OK, here it is; let’s put it to rest. Very simple, the absolute unassailably very best whistles in each category:
wood - Grinter
aluminum - O’Riordan
plastic - Schultz water weasel
brass - Copeland
The only qualification is that I’ve never played an O’Riordan wooden whistle.
See, simple. Goodnight. Philo Oh, and since Abell didn’t make it into the “best” category, please feel to send me all of your Abell discards.
Question for you Phil…I just bought an O’Riordan. It is the ‘traditional’ D. Mine looks like it is made of nickel. Where might these fit into your scheme?
BTW, I am in love with it.
Never played a Grinter nor an O’Riordan (funny – I was just looking back at a message from Michael Grinter, wondering when I should place an order).
My own list:
Wood – Schultz
Plastic – Schultz
Brass – Burke
Aluminum – well, I’ve never found an aluminum D that I’m in love with; the Silkstone alloy comes closest. I love Burke’s low Al whistles.
Charlie
I’m waiting to hear from Doc Jones, who must have just about the most enviable collection of wooden whistles right now!
Doc, can you do a Clips & Snips, maybe the same tune on each whistle? I’d love to hear them back-to-back, which I’ll never get to do in real life, I think.
Tery
Haaa Haaa Haa Haa Ha!!! Oh Phil, you’re so funny, just wait gang, he’ll change his mind again in a week or two. 
Loren
Tery I got to visit Doc Jones this weekend, he does have quite the collection of whistles!!
I’m surprised you’re not still there, playing them! 
Tery
Nah, the reason I was there was to sell my Rose - and if we had the same taste in whistles, I wouldn’t have been selling it! I got my strange tweaked $10 Hoover-Feadog (Hoodog? Feaver?) today in the mail and I am happier with it.
ducks tomatoes and runs for cover
I thought that was going to be a nice one and was sorry I didn’t grab it up. But the mailperson brought me a 2-piece Clare and a 2-piece Doolin, along with Gens F & G – from the same sources as your Hoodog / Feaver . So I’ve had quite a fun day myself.
I have a feeling I’m going to fall in love with an expensive whistle, though, once I get my hands on a nice wood high D . . .
Thank you very much for not grabbing it up! 
It’s made the top-six cut to come along to sessions with me.
looks around for a session…
Phil
As an owner of a Rose and a Grinter (Avanutria - how could you sell a Rose??!!), they are on a par, with the Rose a shade ahead in build quality. Tone is very similar, though the Rose has (IMHO) the purest of all whistle tones (if you like a bit of chiff don’t buy one). The construction design of both is almost identical.
Aluminium: BO original Overton for me.
On 2002-08-13 02:52, tkelly wrote:
I thought that was going to be a nice one and was sorry I didn’t grab it up. But the mailperson brought me a 2-piece Clare and a 2-piece Doolin, along with Gens F & G – from the same sources as your Hoodog / Feaver >I have a feeling I’m going to fall in love with an expensive whistle, though, once I get my hands on a nice wood high D . . .
When you’ve had time to try both the 2-pieces thoroughly, I’d be interested in your feedback. I have both, and love the Clare, apart from a slightly out of tune Cnat when played OXX OOO which is my normal fingering. However it can be blown into tune, so even that is a minor niggle.
The Doolin however, I still can’t like, and I really want to because Beth likes hers so much, I think mine must be from a duff batch. The middle joint has a wobble which meakes me feel like it’s about to fall apart, and it has overall a hideous screechy tone. Maybe I’m giving it too much air, so your impressions of the two would be appreciated.
I’ve had the privelege of playing a lot of great whistles lately:
Copeland nickel
Burke brass
Burke aluminum
Sindts
Goldie Overton
Bernard Overton
Rose
Grinter
Thin weasel
Water Weasel
even a couple of Dixons.
I also tooted Beth’s Hoovers and laughing whistle while she was here.
The fact is they are all magnificent. The reason there are so many makers is because there are so many personalities out there. Choosing a whistle is a very very personal event. My list of champions would go something like this:
Overton: Strongest volume and richest overtones
Burke Brass: sweetest tone in metal and smoothest transition between octaves (you don’t use air pressure. You use psychic waves!) Also has the best holes in metal (bigger is bettter).
Copeland: Best volume in a pure-toned metal whistle. Most beautiful to look at. Least temperature-sensitive of the metal group.
Sindt: Sweetness and warmth of brass with a titch more chiff. Much lighter weight than most brass whistles. Most elegant and simple design of the brass. Great fipple.
Rose: Purest tone on earth. Aesthetically beautiful with flared end. Good volume.
Grinter: The good kind of chiff. Rock solid tuning and the most powerful low D of the woodens. Gorgeous simple design.
Thin Weasel: Best whistle holes on earth, therefore fabulously expressive. Tone is rich and warm I wouldn’t call it chiffy but it’s certainly not ultra pure. Good volume.
Water Weasel: Same as Thin weasel but with a slightly pvc tone. Half-life of 50 million years.
Dixon: Bang-for-your-buck-wise hands down the best whistle on the planet. For $30 you get a whistle which is very-nearly as good as the big boys. If Dixon made something in another material he’d be a major contender in the high-end market.
The Grinter and The Weasel are still having an epic battle-royale at my house to win the title of “Doc’s Personal Favorite”. I may need finger transplants before I’m done.
Doc
On 2002-08-13 06:47, Martin Milner wrote:
The Doolin however, I still can’t like, and I really want to because Beth likes hers so much, I think mine must be from a duff batch.
I dunno, maybe I got an unusual one. Most people I have talked to don’t like theirs, and the two Doolins I have were procured via trading or gifting from people on the board here. One of mine is slightly better than the other but I switched the tubes and forgot which I liked better, and then I moved, and since then one of them has been MIA.
On 2002-08-13 09:22, Doc Jones wrote:
. . . Water Weasel: Same as Thin weasel but with a slightly pvc tone. Half-life of 50 million years. . . .
The Grinter and The Weasel are still having an epic battle-royale at my house to win the title of “Doc’s Personal Favorite”. I may need finger transplants before I’m done.
Well, that just decided for me that I’m ordering a Grinter.
Regarding the WW vs TW issue – I was initially disappointed with the TW – it seemed too much like the WW to justify the extra bucks. Someone, it may have been you, Doc, said “Give it awhile.” It took a month or so to appreciate the subtelties. I still can’t express the difference, but the TW is flat-out my favorite whistle (with occasional competition from the Burke WBB).
Can anyone put into words the difference between Glenn’s wood and PVC whistles – is it just more? More volume, more expressiveness, more attention to detail? (I’m talking about the D whistles only – the C is a completely different whistle in wood than in PVC.)
Charlie
Shoot – here comes the WhOA again. I want a Burke Brass and a Rose. Well, at least these are not additional wants – you’ve just gone and made the ones I already had much more noticeable.
Tery
Martin, my initial reaction to which 2-piece I like seems to be whichever I have in my hands at the moment. I don’t think either will make my top-favorites list, but they really will be easier to carry around.
One thing – the Clare is in tune, while the Doolin is flat and there seems to be nothing I can do to blow it into tune. I mean, it’s flat enough for my ear to notice, so that’s not just a little. I’m not really planning on playing these with other people, though, so that’s not as important as it might be.
I’ll say more when I’ve spent more time with them.
Tery
I agree Chas,
My first impression of the Thin weasel was “Big Deal”, but the second time I picked it up and every time therafter I was more and more astonished with its wonderfulness. The Thin Weasel has a richness and character to its tone that is unsurpassed by any other whistle I’ve played. It seems more “alive” than the others almost like it has a voice of its own and I’m just helping it play.
Point two: It take a little while to get used to the nuances of playing each whistle. Air control, embouchre, etc…
Take-home-lesson: Don’t be too quick to judge a whistle. Give them a little time to prove themselves.
Doc
Okay, now I know I’m on the right Board; you’re all as nutty as I am! Bill Ochs and other great players who might read this thread are probably scoffing, albeit patiently and inwardly, “It’s the music, it’s the music.” We know that and agree, but can’t help ourselves. And Loren, me fickle? Ha! This is the final list after years of whistling (although I am expecting a Busman and one of those new Elfsong whistles). I was partially sharing my honest personal tastes but with tongue in cheek. There are so many psychological (maybe that should read psychotic)elements here including at what point in your playing career did one play certain whistles and what did you want, expect, need out of them at the time. IN part this also goes to that very interesting thread re reviews wherein some implied that better players’ reviews are worth more than lesser players’. I have mixed feelings here. The best analogy I can come up with (being long ago an English Literature major)is judgments with respect to poetry. I don’t agree with the school of thought that a poem can be judged equally by anyone depending on how it makes one feel. I think there is something to be said for those that have studied poetry and are learned in the devices and have experience in reading and interpreting and discussing it, while still not excluding the how it makes you feel aspect. However, I don’t think one needs to be a poet to be able to give learned worthwhile opinions of poetry.
Also I think that the great players may get to points in playing that I can’t reach to include in my own judgments. I certainly would take heed when a great known player says (privately, because they don’t indulge in these topics generally)a whistle stinks or is great. However, I still know good workmanship from bad or passing, ease of playing, how it sounds and feels etc, and have a solid basis of comparison over the years of experience with many whistles (something a new player lacks regarding these judgments); so experience level providing context for judgment is important. I have become accustomed to several members’ tastes and opinions and they mine, and we generally agree and do well together when trading, buying and selling from one another with a sense of trust and consistency.
My two cents for the day, speaking for the mid range of us who are getting better, have come from squwalkers to fair players, love to play and listen to the music, and enjoy collecting and talking about both the music and the whistles. This is a great Board and I’m happy to be part of it.
Regards, Philo