Hey guys! Ok so I’m the new dude on here. I seem to have caught this whistle posession obsession thingy, and now I want a wooden whistle in high D. I Have a Burke D in brass which i LOVE but i fancy something a bit different. I don’t like much breathiness in whistles and i haven’t played or even heard many wooden wooden whistles at all ( I think the last I played was a Swayne about five years ago which I loved at the time, but in fairness had never played anything other than a feadog…) Any suggestions would be great!
Hi,and welcome,you should check out Paul Busman’s site www.busmanwhistles.com there are sound clips of his whistles on there
Also try www.tinwhistler.com there are lots of reviews of different whistles on there with pics and sound clips.
I own a Delrin whistle made by Paul at Busman Whistles which is excellent. I understand the quality of his wooden whistles are outstanding and I highly recommend his products.
I am not hard-core into care of feeding of wooden whistles else I would buy one in a heartbeat.
I play a number of wooden whistles, and think that for the price, the Sweetheart Pro model is very nice…not breathy at all and the playability is very similar to the Burke.
When I’m playing in groups though, I ALWAYS reach for the Abell.
Then again, you can do what I did – buy 'em all when you can find 'em!
Sincerely,
Tyg
Dang, you just missed one of those on ebay for a GREAT price!!! I almost got it but realized my Bleazey will do me just fine. It plays a lot like an Overton but with a different sound.
I also have wooden whistles from Weston (not tunable). It has a VERY sweet sound, full and round.
Another I have is a Syn Lancewood. This one tends towards the pure and clean sound. I play this one solo. I might consider selling this one as my Bleazey, Overtons and O’Riordan seem to be getting the most play time.
A lot really depends on what you WANT from a wooden whistle. I have a Busman and a Sweetheart Pro…both are fine instruments, but they are very, very different from one another.
Why don’t you tell us what kind of sound and playing properties you like from a whistle…that might help us help you better.
Redwolf
welcome 
i got the impression that swayn whistles are one of the best out there, the dearest man ive met who got me seriously into this music said that the swayn low d he played was the best whistle he held.
i have my busman kingwood for maybe a month… and really really, really love it.
i used to play a tweaked feadog wich i really liked and got on with very well, but this wooden whistle is just something else… for me
i find the taking care of the wood a fun thing to do…
maybe soon ill post some pics of this beautiful instrument
Yeah, I saw that Sweet Pro; someone got a real deal! Too bad I’ve already got one…
I’ve owned just about all of them. If you do a search for posts by me with wood whistle in them, you’ll find my takes on all of them in at least a couple of posts.
I have wooden whistles by both Busman and Boisvert (aka Greenwood). Both makers produce excellent whistles, but they have quite different characteristics. There are several other makers of wooden whistles out there with excellent reputations, as well.
I second the recommendation to visit the [u]Whistle Reviews[/u] at Wanderer’s website. Look especially at the reviews for Abell, Busman, Greenwood, Sweetheart, Syn, and Thin Weasel. (Note: Thin Weasel whistles will be more difficult to find now, since Glenn Schultz passed away quite recently.)
Happy whistle hunting,
John
Thanks for the info, I checked some of the reviews and sound clips. I thought I would love the Abell ( and I do still think it looks fantastic ) but i think it sound a little harsh.. Am I crazy? The Greenwood sounds lovely, I must say. What a nice looking piece too. I guess I don’t like my whistles TOO loud, and i’m not really a breathy whistle fan either…
You would really like the Weston or Syn then. Barely any breath and medium loud. They don’t take a huge amount of air to play either.
If you don’t like breathy tones, Busman and Rose, as well as O’Riordan, should be considered. I tried a Busman recently and was quite pleased with the tone. However, O’Riordan has a long wait at this time, and the last I heard was not taking orders…when an O’Riordan comes up for sale it causes the whistling equivalent of the Chicago riots.
Personally, I covet a Rose blackwood.
I almost bought one that was offerred on this board, but:
First and only post of seller
Price was in line but wanted money sent to “mother” in states and whistle would be shipped from orient
Would not consider any other alternative (ie: money and whistle sent to reliable CFer and then sent on even though I said I would cover extra costs)
So, I don’t have a Rose whistle. Better than being out a couple hundred dollars and no whistle though.
I think a Rose may have been the first whistle I ever sold. Although the playing characteristics are a little nicer, I couldn’t tell the sound from a Susato, and neither could my wife. That’s not a bad thing, but considering the factor of 10 greater price, I was expecting more.
I really want a Wooden Whistle also.
Oh yeah, I was one of the guys that voted “mostly hate them” on the susato poll. If this has any bearing on what definitely NOT to go for than please tell me… And I’m not the most patient of folk so I don’t really want to wait for ever for a whistle niether. Fussy bugger aren’t I…
And whatever i get HAS to be cool with oxxooo C nat. I can’t change to something new after 13 years…
Does anyone have anything nice for sale??? I’mopen to second hand whistles.
What kind of price are you willing to pay?