actually playable – which whistle would you give?
I don’t mind doing a bit of tweaking beforehand, but I’m not sure I’d want to hand someone a gift whistle with a guitar pick glued to it .
I would recommend sweetones. They have a really nice shaped mouthpiece, come in different colors and sound pretty good. They are what I suggest to my new students.
Personally, I’d say Clarke Sweetones or Clarke Origs. They seem to be pretty good concerning quality control, plus they sound good and they not only are good for beginners, but advanced players as well. (of course, that depends on what you’re looking for…)
On 2002-12-15 21:56, tkelly wrote:
What is this – near consensus on sweetones > > ? Am I on the right list or have I gotten lost in cyberspace > > ?
…
[ This Message was edited by: tkelly on 2002-12-15 21:57 ]
Actually, I would recommend Sweetones as well. While I personally don’t like its tone, Sweetones appear to be reliable and consistent (I refer to the D only; I have doubts about the C), and they don’t need lots of air.
Gens - too much of a gamble unless you are willing and able to test and try all the ones you’re buying.
Clarke Originals - I love mine, but others on this board seem to have got Origs that require too much air.
Megs - quality control may not be that good. Inconsistent quality.
Feadogs – um, let’s just say I REALLY don’t like them.
I’ve tried 2 Waltons Guinesses (?) - one was fine, the other was horrible.
Agreed!-The Sweetone D can play nicely, and won’t be overblown easily like the Oak. The more I play one bought as a lark, the better it sounds. My Sweetone C has nice tone but needs a four-finger C-natural- the D has an OK two-finger C-natural, but improves with three
fingers.
\
Brian O.
[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-12-16 00:18 ]
I try to keep a few Megs on hand (all in D). People seem to especially like the ‘natural’ finish over the black. So far, having unloaded a couple of dozen of the things, they are still my pick. I have no complaints about quality (bearing in mind that I don’t actually play one in public). Remember that 98% of the people you give them to will never play them again after the first few attempts. Megs are attractive, decent-sounding, easy to play, and CHEAP. In the rare instance that I find someone who I think will really stick with it, I’ll spring for a Dixon or a self-tweaked BlackDog.
If I’m trying to convert someone who can already play a recorder, then the Dixon seems to really work well.
Ian
From the desk of Serpie-Pie:
Meg. I teach a little whistle class from time to time, and buy them by the double dozen. I generally have to toss a couple, but the rest seem to work well. If the folks like the sound, I recommend they get themselves a Clarke trad, a Gen (except for their abominable Bb!), or a Sweetone. Once they’re hooked, well… I do have a website… (G)
serpent
As a kid in Ireland I had a Clarke and couldn’t get started because I didn’t have instruction. The tone and playability of the gift whistle is reasonably important, but they also need to know what to do with it. I suggest a Sweetone or Meg or whatever, but I would also give some instructions, either downloaded from the Internet (free) or copy something (illegally). Maybe a ripped CD would help too. Going to prison is a small price to pay for helping humanity.
On 2002-12-16 18:28, E = Fb wrote:
As a kid in Ireland I had a Clarke and couldn’t get started because I didn’t have instruction. The tone and playability of the gift whistle is reasonably important, but they also need to know what to do with it. …
I’ve put together my own little instruction booklet and cassette tape. Since I’ve begun whistle proselytizing I’ve distributed 39 Megs! I have 20 more on the way, along with 24 Dixons! There’s a big Irish American community in my neck of the woods, and relatively few experienced whistlers. I was asked to give a beginners course at night through the local community college, and it has become so popular that we now have 2 sections running, with 12 in one and 19 in the other. I also give the stuff to fifers and fife students who express an interest in whistles and things Irish.
When my fife/whistle website goes on line (by summer 2003, hopefully), I’ll put the info in the booklet on the site, along with directions for contacting Thom Larson at the Whistle Shop. In my opinion, there’s just no one in the business as good as Thom for service, price or just plain pleasant good nature.
.
@ jim
