I’ve studied Dale’s post about what commercial types can and can’t do and as I read it, I am permitted to post once and only once an announcement of a new offering of interest to whistlers. And I understand it this does not consume the monthly CP regarding the business in general. So here goes…
I have been trying lots of different ways to lug my whistles and other stuff to sessions and other gigs. Whistle cases are great for whistles, but I carry other things too like tuners, tune lists, flyers and schedules, nibbles and water etc. I tried a small backpack but the shape was wrong for whistles and things didn’t play nicely in the bottom of it.
I finally found a nice attache that isn’t too big or too small, and looks smart to boot. I had it embroidered with the Parks Whistles logo to give it a smidgen of musicality. Since I was going through the trouble of ordering one, I went ahead and ordered several to share with folks who might like this approach to toting their things.
In the case, I use a whistle case for the whistles to protect them from the banjo stand and to spare them the sight of the bodhran tipper and bones they are traveling with. For more photos and information visit:
By the way, if you have solved the problem of carrying whistles and other musical things together in another way, please share it and reply with your solution. I know there’s lots of great minds out there.
Oh yes, quite. There’s some photos of just that around here somewhere in a thread from the last year. In my case (pun intended) I have a very nice low whistle case from our own Annie of Ssasafrass Grove (http://www.angelfire.com/mo/sassafrassgrove/WhistleRoll/Gallery.html) that works for that. This case is more about all the other small stuff I carry around. Tuner, bodhran wrench, Jameson’s, tippers, tune lists, bones, Bushmill’s, bar towels, cab fare. Stuff like that. I found that having cases for the whistles large or small didn’t get the whole job done.
If you just pop in to your local with a whistle or six, a whistle roll is all you need. But I found that I often wanted to have more things handy. Like bits of duct tape to tape the tune list to the stage when it’s breezy.
I transport my low whistles in a padded electric guitar bag. It holds five low whistles, and two are bass whistles, At the bottom where it flares out there is room for short whistles. There is also a zippered side pocket that can hold music, other short whistles, ect. Has a shoulder strap and a handle. No room for a guitar when it is loaded though.
Cue stick box will only hold one or two. There is a flute player that comes to the local session with a rifle case, and the foam inside is cut to hold three flutes with more room left. I don’t think I would want to carry that through an air port though.
I always used PVC. I’d get a pair of endcaps, glue one on, and notch the other, so I’d know which end came off. I glued foam rubber into the endcaps to cushion the whistle and made sure the tube was cut to fit the whistle exactly. This way, I had a nearly indestructible case that fit into a backpack with no problem. Since I only had one, it made sense at the time. I have since acquired an obsession with making whistles out of whatever is handy, and I need to find more ideas.
I made a case for my Low D out of PVC and Pipe insulation. I also glued a little container on the cap to hold some vasoline. I put my whistle in a velvet bag, then slip it into the case.
I have attached a strap to it at one time so I could sling it over my shoulder. I also made a fabric covering for it. Neither are in the linked photos.
