Whistle Comparison: Gen, Oak, Burke Al-Pro, Whitecap, Syn

Whistle
1

Here’s Rattigan’s Reel on the following whistles in this order:

  1. redtop Generation D. This is one of my best Gens, and the more I play it, the better it gets. A good Gen is awfully hard to beat.

  2. Oak D, a constant favorite of mine

  3. Burke Al-Pro D. A really smooth whistle, buttery silken tone, lovely to play and hear

  4. Hoover Whitecap. All the mellowness of the Burke with just a bit more bite. Lovely lovely little thing.

  5. Syn D, which is a whole different kind of whistle, with much higher back pressure, requiring much more agressive, almost flute-like approach.

http://www.flutesite.com/samples/whitecapcomp.mp3

All five of these whistles are favorites, each for their own strengths.

–James

2

James,
I listened to your comparison several times and I’ve got to say that the Gen, Oak, Burke and Whitecap didn’t sound all that different to me, at least not different enough that I’d be able to distinguish one from the other. But the Syn did sound different from the others. It had a fuller sound with maybe more low frequency elements? Anyway, it was different. I like them all.
Mike

3

Hi James - for once my AOL Media player worked throughout the tunes. Thanks for this very pleasant service you’ve been providing. I think this highlights two things: 1. It really is the player, not the whistle, as you sound pretty much the same (good) on all five whistles. 2. The only slight difference I think that comes with the high end whistles may be a bit more ability to extend the notes with full tonal quality; yes, I liked no. 3 best by a small margin, which happened to be the Burke.

Regards,

PhilO

4

Hi James,
You have similar tastes in whistles to me. I can’t understand why some are negative on Oaks.
Here’s my current fav whistle. It’s a Susato head with a Feadog body. I’ve got the Susato head, with about 1" of the barrell. I had to use a 1/2" drill to open up the barrell so the Feadog would fit in there. The result is astounding. Loud, but without the recorder-like tone of a Susato, and without the screeching in the high end.
I imagine other barrells would work well. I tried an Oak, but the Feadog seemed best.
Tom