WoooooHOOOOOO!! Elfsong!!

Whistle
1

Edit - NOTE: THIS IS NOT A FORMAL REVIEW. IT IS MY IMPRESSIONS, ONLY. Frankly, I’m not a good enough whistler to do reviews just yet. I put this late edit in to ensure that nobody else gets the wrong idea! :slight_smile:

About an hour ago, I went out to my daughter’s car to get a wrench I’d used there. Sitting on the front seat, was a white paperboard tube. The label said it was from Canada, and my heart leaped! Could this be…? YES!! It was my Elfsong Copper Tone, from Sandy Jasper! The postlady must’ve put it there because it was too long for the mailbox! She does that sometimes, and I usually check, but yesterday I didn’t, or this would’be been on C&F much sooner!

Impressions as I opened the tube:
First, was an F Serpent whistle that I’d sent to Sandy, that needs a re-make job to fit smaller hands. Nothing special for me there, and it’s under way now (hear that, Sandy?) :slight_smile:

Next, was another bit of wadded paper towel.
Next, the Elfsong Copper Tone came gleaming out of the chute – and I do mean, “gleaming”. The finish on this whistle is nothing short of superb! There isn’t even any “orange-peel” in the lacquer topcoat!

I put the beak in my lips and blew, and this incredibly sweet-sounding C# issued. Very whistle-y, very smooth, just a tiny hint of slightly-gravelly chiff. Perfect! I held it in my hands and warmed it for a minute or two. I played “Adeste Fideles”…

There is the tiniest hint of a “squeak” on the octave shift up from Cnat to D, but probably unnoticeable during normal playing. I don’t intend to tweek it, as it’s not objectionable at all.

There is a bit of gravelly chiff on the low D when played at it’s loudest (almost to an octave shift). Again, no problem, and gives the whistle a bit of “character”.

Every other note is bell-clear, each one gets a tiny bit chiffy on the octave shift (up), but you have to be “playing to listen for it”, rather than in a tune.

On the octave shift (down), the note being played drops about a dime flat before breaking over - I love it! Varying the pressure down/up gives me a spiffy little slide without finger-work!

Further than that, I will not go. I’m not a pro-level whistler, nor do I make any pretense in that direction. The items noted are things I’ve learnt to listen for in my own whistles.

Mechanicals
The beak is longer than any other high-D whistle I’ve seen to date.
The windway is “D”-shaped, and quite narrow, leading me to think it’s built that way for back-pressure.
The fipple is made of an indeterminate wood or composition, heavily coated with what appears to be clear resin. Comfortable in the mouth, only the tiniest hint of odor from the hardening agent - I have an acute sense of smell, and have to practically stuff the thing up my nose to smell it. :slight_smile:
Everything that needs to be held together, is held together first (apparently) by dimpling the metal. Very subtle, very effective. I like it!
The blade opening is slightly trapezoidal, and a bit longer than I had expected, but seems to work well with the (probably quite thin) laminar flow from the mouthpiece.
The blade is flat almost to the edge, then seems to have been manually tweeked into a very slightly-rounded profile.
The blade edge is minutely rounded, and some very fine emery or file-marks are visible. this is not a criticism, as you have to examine this edge very closely to even see the marking.
The edge is not 100% uniform in profile, and has obviously been formed by hand during voicing. Again, totally expected in an instrument made by hand, of this high quality.
The tuning slide turned area appears to be coated with something, probably lacquer or whatever top-coat was used on the instrument.
The tuning slide mechanical fit is impeccable; easy to move and set, enough friction to keep it in place.
When the slide is closed, the whistle is slightly sharp. Move it open an exact 1/4", and it is precisely on D.

Incidentals
Sandy is (very rightfully) proud of her whistles. Witness the included velvet carrying bag, embroidered (!!) with her logo, the cleaning wands, and very complete care instruction sheet shipped with the instrument. Wonderful touches, all!

Conclusions
The Elfsong high-D is a whistle to be reckoned with! I’ll be buying a C barrel from Sandy, and probably a color or two, just for “dress” occasions. Hey, it looks and sounds superb! Buy one!! You’ll love it, too!
Cheers,
Bill Whedon

[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2002-11-04 12:39 ]

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I’m getting so excited! I have a C/D combo on order, and all these posts extolling the Elfsongs are wonderful to see. I have a feeling this whistle is going to be a favorite. :slight_smile:

Redwolf

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Bill

Thanks for a very thorough breakdown and review! I am glad that you are enjoying the whistle, especially as you make your own and have no real need for another. It was kind of you to take the time to talk of mine. As a fellow whistle maker you probably understand the constant progression towards a percieved ideal of perfection and understand that this is just one step towards the unobtainable!

Best wishes and I look forward to getting my low F serpent back.

Sandy

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these mails have really made me smile. this is what it means to be human, to be kind to other people. bill makes his own whistles and yet he speaks in praise of sandy’s whistles. I bow my head. this is the way people should be to eachother.
slainte, amar.

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I know it’s going to be pure torture for me, but I would love to see a picture of it!!

Do you have a picture? If you don’t, that’s probably for the best.

Kim

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Kim, you can see the pix by clicking on Sandy’s website at the bottom of her post.

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Gee Serpent…WHY DON’T YOU TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL??? heh, heh, heh, got you back…LOL

An amazing whistle…you know how I feel about mine…I told you what I REALLY thought!! Oh, by the way Redwolf, you asked me in another post if I had named mine yet. Well, while I was bumbling around looking for the PERFECT name I started to call my whistle…“MY PRECIOUS” just until the right name popped up. You guessed it…I am starting to look more Gollum like every day! The nickname stuck…as they tend to do!!!

Serpent…enjoy!!! AndreaZ

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Hmm. I may have to invest in one of these someday… :wink:

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Dear AndreaZ,



:smiley:



Cheers,
Bill Whedon
(edit to remove stupid HTML tags)


[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2002-11-04 10:33 ]

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My God, Bill said something nice about someone!!! :smiley:

~Larry

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I am starting to look more Gollum like every day!

Speaking of which (and you were, weren’t you? Sorta?)…

:wink:

Kim

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Serpent;
don’t mean to rain on your parade but it has been my experience that I need to become acquainted with any tool, or instrument that I work with. It may be just me but I need to feel and work with it for a while before I can appreciate its pros and cons. Since each whistle is unique to its self I find I need to learn that particular instrument.
Please let us know in a week or so how you feel about the whistle a review after one hour seems to be more from excitement than from an objective.
Enjoy the new whistle.

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On 2002-11-04 11:40, Wizzer wrote:
Serpent;
don’t mean to rain on your parade but it has been my experience that I need to become acquainted with any tool, or instrument that I work with. It may be just me but I need to feel and work with it for a while before I can appreciate its pros and cons. Since each whistle is unique to its self I find I need to learn that particular instrument.
Please let us know in a week or so how you feel about the whistle a review after one hour seems to be more from excitement than from an objective.
Enjoy the new whistle.

Oh, that wasn’t a “review”, and I’m sorry if it came off that way. I’m not a good enough player to be a valid Reviewer. The notes were my impressions, where they were about the way it sounds (which you can probably tell, I like! :slight_smile: ), and about the technical details I noticed. I’ll go back and edit the head post to ensure that everyone knows it’s not a “real” Review. Thanks for calling it to my attention! :slight_smile:
Cheers,
Bill Whedon

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Serpent:
no need to be testy now. Some people read these board for information and it would be nice if the reviews were factual not just hype to help someone sell their product. Thank you for clarifying your position.
If you were not happy being called on this I am sorry.

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On 2002-11-04 12:44, Wizzer wrote:
Serpent:
no need to be testy now. Some people read these board for information and it would be nice if the reviews were factual not just hype to help someone sell their product. Thank you for clarifying your position.
If you were not happy being called on this I am sorry.

Whoops! Where was I “testy”? I honestly appreciate your pointing out the faux pas! I am not, repeat, not, being sarcastic, snide, or in any way feeling the need to complain about what you said. You did the right thing, calling it to my attention, I fixed it, and I honestly thank you for taking the time to communicate it to me in a nice way! I’ve had enough of misunderstandings on this board, and I don’t want you to take my words as anything other than their face value. Again, thank you for the good catch! :slight_smile:
Cheers,
Bill Whedon

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On 2002-11-04 12:44, Wizzer wrote:
Serpent:
no need to be testy now. Some people read these board for information and it would be nice if the reviews were factual not just hype to help someone sell their product. Thank you for clarifying your position.
If you were not happy being called on this I am sorry.

That’s a rather big assumption, don’t you think? Posting enthusiastic first impressions, while perhaps not technically a “review,” aren’t necessarily “hype to help someone sell their product” either.

I know that, when I get something new and am excited about it, I want to share my impressions with others who will understand my enthusiasm…and I’m sure I’m not the only one, as there are a lot of “It’s finally here, and it’s wonderful!” threads on these message boards. Why assume a motive that isn’t there?

If you want more specific reviews of the Elfsong whistle, there are several routes to take. Sandy has posted some very good, thorough, players reviews of her “Sassy Brass” line on her website…that’s one place to start. You could also ask if anyone is planning to do a formal review of the Elfsong Coppertone for the C&F newsletter…there’s been enough discussion about them here in the past several months to make that worth doing. Or you could do a search on “Elfsong” and “West Coast Whistle Co.” here on the discussion boards to get a variety of impressions, from people of differing backgrounds and abilities.

Discussion forums are primarily places for…well…discussion. One of the nice things about this kind of post is that it SPARKS discussion…and frankly, I’ve found that I can learn a lot more about whether or not I’m likely to want to buy a particular product by reading what a lot of different people have to say about it, both positive and negative, than I can from a formal “review.” One nice thing (among many!) about the people on this board is that they don’t tend to pull punches where whistles are concerned…if there’s something they don’t like, they’ll tell you about it (and if someone else disagrees, or thinks that there may be an experience or taste issue at work rather than a quality issue, he or she will be equally quick to chime in). Bottom line, when I buy a whistle, my concern isn’t so much how it compares to whistle A or whistle B, but rather how much (or little) I, as an ordinary amateur player, am likely to enjoy owning and playing that whistle…and these discussions are extremely useful in making that determination.

Redwolf

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Hi, folks,

I’m already a happy customer of Sandy’s–I’ve got three bodies (D,D,C) and two mouthpieces and bought a matched set of emerald C&D for my daughter for her college graduation. (Which is how I ended up with the second D–the emerald was so pretty I had to have one.)

Sandy gives great customer service, too. She heard via another post that the resin on my original mouthpiece wasn’t hardening properly and took it upon herself to ship a new mouthpiece without my asking for it.

The replacement mouthpiece WITH return postage arrived today at my work address and I can’t wait to get home and try it out.

So, be assured you can buy with confidence!

Marguerite

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And the winner of this year’s “Most Highly Critiqued, Misunderstood, and Pounced On Poster” goes to:

– drum roll please –

SERPENT!!!

Way to go Bill! Next time you’ll think twice about thanking someone for clarifying one of your points :wink:

Maybe this forum is the wrong place for you to post a message about your new Elfsong whistle. :laughing:

John Mac

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I think Wizzer was the only one doing the pouncing in this thread.

Redwolf

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Please leave Wizzer alone. I’m not offended at all, and given the latest threads going round, am not really surprised that someone might think I was being sarcastic. Let’s just leave it. Wizzer pointed out something I missed, I fixed it, end of story. Okay?
Thanks, :slight_smile:
Bill Whedon