Even among such staunch listeners, opinions will vary as to preferences ranging from "down and dirty" to "perfectly pure". Certainly there are more refined or discerning ears when it comes to distinguishing what the majority of Trad enthusiasts would identify as being great whistle tone. The tonal qualities of whistles are subjective to the point that what I like might not be what someone else prefers. Jerry Freeman has built his business on tweaking mass produced whistles into sounding like those elusive "good" Generations that by some mysterious alignment of the planets find their way to some lucky recipient fresh off the conveyor belts of mass production. If Generation could make consistently "good" whistles on the order of some of the sole proprieter makers, while maintaining the mass manufactured related lower price, the whistle world would be turned upside down. Cook said, folks that have been wired to the historic sound of Trad can certainly appreciate the sound of a "good" Generation D. I have a really good Generation C which is the best C whistle I’ve ever played. I would play a Generation instead of that Feadog if I had a really good one, but I don’t. For more volume I have a Burke, when needed. Yes I’ve played sterling silver whistles and fancy wood whistles and all the rest, but I’ll stick with that Feadog. I still play the Feadog (MK1) that I bought new around 1980, and for me it’s the best D which I’ve ever played at any price. Obviously somebody getting into Irish music today, listening to great players playing many different modern makes of whistle, isn’t going to have this built-in prejudice for the Generation sound. Only a Generation sounds like a Generation, and for somebody like me who started playing Irish music in the 1970s when all the great players played Generations, that’s the way a whistle is supposed to sound. It came down to vigilent search efforts and dumb luck (right place at the right time and seizing the opportunity.įor me, the best high D whistle perhaps is a really good Generation… but you might have to try dozens of the things to find a really good one. That changed yesterday when I was able to close a deal on Sindt’s in D/Eb/E, and C/C#, and two Sindt hybrids with Feadog and Generation bodies in D and C. I have been searching for a Sindt in D and C for some time now to no avail. Those that have Sindt’s are truly fortunate. He is one gifted maker tring to keep up with incredible demand for his fine whistles. To further expand onmwhat Enda Seery stated, John Sindt not only has a long waiting list for his fine whistles, he has "closed" his list regarding the acceptance of new orders. Much of my choice depends on what I am trying to emote in a given piece of music. I own many different whistles and prefer specific whistles in a specific key for certain tunes. It is important to remember that any given whistle will sound much different to the player than to the listener, It is good for a player to tape himself and listen to playbacks for a better idea of how a given whistle sounds.
Chiff & Fipple is a website dedicated to the humble tin whistle and Irish traditional music.Which whistle is best? Truly it is all relative and dependent on what sounds favorable to the player / listener. Home » Testimonials » Comments from the Chiff & Fipple Flute Forum Comments from the Chiff & Fipple Flute ForumĪ compilation of comments from members of the Chiff & Fipple Flute Forum about Martin Doyle and his flutes. A Flute Maker/Player Dyad – by Elizabeth Petcu.In Praise of Wooden Flutes – by Biddy Jenkinson.Martin Doyle's Global Flute Distribution Map.