I have several decent whistles, but one that is head and shoulders above all the others. I’m trying to figure out who made it so that I can try to locate more by the same maker. I don’t have much to go on.
It’s brass, it’s a C whistle and it’s got a little bit of information scratched in it. It would be an exaggeration to call it an engraving. It says C – BWB. Which I think may have been an indication that this tip could be used for either a C whistle or a B flat or a B. Underneath that there are a few cursive letters scratched: MB, and underneath that it says 08-B. It’s pretty tarnished, and it took some cleaning to just see that much. I don’t think I could get any more information out of it.
I’ve had it for several years and I can’t remember where I got it from but I really love the tone. Bit of a Hail Mary pass here but any breadcrumbs in the forest would be appreciated. It’s really a lovely whistle. I would include pictures, but the scratching is so faint, I don’t think you’d be able to get much out of it.
Changed my mind, included some pictures. I put the whistle against my cat thinking it would make a nice luxurious background and instead it looks like it’s up against the head of a troll under a bridge. Oh well.
Thank you! I think that’s a bingo. That’s exactly how the initial initials look.
It occurred to me that the C-BWB letters at the top could stand for C (key) brass wide bore. Logged back onto to add that and found your post. Given all the similarities I am feeling certain that that’s what I’ve got here.
Checking out his website now. Looks like he’s still making whistles and I still have options there.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Burke which has looked that abused and neglected.
A good cleaning is in order. And the O-ring/barrel mechanism probably needs lubricated, and possibly the O-rings replaced, to work smoothly and be air-tight.
By the way Michael Burke’s nomenclature is misleading.
His “narrow bore” high D whistles actually have a slightly wider bore than the classic Generation D, so his “wide bore” might well be called “extra-wide bore”.
IMHO the best Burke high D whistle is his “narrow bore” in Brass, a lovely player indeed.
According to the instructions you’re supposed to lubricate the O rings once a month! I’d be surprised if many owners were quite that diligent, but mine gets an occasional smear of grease at least.
I’ve dug out the sizing, which includes that for the CBW model. If you’ve had the whistle for years, it might be worth replacing the O ring.
Guilty as charged. (I was tempted to throw in something about having used it as a wrench to tighten propane bottles, but am restraining my darker angels, for whom snark is a first language.) Well, guilty of neglect, at least. I don’t see any obvious signs of abuse, but I am here to learn and open to what you have to say.
I do appreciate the advice. I tried cleaning it with a silver polish, which didn’t touch the tarnish. (Tempted again to say something about finding scouring powder under the sink, but, `Down, Snark!’)
I expect at the price I found this at that I am several owners down the food chain from the original owner. And you are wholly correct about the neglect–they’ve been sitting in the whistle case for quite a while, due to Life Happens stuff that was going on, enough said about that. Blowing the dust off and going back to the starting line.
I appreciate the advice and the tip about the D whistle. The sound of the C is gorgeous, and it’s a pleasure to play. I’m specifically looking for a low F, which he has in aluminum. I’m fond of the brass sound, but I know that the best of the makers are not with us forever, and you find these things when and where and as you can.
I am truly appreciative of your having gone to the trouble of finding and sharing this information. I am looking for O rings online, and will be doing my best to be more respectful of this whistle re: lubricating and keeping this moving.
Any advice for cleaning?
ETA: Looking at the rest of my whistles with a critical eye. I wasn’t happy with the sound of the Rayburn, but I just took it apart and looked at it. Instead of an O ring, the top has some wraps with plumbers tape which has seen better days, and the inside of the tube is disgusting! No wonder it sounds breathy.
Same with a low D I have–the top is wrapped with tape which looks like it needs replacing. Project for tomorrow, cleaning all of these whistles, especially on the inside.
Looked inside the Burke. Fortunately, no trouble opening it—-I imagine an aluminum one would have been at risk of seizing by now–, and no O ring in sight! Time to get to work. Brass-O?
Metal cleaner such as Brasso should fetch the tarnish off eventually. I’d use the liquid version rather than the lint, coat the whistle with it, and leave it a few minutes. It’s unlikely to come off at the first attempt, but you should start seeing a difference. Just keep going!
The Reyburn didn’t have plumbers tape in it, so I replaced that, along with two other whistles that needed the tape refreshed. Ordering an O-ring for the Burke, but I’m not sure that that’s gonna improve it that much because it already sounds so good. I did put some Vaseline on the joint though.
To clean the mouthpiece, I found a strip of double ended Velcro, the kind that has both the hooks on one end and the eyes on the other so they can wrap around and fast into itself. I cut it the long way so it would fit into the mouthpiece. Part of it was stiff enough to be threaded in, and the other part had the fuzzy stuff so I could do a better job cleaning. They’re better, especially the low G.
The Burke is dented at the end, came that way if I recall correctly, and I would have no reason to think I would put that kind of damage on it, but like I said it still sounds great to my ear.
I treat my whistles like my cutlery – wash after every use. They go head-first into hot water just deep enough to submerge them to the bottom of the window. After soaking I clean them with a 2mm straw-cleaning brush, then run water through. The brushes are the best thing I’ve found to stop the windways getting gunked up by traces of sticky pub drinks.
Cleaning that often is probably a step too far for most whistlers, but I’m my mam’s daughter – she even dusted the tops of the doors. I’d like to assure everyone I’ve never gone that far.
Thank you for the link–I have added brushes to my cart.
I was improvising, to put it mildly, to assemble a whistle-care pack. Extra-large cotton buds for cleaning the cats’ ears, a wooden skewer wrapped with coarse yarn at one end, a recycled toothbrush, a small paintbrush, etc.
I’m not likely to get so diligent as you, but it’s different when you’re taking them out and about. Less likely to bring home an unwanted gift from the pub.
After I posted, I decided to give the old Generation a skewering on general principles–and out came a cloud of rusty dust!
I can definitely tell the difference in playing from the internal cleans. I play the transverse flute, and am fussy about keeping the tube clean, so you’d think I would have taken notice.
Which reminds me, time to clean the stovepipe.
I have one, along with a half-dozen rods that screw together to make it to the top! I live in fear of the brush getting stuck up there, so I lubricate the connections and screw them together as far as I can get. So far, so good.
