Good Tin Whistles

MadMardegan

Hi,

I started playing tin whistle a long time ago but sort of stopped for a while. I've start playing a lot more lately but the problem is the whistle I have is crap...generic penny whistle. Sounds horrible.

Just wondering if you guys can direct me to a good brand or a good shop that I can purchase a nice, good sounding, tin whistle.
Price doesn't matter.

Thanks

Futurecrook

Dixon or Oak whistles are the way to go. Lovely sweet tone, not too expensive.

This place sells them:

http://irishmusicalinstruments.com/

They're located in Baldoyle Industrial Estate.

MadMardegan

Futurecrook wrote: »

Dixon or Oak whistles are the way to go. Lovely sweet tone, not too expensive.

This place sells them:

http://irishmusicalinstruments.com/

They're located in Baldoyle Industrial Estate.

Great thanks a lot!

Just one thing. I see a lot of the whistles are "tuneable". To be honest I have no experience with tuning whistles.
I'm just looking for a standard "D" whistle.

Was kinda looking at this one:

http://irishmusicalinstruments.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=262&osCsid=95d30c8c2c3d09b5f103a11f3a79cd82

Seems nice.

Just noticed that's not a secured site either :S

Futurecrook

Yea, I'm gettin warnings about the site too. They're more than reliable in real life though. If you're based in Dublin I'd recommend going out to them.

That's a lovely whistle. I've played one myself.

Don't worry, the tuneable whistles are in D. It just means you can tune it so that your D matchs the D the accordion/fiddle/concertina/banjo player at the session with you are playing, even after the whistle has warmed up and gone a bit sharp.

MadMardegan

Futurecrook wrote: »

Yea, I'm gettin warnings about the site too. They're more than reliable in real life though. If you're based in Dublin I'd recommend going out to them.

That's a lovely whistle. I've played one myself.

Don't worry, the tuneable whistles are in D. It just means you can tune it so that your D matchs the D the accordion/fiddle/concertina/banjo player at the session with you are playing, even after the whistle has warmed up and gone a bit sharp.

Alright man, I think I'll give them a look.

Thanks a lot for all your help!

I've one question though. How exactly do you tune a whistle?

I have a Susato atm, in D. Apparently it's tuneable but I've no idea how to do it! :P

Futurecrook

Well you pick one note. A for example. Get one of the other musicians to play that note. Then you play that same note. If it's higher than what the other instrument is sounding then it's sharp and you pull the mouthpiece out (up) a bit. If it's sounding lower then the note is flat and you need to push it in (down). It's not something you have to worry about when playing on your own though.

madracatha

Des Seery in bray makes some phenominal whistles, if you want a really great instrument you cant go wrong with one, far as i know they fall around 180, but not certain on the price. theyre worth every penny though

Blade

Des Seery does indeed make fantastic whistles but they are harder to play, need more air and are generally louder than your average Gen. So I wouldn't recommend them for beginners.

The one you picked MadMardegan is a great whistle, I still use it, well I have the brass, the one you picked there is Nickel. I'm not sure theres much difference in sound but I've just always preferred brass to Nickel. I think it has a bit of a warmer sound.

As regards tuning the Dixon Trad, push the head all the way down as that's pretty much spot on with tuners and the session I play in, everyone there uses tuners. You can work from there if you need to flatten it. As the mouth piece twists from side to side, what I've done is lined it up properly and scratched a line into the plastic and the brass where they meet, so that when I tune it or take it apart to wash it (with warm water and washing up liquid) I can line up again quickly.

I also buy all my whistles from irishmusicalinstruments.com, great crowd to deal with.

gijoo

Hi All,

I've been trying to find out what whistle was used in the eurovision song contest. I think the girl (Backup singer) in question is named Niamh Kavanagh and is the cousin of the lead Niamh Kavanagh.

I've tried to find it on the web, but have been unsucessful.
My wife is a keen whistle player and commented on the lovely sound out of it, and I would like to get it as a gift.

it might even be a flute, so excuse the ignorance is this is the case.

if anyone does know what type it is, could you also provide a link and/or name of a shop that I could get it from ?

Thanks a mill,
Gijoo.

Futurecrook

gijoo wrote: »

Hi All,

I've been trying to find out what whistle was used in the eurovision song contest. I think the girl (Backup singer) in question is named Niamh Kavanagh and is the cousin of the lead Niamh Kavanagh.

I've tried to find it on the web, but have been unsucessful.
My wife is a keen whistle player and commented on the lovely sound out of it, and I would like to get it as a gift.

it might even be a flute, so excuse the ignorance is this is the case.

if anyone does know what type it is, could you also provide a link and/or name of a shop that I could get it from ?

Thanks a mill,
Gijoo.

I'm pretty sure it's a Chieftain low G whistle. You can buy them online here. Maybe have a look around a few other sites though for price comparison and such.

Blade

Futurecrook wrote: »

I'm pretty sure it's a Chieftain low G whistle.

I had guessed Chieftain low F, but I'm sure you're right, I didn't listen to the key, just looking at the size of it. The thing is gijoo that all those low whistles have a lovely tone, I don't have one but I believe the low F's are one of the favourites for solo playing. If your wife plays with other people a Low D might be more useful. Anyway whatever you do make sure you get her a tuneable whistle, some of those one piece Chieftains can be a bit flat.

Futurecrook

It's definitely a low G whistle. I pitched it when she was playing (the equivalent of) a D. You're right though, a low F or low D whistle might be more practical for playing with other musicians. I've actually never come across anyone bothering with a low G whistle before.

Gijoo, all Chieftain whistles have a lovely tone. They're one of the best brands of whistles so whichever key you pick it will be a lovely instrument regardless. if your wife is looking for the exact same whistle however, it's a low G you're looking for.

gijoo

Hi Guys - Thanks a million for taking the time to find this out for me.
Ya - I'm in 2 minds with it.

It seems like the low g is more suited to slow aires, whereas I know she loves reels and hornpipes so would the low D be better suited for these ?

They aren't very cheap - so I want the suprise gift to be the right option if you know what I mean.

Now that I think of it I think her father has an accordian in the key of D, so this might be a good option.
Can you tell me what the diff between low D and High D is ?


Thanks again guys,
Gijoo

Futurecrook

You can play reels/jigs/etc. on any type of whistle so that wouldn't be an issue. She would probably get more use out of a low D whistle if she goes to sessions frequently.

'High D' would just be a regular tin whistle. Low D is just what it says really, it's the lower D, ie. it's an octave or full scale lower than a regular tin whistle would be. It's the same pitch and any instruments tuned to D (regardless of it being 'low' or 'high') can play easily together.

Hope that's some help.

Blade

gijoo do you know what whistle(s) your wife has already? If it's only 1 it's most likely a High D. If you're not sure you can always post a picture here. I think it's best to find out what she actually has first before deciding what next whistle to buy her.

If you stick to common keyed whistles and she doesn't have them already, it's never a waste, she'll probably be wanting other keys in the future anyway. But it might be better to buy them in a certain order, for example a Bb (B flat) would be a nice stepping stone towards a low D as the finger stretch gets wider and wider as you go down to a low D. Also a Bb is a must have practical key with a lovely low tone.

gijoo

Hi Blade - You're correct she has 2 or 3 different high d's and a b flat, but they would not be a chieftain or anything of the like. I've decided to purchase the low D Chieftain for her. Tunable.


Thanks for all your help guys, much appreciated.

Futurecrook

Best of luck. I'm sure she'll love it.

Blade

gijoo wrote: »

I've decided to purchase the low D Chieftain for her. Tunable.

Good choice, she will love it! Let us know won't you?