Hey all
Ever since i frist got my syn whistle, I was never really pleased with the sound, but recently I have started liking it more and more. It turned out to be a wonderful whistle after all. For a while i was even thinking of selling it. Anyone else have any storys of whistles they didnt like at frist, but have grown to like.
-Andrew Cassidy
That’s actually a common thing for people to say about whistles before they get used to them. Different whistles require different amounts of air, etc.
I have quite a few stories. It sometimes takes me a while to adapt to a new whistle, even when I have others I love by the same maker and other whistles in the same key. On other occasions I bond with a new whistle straight away. I guess the two cases of whistles that really disappointed at first but which I have grown to love are my Sindt Bb and my Burke AlPro low G. In both cases I was having trouble adapting from the way I play Overtons in those keys. But when things finally clicked I was very pleased with them. My Abell Bb disappointed for a while but not for long. After the experience with the Sindt, I knew it was wise to bide my time.
I wonder how many people sell on whistles they would have loved had they been just a bit more patient? Well that’s not a question we’re likely to get an answer to is it? 
A whistler I met at Willie Clancy Week called Peter Phelan was very set against Susatos, thinking them too loud at all times. He plays a Desi Seery whistle specially made for him.
I asked if he had tried a Susato VSB, and he hadn’t heard of them, so I lent him my untunable one to try. He played about two bars and announced it was sharp. Then he had another go, adjusting his breath, and decided it wasn’t. Finally he played a couple of reels, and said he quite liked it and might get one next time he was in a shop.
I don’t know if he ever did, but I was pleased to at least mellow his dislike of Susatos!
I think Susatos are quite hard to play well. That’s a problem for them, and generally unfortunate, because they are priced to attract whistlers just entering the intermediate stage and looking for something a bit more reliable, and perhaps easier to play, than a cheapie, but not as expensive as a high-end whistle.
Susatos ARE hard to play well. They’re definitely a bad idea for beginners, because the upper octave takes extra breath (and sounds strained, in my opinion).
I guess I’ve never had a whistle grow on me… I suppose I’m a whistle whore! I love every one I’ve owned (almost).
And here I had a picture of a tree with little whistles growing on it.
bah.
Well if you’re talking about cocobolo and blackwood trees, you’re not too far off.