Now, Mack Hoover is a well known name 'round these parts; although most that I read about are praise for either his Whitecaps and Narrow Bore whistles. They are known for being sweet, pure and quiet.I have both of those and they are fantastic whistles.
Usually, I decide to write reviews because I come across a whistle that I feel deserves more appreciation. While I have encountered other exceptionally fantastic whistles they are usually already well known by the CnF community. Recently, I have received a whistle that deserves to be talked about more on the CnF forums.
Mr. Hoover offers another option that does not get so much talked about: his all-polymer whistles in phenolic resin, CPVC and PVC The only in-depth review I have come across is CnF user, Wanderer’s post back in 2005. Talk about the whistles were active around the early 2000’s, but nowadays, people only seem to suggest whitecaps and NBDs.
Let me introduce to you Mack Hoover whistle # 3119, a CPVC whistle in the key of D. Aside from the tone, my favourite part of Mr. Hoover’s work is how much you can customise your whistle in construction and sound. It’s amazing that he can offer this for the low price of US$45. He offers a large variety of tuning slide options. I chose to go for a long internal brass tuning slide and CPVC. The most unique feature of this whistle is the beautiful speckled green Corian as the fipple block. Usually, these are made of Delrin, but Mr. Hoover happily fulfilled my unique request. ON TO THE REVIEW!
Appearance and Construction
For something made out of CPVC, this whistle looks very nice. The cream coloured body has an easy to hold satin finish. The polished brass tuning slide peeks out nicely. The Speckled green Corian is my favourite part; looking like polished stone. The tone holes and the wind way opening are obviously hand worked, but they are well polished. I don’t mind the hand-worked look; I think it says how much TLC was put into voicing and tuning the instrument.
Tone and Volume
The whistle is a Mack Hoover trademark sweet, pure and quiet. It is comparable to a Whitecap on a metal body, but the tone is less bright and more mellow. It is slightly woodsier and a little more complex, but just as angelically sweet. I’m a sucker for sweet and pure whistles. This whistle really shines in the second octave. Although, if you would want another kind of voice (maybe louder and more complex) Mr. Hoover offers customisation for this too. He’s a guy who makes sure you get the right whistle for your style!
Air requirements and Back Pressure
The whistle takes very little air to play, around the same as a quiet whitecap or Tyrone Head whistle. It wastes no air to white noise. It also has a high back pressure, making octave changes very easy to feel and control. Of course, being very sweet, the bell note maybe hard to play for beginners as it breaks octaves easily. I do think that controlling that is easily learned and is well worth the reward.
Responsiveness
The whistle has average to above average responsiveness. Ornamentations are quick and clean with practice. As I have said, the low notes will take some getting used to if you are a beginner new to low air/high back pressure whistles.
Tuning
Tuning is spot on, including a C-nat of OXXOOO. For me, it plays at A440 with the tuning slide pulled out at 3mm to 4.5mm depending on the temperature. Pushed all the way in, its 20 to 30 sharp. Pulled all the way out, it is more than a semitone flat. This is more than enough space to tune! I specifically requested to add more space to tune flat because I play in hot tropical weather.
Wind Resistance
This is the downfall of most pure and sweet whistles. They are very difficult to play in high winds. Although, since it is tuneable, you can simply turn the window away from the wind and towards your chest if you must. This limits the projection of the whistle though.
Conclusion
-If you are happy with your Hoover whitecaps, and you want a mellower, more complex voice, this is the whistle for you.
-If you are a fan of the sound of wooden whistle, but want something more durable, this is the whistle for you.
The sound quality is great for playing mic’d, recording and practicing. The sweetness is easy on bare ears and recording equipment. The only setting the whistle will not fit in is a large session, where it would get drowned out; but that isn’t what this whistle is meant for!
Mack Hoover is the guy to turn to if you want a highly personalised whistle. he is a great guy to talk to and will happily entertain nit-picky, specific customers like me. He will tailor not only the construction but also the sound and playing style to your needs. He offers all these great services at such affordable prices for high-end whistles. As one of his return customers, I highly recommend giving his work a shot.