No one can name the best whistle because different people like different whistles… I was wondering if anyone could name the worst whistles… or just bad whistles…
Feadogs have to be right up there, I’d think. The VSB Susato is probably the worst when cost is factored in.
My Feadogs are excellent after my tweaking, and are the best factory whistles in existence after O’Briain tweaks them. I’d have to say the worst would be a tie between the off-the-shelf Clarke originals and the Doolins. Oh, and of course the 2 Oaks weren’t bad except they included a bee that lived in the fipple and wouldn’t stop buzzing no matter how much I played.
[ This Message was edited by: blackhawk on 2002-08-04 19:29 ]
A suggestion… Besides just naming the worst whistles, it would be helpful to have a a comment or two about why they are the worst. E.g., too chiffy, too loud, too soft, sounds like a recorder, etc. Someone might really like a certain whistle for the same reason that another person hates it.
I can only comment on the whistles I have. The worst is my Walton’s LBW because it’s too harsh and metallic sounding and out of tune with itself. I still play it some though. It weighs practically nothing, so I take it along on hikes and backpacking trips. Could come in handy if I lose a tent stake.
[ This Message was edited by: Ridseard on 2002-08-04 00:04 ]
On 2002-08-03 23:45, Ridseard wrote:
A suggestion… Besides just naming the worst whistles, it would be helpful to have a a comment or two about why they are the worst. E.g., too chiffy, too loud, too soft, sounds like a recorder, etc. Someone might really like a certain whistle for the same reason that another person hates it.
Valid point. On the two whistles I named, they simply wouldn’t play. No matter which note I hit, the sound was the same. I could go all the way up and down the scale, and the tone never changed. I hate that in a whistle. 
And I had sticky-tacked the Doolin, so it should have improved. The Oaks, of course had the bee problem.
I can handle lots of differences in whistles. In fact, that’s what makes it interesting to get an example of each brand. But they have to make a recognizable sound of some sort.
[ This Message was edited by: blackhawk on 2002-08-04 19:31 ]
I guess the Feadóg? I had to literally change the fipple because the one it came with hurt my ears so bad. I have a Waltons LBW as well…and it’s really prone to getting hit by all sorts of accidents which leaves it dented and out of shape! So Ridseard, I’m wondering how you manage to take it hiking & backpacking with you
I also have a truly horrible Feadog.
Is “Fea” Irish gaelic for “sounds like a” ?
Doc
Well, my Feadog was ok… not great, but ok. The worst whistle I’ve ever owned was my Weltmeister. Horribly out of tune. shudders
However, my Doolin and my Clarkes are the best ones I have.
Personally, I think it depends on personal preference.
I feel that I have to say something regarding the much-maligned Feadóg. I tried and failed to get the mouthpiece off in order to put the sticky stuff into the cavity. I did manage find a strategem to dull the blade ever so slightly with very fine sandpaper (don’t try that at home). It now plays like a dream, but there’s a slight (!) problem with the upper half of the second octave. It is shrill to the point that I fear damage to my eardrums. Nonetheless, the response of this instrument is so profoundly good that it has become my favored instrument for daytime practice. Moreover, the patina developing around the fingerholes is almost seductive.
Any whistle that just outright refuses to play is the worst as far as I’m concerned. The plastic whistles mrketed by First Note is among the worst. If they do play, they are out of tune even with themselves.
If you mean what is the worst among major whistle brands, I haven’t tried enough of them to know. I was favorably impressed with Clarke, Soodlum/Walton’s, Sweetone, and Golden Tone. In fact, my Soodlum D is a great whistle.
Maybe the worst: The first generation, so to speak, of Acorns. Mercifully, they are now majorly improved.
Dale
In any case, I’m not surprised to find somebody mentioned the VSB Susato. I think they’re great…but, back in the old days I did a poll about the inexpensive whistles and Susato had the largest number of votes in the best category and either the largest or next to the largest number of votes in the worst category! The Oak is another love-it-or-hate it whistle
Dale
Ha Ha, I have to say that my pitiful little Cooperman is the worst! That block of wood I guess is the fipple?! Yet it is so charming! The little pricks of metel splinters along the seam sticking in your thumbs kind of helps to get enough air to hit those upper octaves! And if you forget to floss you could always use the point of the fipple to… well, you get the picture! Apologies to the Cooperman Company People in Connecticut. But if it makes them feel any better, It played better this morning than it ever has before so no! I will not give it away! It’s mine, mine, All mine! WhOA!!!
I second the Cooperman. . .I have half a mind to sand down the block of wood that resembles a fipple, coat it with nail polish and see if it improves in my standing… but why bother?
Close second in the Susato VSB. What a wretched sound, and no way to tweak it as far as I can tell. Maybe if I sand the blade?
For those of you who named the Feadog (my understanding of the pronounciation is Feh doge) can you say which version? I have a Mark I that I was so fond of that I had my friend go back and get me two more!
On 2002-08-04 09:37, tyghress wrote:
I second the Cooperman. . .I have half a mind to sand down the block of wood that resembles a fipple, coat it with nail polish and see if it improves in my standing… but why bother?
If you do tweek it, Let me know what it does to it! If it helps, I’ll ship mine out to you and you can tweek it too. Maybe the Cooperman Co. would pay you to do them all! You could get rich!!! 
Somehow this thread really bothers me because it’s very subjectiveness is unfair. For example, its well known that I dislike the Susatos because of their finger spacing and aggressive tone, but I’ve heard others play very well on them. Similarly, Gen’s and Waltons often get knocked because they are inconsistent or thready respectively, unil you hear them in the hands of Paddy Moloney or Andrea Corr.
The only really BAD whistles I’d ever name are those cheap tin monsters sold at reenactments and park souvenir shops. They may be coopermans or perhaps some other company is also making them, though to be totally honest, I don’t think they’re THAT much worse than an untweaked Clarke Original.
There’s nothing subjective about blowing into a whistle and getting no tone at all, as in the Doolin and the Clarke original I spoke of.
I don’t have any truly bad whistles - They are all reasonably in tune (although all but 3 are Gens) and I like them for different reasons. Still, I would have to say my best whistle is whichever one I’ve been playing for the last 15 minutes, and my worst one is whichever one I switch to after playing the other for 15 minutes!
Nobody has mentioned them so: My Shaw E whistle is the worst. I got it because I needed an E whistle badly for sea chanteys.I eventually ended up with a Susato, which also sucks because you cant just play through the octaves, you have to wonder what note will come out, sort of like playing French Horn.Finally, I got the Burke, which solved the problem. Best whistles I have played yet though I have played few premium whistles.
Back to the Shaw: The guy at LITM told me to squeeze the metal closer to the cheesy wood block thats riveted in. The metal reminded me of the old made in Japan metal toys when I was real young in the early 60s. Non-tuneable, wispy, poorly made its a “10” of bad whistles.
It LOOKS cool but that’s it.
For sale, original owner. Sorry to the builder but thread asked the question.
Signed,
Am I the REASONABLE person Weekender?