I was thinking today about how there are a few names that come up constantly (Burke, Goldie, Sindt, etc) but I’m curious, with the years of experience and exposure the forum members have, what brands/makers deserve more attention? Who makes really good whistles that nobody talks about?
Roy McManus - got one recently and it is the best whistle I’ve ever played (and I’ve owned/own a LOT).
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Michael Mazur. His high whistles are kind of like Goldies, but easier to play and a bit quieter. Love them!
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Clover whistles from Argentina are very good. I have a high D and it is excellent.
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A name I don’t hear often enough is Lofgren.
I had a Lofgren Low D, it was excellent, very much in the Bernard Overton mould.
It played similar to a Goldie “soft blower” Low D: strong low notes, easy high notes, perfect voicing. I would still be playing that Lofgren had I not gone down the Goldie path.
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Although opinons differ about Copeland whistles, Seamus Egan played one for years (until it was sadly stolen), so that’s a pretty good endorsement if there ever was one. I’ve never owned a Copleand myself, but had the opportunity to play Tony Higgins’ low D many years ago at a local C&F gathering.
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Another maker that comes to mind is Maurice Reviol. Quality handcrafted whistles with a very distinctive sound.
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My experience has been that the Copeland Low Ds I’ve tried have been of dramatically varying quality.
There have been a couple absolutely outstanding ones owned by good players, and obviously unobtainable. David Brewer’s was possibly the best Low D whistle I’ve ever played.
So…many years ago I ordered a new one direct. It came, it was horrible. The low notes were so feeble that the thing was unplayable. Why they ever let something like that out the door who can say.
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I have found this to be a problem with many makers, and I think can be an issue when people start recommending their favorites in threads like these. I have, for instance, played a few high Ds by Bernard Overton. All looked the same, but played very, very differently. I own one now that I really like, but I wouldn’t really recommend his whistles per se to anyone, as I couldn’t tell you whether the one I have is indicative of the majority of the whistles he produced.
Now, some of that is likely deliberate customization to a specific player’s preferences, which gets lost when the whistle is sold second-, third-, and fourth-hand. But some of it also comes down to the very tight tolerances needed to replicate the same feel over and over and over again.
It’s one issue I have with the more mass-produced whistles out there like the ubiquitous Sindt clones. The Killarneys I’ve played have been fairly similar; there seems to have been a slight change in design sometime in the late 2010s so older and newer ones play differently but are consistent between them. I’ve had the chance to play some Lír, McNeela, etc. whistles and some have felt quite different whistle-to-whistle, though.
All of which to say, at this point I feel like I’d have to play 3 or 4 from a maker before I’d have a strong sense to recommend them. Burke, Goldie, and Sindt have been some of the gold standards in whistle-making not just because of how they play but because when you buy one you can have a reasonable expectation of what you’re going to get.
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For Goldies, I’d agree that you know what you’re going to get in terms of quality. But every Goldie high D I’ve tried has played very differently. I think he actually makes slight variations between each whistle on purpose, so he can find one to match people’s preferences in any given situation. But if you buy a random used one, you never quite know what you’re going to get in terms of volume, ease of playing, chiff, etc.
The first Goldie high D I had was very easy to play, had an insanely quiet second octave, and had a decent amount of chiff. The second one (which I still have) is way louder and there’s no chiff at all, and it’s much harder to play. And the third one (which I also still have) is louder still, and there’s a ton of chiff, but it’s the most difficult to play because it’s so resistant to octave switching. I like all three, with the second one being my favorite.
But the funny thing is that all three of these whistles had the exact same advertised measurements (1.0 mm windway, 45 degree ramp).
And from the low D Goldies I’ve tried, they seem to have a decent amount of variation as well.
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Just ordered a Mazur high D. The guy seems really nice and he can play the heck out of those whistles. I’ve got my eye on some of the others mentioned in this thread, too. This hobby is like “get started for $15” and then it laughs at your attempt to save money
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I’ve been playing a Timothy Potter (https://tjpottermusic.com), which was recommended to me by Kathleen Conneely several years ago at Swannanoa. They now go for the princely sum of US$28.99 (currently out of stock), but I got in early and bagged one at US$20…
It’s not a loud whistle, but does have a good sound, and a good flexibility.
dave boling
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And they have been for years. I don’t think he’s making any anymore.
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He had a thing to click and be added to the wait list, and I did, so if I hear anything indicating more whistles are coming soon I’ll let everyone know I guess
Richard: I had you in mind when I wrote “opinions differ,” since I recall what you’ve said in the past about your experience with Copelands. I’m sure it must’ve been disappointing.
I got one of his perhaps ten years ago. Soon after there was a notice on the website he was moving to another state and he’d be back making whistles once settled. I don’t htink he ever got back into it and his website hasn’t changed since. But good luck trying, you never know.
The whistle I have is very quiet, I always say he squeezed it within an inch of its life. It plays well enough, ideal for learning tunes from recordings playing on the laptop but I wouldn’t take it out to play anywhere. Or play it any length of time, after a bit I feel the sound is too restricted, lacking life.
As recommendations go, a Cillian O"Briain improved could be all you need from a D whistle. Hardly news, though.
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