Ok, im sure all you experts have answered this question a million times, but humor me. I’m doing fairly well in my whistle playing and what to get more invovled in playing at my church, so I was talking to my churchs worship leader about it and I asked what the most common key (for the songs we play) was. He answered “A”. The most straight forward way is to buy myself an “A” whistle, so does anyone know any good “A” whistles? (also, any tips on miking tin whistles would be appreciated)
Sindt, Copeland, O’Riordan (I think), Water Weasel/Thin Weasel, Abell (I think), Overton…I have a Sindt that I like, and others have ranted about their Water Weasels. I’ve played a Copeland A that was awesome. It’s all a matter of how much cash ya have to burn. Under the chiff & fipple homepage (known as “the mothership” to we regulars) there’s a guide to just about every pennywhistle ever made, I’d start there…althought the ones I listed above are pretty good whistles.
[ This Message was edited by: Dave Parkhurst on 2003-01-17 02:54 ]
You sure have come to the right shop. Boy, do we know some good A whistles? It’s a reasonably common key and there are quite a few good ones. I play an Overton and a Sindt and would recommend both. A Burke is always worth considering—I play a low G amongst others and love it. Don’t know about cheapies if that’s what you want but you might make do with a Susato if the volume (loud) and tone (very pure) don’t put you off. Now I’ll vacate the stage and let others try to convince you to buy their favourite.
I’ll second the Susato recommendation. If you pursue it, be sure to get the medium-bore one. It’s got a great tone, is precisely in tune, and isn’t very expensive. I know many knock them, but I think the criticism is usually aimed at either the higher keys or the low D/E/F. Low G and A are really quite nice. If you order directly from them, they’ve got quick service and offer one head that will fit their G and A (and F, which I like less) bodies. It’s like getting two whistles for the price of 1.5. 
Jef
I’d say that, in my humble opinion, A and Bb whistles are among the nicest tone-wise.
Many MANY makers make them. My own experience is with Burke and Abell in this key, and I recommend both without reservation.
Seriously, though, I think this size just ‘works’ for the whistle. Kind of like B on the UP, and C on the Scottish small pipe. Nice bore::length ratio, great sound.
Stuart
Dixon make As too, and are possibly the cheapest ones on the market, but that doesn’t make them poor.
http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/about.html
You can buy them direct, or through The Whistle Shop, Hobgoblin, and I’m sure many others.
On 2003-01-17 02:44, Switchfoot wrote:
Ok, im sure all you experts have answered this question a million times, but humor me. I’m doing fairly well in my whistle playing and what to get more invovled in playing at my church, so I was talking to my churchs worship leader about it and I asked what the most common key (for the songs we play) was. He answered “A”.
This key is also fairly easy on a plain D whistle with a little practice. You will only need to half-hole the G#, and that’s usually a passing tone, so you don’t have to hit it dead-on. If the tune is in Mixolydian mode, or contains no G#, you won’t have to half-hole at all. I also second the recommendation of the Dixon A. I don’t have one, but I have a Dixon G which is one of my work-horse whistles.
In church, I normally play along with keyboardists, so my blue-topped Generation Bb and Eb whistles get a workout here.
(also, any tips on miking tin whistles would be appreciated)
I use a small electret mic, available for about $25 at Radio Shack. I put a windscreen on it (if you don’t, you’re playing will sound like a thunderstorm) and attach it to the whistle with a rubber band between the fipple and the top finger hole, facing the fipple.
Hopefully this will help.
All the best,
BB
There are a bunch of really good makers of A whistles. It therefore mostly comes down to price, personal tastes as to tone, and required volume for specific reasons.
I’ve played Overton, Copeland, Abell, Sindt, Burke and Water Weasel. My particular favorite considering the above variables and based on play of only one of each of the whistles, is the Water Weasel. IMHO, it stands up well with all the others in tonal quality, is more interesting than the SIndt or Burke (in that key), has strong volume without shrillness, and is best bang for the buck by far.
Regards,
Philo