I have posted the first in a series of comparison recordings using whistles:
http://www.flutesite.com/samples/morning_3_whistles.mp3
This is the Morning Dew reel, played at speed first on a brass Generation D, then on a wide-bore brass Walton D, and then on a one-piece Dixon D.
As always, comments and criticisms are welcomed.
Look for the next comparison sometime this week as well.
Best wishes,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
It’s nice to hear raw comparisons without effects, as well as using the same tune…and of the three, I like the Walton. Nice tone, responsive, in good tune and you sounded comfortable playing it. It sounds like the Dixon has higher air requirements than the other two.
Good job on the tune and I’ll be looking forward to more comparisons. Any high-end whistle comparisons in the future?
Denny
The Walton’s is a fun whistle to play and it is easier for me because it will take more air. You were perceptive on the Dixon but for the wrong reason–it uses so little air and has such good resistance that it’s actually harder for me to play. I wind up with too much stale air in my lungs and have to breath, but I have to exhale first, which makes each breath take twice as long.
I actually sometimes blow a steady stream of air out of my nose while playing the Dixon for this reason. On odd but effective way to add a little “chiff”. 
For that achingly pure whistle sound, though, the Dixon is great, and it is well in tune.
There will be some high-end whistles coming: a Sweet rosewood, an early Sweet Killourhy, a Parkhusrt E-flat (the number 1–my wife now owns it), and a Michael Cronnolly whistle (which is the loudest whistle I’ve ever encountered–it’s louder than a clarinet). The Parkhurst is a particularly sweet and easy-on-the-ears whistle for an all-metal E-flat.
Also on the lower-end side are Susatos (old style and VSB), Sweetones, Clarkes, Waltons, Clare, and Generations.
I’m also going to include a recorder–a blackwood Adege after Terton–in some comparisons. For instance, if you think a Susato sounds like a recorder, you may be surprised when you hear them back to back. (The Dixon, of all things, actually sounds like a recorder.)
I’m going to try to record and post about one comparison a week. By the way, if there are combinations of these whistles you’d like to hear, let me know, as well as if you’d like to hear a certain whistle on a certain tune.
Best wishes, and thanks for the kind comments,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
James:
The way I get around this probelm on low-air-req whistles is to softly breathe out through my nose at the same time as I’m playing playing phrases. “Bleeding the reservoirs” so to speak…with practice, I recognize how much air I need to finish a phrase, and don’t over-bleed.
Greg
On 2002-07-23 06:56, peeplj wrote:
I wind up with too much stale air in my lungs and have to breath, but I have to exhale first, which makes each breath take twice as long.
James,
That was an excellent idea to post an audio show and tell. I’m looking forward to the other reviews. If I had heard it last week, I would have ordered a Dixon.
I used Cool Edit to view the waveforms and the Dixon had the best note to note volume consistency. Next was the Walton and lastly the Generation. From a recording engineer’s standpoint, the Dixon was the winner.
Nice playing, James. It inspires me to improve my playing.
Could you do a Feadog, Clarke’s Original, Sweetone comparison, sometime?
Best regards,
Gary
Don’t have a Feadog yet but I’ll see if I can get one. Always looking for a good excuse to get a few more whistles!!!
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
James,
I enjoyed your playing and I enjoyed hearing the tonal differences of the whistles side by side. I just revisited your page and rediscovered how useful it is.
Lisa
[ This Message was edited by: ysgwd on 2002-07-26 18:45 ]
On 2002-07-24 22:29, peeplj wrote:
Don’t have a Feadog yet but I’ll see if I can get one. Always looking for a good excuse to get a few more whistles!!! >–James
http://www.flutesite.com
What a pleasant way to encourage a blossoming addiction. Looking forward to these future comparisons.
On 2002-07-23 09:49, Wandering_Whistler wrote:
The way I get around this probelm on low-air-req whistles is to softly breathe out through my nose at the same time as I’m playing playing phrases. “Bleeding the reservoirs” so to speak…with practice, I recognize how much air I need to finish a phrase, and don’t over-bleed.
Oh, so that’s what it’s called…I’ve been doing that too. Can’t seem to prevent it, actually. But I mainly play hoovers and laughing whistle, so I suppose it’s a natural side effect. I actually have to play out the side of my mouth, otherwise the ‘excess’ gets in the way of the whistle airstream and mutes the note.