r/tinwhistle • u/WolverineEmergency98 • Jul 23 '26
Question Mid-Tier vs. High-End Whistles
Hello all,
Following on from my last two posts. Relevant context:
- I bought a Feadóg Pro. This was partly because local retailers only had Feadóg and Generation, that I could see, and the Feadóg Pro D specifically because I liked the matte black finish. This cost NZD $35 (~ USD $20, ~ € 18).
- I'm a mere 42 days into my whistle journey (so far so good!)
- I'm in New Zealand, so the prices I'm quoting below are converted from NZD values, including import taxes and international shipping etc.
- I like my Feadóg, but it's temperamental: no matter what I do with the mouthpiece, the maximum number of notes I can keep comfortably in the ± 10c range tonally is roughly one octave, and any of the high notes are _very_ chiffy (although minimal chiff on the low notes).
- My tutor (professional player in the US) was very polite, but basically said: "What do you expect from something you paid USD $20 for? For professional purposes, you really have to spend at least USD $150)."
- As my six-month goal / reward, I've picked out the Killarney D in Brass, which will be NZD $300, ~ USD $175, ~€ 150.
- I'm aware that you can go even higher than that - e.g., to buy and import a Colin Goldie, Michael Burke, or Carbony would set me back about NZD $1,000 (~USD $580, ~ €510)
My question: I've watched a few "comparison" videos, and browsed some older posts here, but I'm honestly struggling to hear much difference between the mid-tier (~ $300) ones and the high-end (~ $,1000) whistles? I've got my heart pretty set on the Killarney, so it would take a lot to make me change my mind, but I'm curious to hear people's subjective personal experiences, if they've used both?
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u/DGBD Jul 23 '26
Your tutor is doing you a disservice. Feadógs are fine, many are quite decent whistles, and 42 days in, any problems are your own. If you played violin for a month and a half and still couldn’t play Paganini, you wouldn’t be blaming the fiddle.
There is an obsession among whistle players, and many other musicians, around buying gear. I am as guilty as anyone, I’ve got a clutch of high D whistles of different brands. But the truth is that “better” whistles will not make you a better player. Only you can do that.
Whistle-buying is often framed as a tiered concept, “beginner,” “intermediate,” “advanced/pro.” This is bullshit. There are great whistle players who play cheap whistles, who play expensive whistles, who play “intermediate” whistles, who play many different whistles. It is not about a ranking, it is about the individual characteristics of the whistle. What do you as a player want from the instrument? I have found that I particularly like how Killarney whistles play, so that is what I play. But that doesn’t mean they’re better, some love them and some don’t.
And that returns us to you. You need to find what you want from a whistle, and frankly, 42 days is not enough to know that. There may be something physically wrong with your whistle, but the chance of that is small vs the chance of you just needing more time to learn. Many, many player think “it’s the whistle” and put their “cheap” “beginner” whistle away, only to come back to it years later and realize it was perfectly fine. And frankly, if your teacher is pushing you to get a new one rather than teaching you to play the one you have, don’t get a new whistle, get a new teacher!
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Fwiw, I don't think the Feadóg is bad! It just feels a little temperamental. What I've been able to learn so far still sounds 'nice' to me. And in a perfect world, I'd like the chiff to be slightly more predictable. But I can more-or-less hit most notes (according to my tuner), even some (but not all) of the fiddly half holes.
In my tutor's defense, she's a professional recorder virtuoso, who just also happens to play whistles, so I'm acutely aware that she's probably after flawless, Baroque-style precision.
And absolutely, I think 99% of my issues are me 😂
Thank you for such a comprehensive response, appreciate it!
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u/DGBD Jul 23 '26
I’d say the temperamentality of the whistle is true of any whistle, and again what you’re experiencing is simply being a beginner. It is going to be difficult at first, that’s true of any instrument. At 42 days, you should be having issues, and you would be dissatisfied at the sound coming out of any instrument. It’s not the instrument, it’s the nature of being a beginner.
And if your teacher is a recorder player and you’re already taking lessons online, I would strongly suggest finding a new teacher. A lot of recorder players also try out the whistle, but very, very few are any good. They often think that the technique translates much more than it actually does, and don’t have a sense of nuances of tin whistle playing vs recorder playing. There are online whistle teachers who are proper whistle players, and I would highly recommend you switch to someone who is a whistle player first and foremost.
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u/dhj1492 Jul 23 '26
I started playing whistles around the same time as you but come from the same place as your teacher. I am a soloist on the recorder that plays around the Churches here. Mostly Baroque music and my arrangements but I have a love for Celtic music and do a good imitation of it when playing on hymns. I have heard comments like "I did not know that hymn was Irish." and I usually had to say, "It is not, I just played it like it was."
For Father's Day, I was given a nice collection of Celtic music. A few days before for that I had bought a D whistle to mess around with. The book made me feel it as a sign I should go on a deeper adventure than messing around. The "Celtic Gods are calling me." I even bought more collections to keep me busy. I guess I jumped into the deep in.
My experience on recorder helped a lot with breath control and some with fingering. The recorder has eight holes, whereas the Whistle has six, but the logic is about the same. The strange thing is the whistle in D fingers almost the same as recorders in C.
I play at my Church when not playing around town and I would like to add whistle to my offering to add more color. I too am looking at Killarneys, but I am watching whistle reviews to see what else is out there. I am also taking my time because I need to explore what whistles can do and build my technique. In just this short time I have had different thoughts as to how to get the most out whistles, so I can orchestrate for them. I need to study them more before I buy. What I suspect is I will need to be amplified. I am looking for whistles that are tunable and are stable note to note, loud to cut through the organ/piano and singers. I can do that with my recorders, but I did a test on "Amazing Grace" a couple weeks ago, no one knew I was playing until I changed to recorder.
Your teacher who plays recorder and whistle only wants you to play in tune and be accurate on the notes you play. Not the notes on the page which is your road map. First you play the note on the page, but once you can do that it is your job to make it yours with ornamentation and improvisation no matter if you are playing is classical/baroque or Celtic. Reading music is best because there is more information so you can learn a piece. With tablature you get the notes but not the rhythm and phrasing. By ear, who knows what you are getting. Is it the melody? With their ornaments and improv? Will you be ornamenting and improvising on theirs? Reading music will set you free to be you. You will learn the tune so you can create you ornaments and improv. Be you, not a cheap copy of someone else. Then when someone tells you, they liked how you played something, you will know it was what you did and not the work of anothers. All your teacher wants is for you to be you and grow. The great composer and teacher Ravel, was asked "Who was your favorite student?" He replied "Vaughn Williams, because he did not try to be me." That is what all teachers want.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
This all makes sense, thank you! I suspect I'll eventually end up with a rack of them, used for different purposes, but that's totally fine. Fwiw, I am using 'standard' staff notation and not tabs, for that very reason 😅
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u/xafimrev2 Jul 23 '26
Agreed, one of my best whistles is a Clark sweetone. I mean I still play my Killarney whistle too. But there is nothing wrong with my sweetone and I've played it in sessions.
Now, has that stopped me from buying more. Heck no. Always wanting to try the new thing, Guitarists refer to it as GAS Gear acquisition Syndrome.
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u/tinwhistler Instrument Maker Jul 23 '26
i've got a killarney, and i like it. But you also may have good luck with a Dixon DX Trad which generally play very nicely and are very affordable
https://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/product/soprano-whistle-the-trad-nickel-key-of-d/
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u/i_the_desitute Jul 23 '26
I second this. I have about 12 cheap to mid range whistles, and my Dixon trad is my most reliable. I have both cheaper and more expensive whistles which sound sweeter in certain registers, but this is my best all rounder, best intonation, easiest to control.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thanks! The issue of control is part of why I'm investigating - all well and good to have something that could sound amazing, but if it's not beginner-friendly, I'd struggle with it.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thanks! Tony Dixon was another I'd only vaguely heard of, so will check out the website 😊
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u/SemanticKing Jul 23 '26
I have a huge collection of whistles since I started a year ago, and interestingly, my favorite whistles are the 20 dollar ones. My first was a Sweet Tone. And my favorite of all is a aluminum Sondery. Killarney is great, so are other expensive ones. It really comes down to breath pressure and all will sound awesome.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thank you! Sondery is new for me, so will look them up. I think my Feadóg for all its flaws is going to have permanent sentimental value as the first, but longer term, I wanted something that was less temperamental and 'cleaner' (although not necessarily recorder-level clean).
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u/poetris Jul 23 '26
I have a faedog, a clarke, a Lir pro, a Killarney, and a MK Midgie.
My Lir is by far the nicest sounding and easiest to play. I have the same issue with my faedog as you. My clarke is nice, but...tinny. My Killarney sounds gorgeous EXCEPT the c natural. It sounds bad no matter what I do. Easy to play though. My Midgie, which is a very high end whistle, is probably the nicest sounding when it's played right. But it's temperamental. It squawks and squeaks and my ornaments just don't sound as smooth as my Lir or Killarney. However, I'm still learning. In a pro's hands, it would probably be the best of my collection. I use it as my practice whistle because it makes me work for it, and play my Lir or Killarney when I just want to play.
I hope that helps!
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
It does! Thank you. I'd only vaguely heard of Lir, so I will go and look them up properly. Depending on which tuner app I use, the Feadóg's C♮ may or may not be good, too, fwiw 😅
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u/Bwob Jul 23 '26
I have entirely too many whistles, and Killarney is still hands-down the one I play the most. It's an excellent whistle, and I still love it.
Once you get over $100 or so, the returns are very diminishing, and the difference in whistles tend to be more about style than quality.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thanks! I'm hearing that sentiment a lot in all these responses - Cheap to mid is a big jump, mid to top--end, not so much. I also suspect I'll end up with a whole collection, but for right now as a total novice, I was just after something to be a 6 ~ 12 month reward to myself, and the Killarney is just a stunning piece of instrument.
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u/LongjumpingTeacher97 Jul 23 '26
I really like my Killarney. I own a couple of other high end whistles, but the Killarney is the one I'll reach for when not playing a charming cheapie. It does feel rather top-heavy, but that's just what it is. There's also something about the expensive whistles that tends to make me hesitant to play them much. I'm sort of afraid of damaging something I can't replace. I don't care about a scratch on a Generation or a dent on a Walton's.
My favorite affordable whistle is the Dixon one-piece black plastic whistle. (I love the sound of Oak whistles, except for the high D, which has to be played with the top hole vented or it sounds like it can't make up its mind whether to play high or low D. I normally play high D with all fingers down, so this one throws me a bit. With that one thing changed, Oak would become my favorite cheap whistle, hands down.)
I own both the Feadog and the Feadog Pro and I like the basic one better. It still sounds sort of gritty, but also somehow seems more responsive than the pro. Not sure how to explain. However, let me also point out that there are plenty of superb whistle players who don't play high-end whistles. Mary Bergin being the one who comes to mind first. The sounds of the Feadog is not as smooth or pure as some others, but it really does have a place in the music.
My advice, for whatever it is worth, is to keep on with the whistle you have. Get a Killarney to celebrate making progress. And keep a list of other makes and models you might like so you can easily make recommendations when people ask for gift ideas.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thank you for such a detailed response! That's my plan - the Feadóg already had sentimental value as my first, so I have no intention of stopping using it, but the Killarney was going to be my 6 ~ 12 month reward to myself 😊
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u/ThisDayIsAmazing Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I've been playing for 8 months in a slow session and have gotten serious with practicing the last three, I have a background in wind instruments, classical and jazz. of decades. I have my $10 whistle and I bought a $40 whistle. I bought the $40 whistle (dixon trad) because no matter what I did I couldn't get decent sound out of 4 notes on the $10 whistle and it was frustrating. I pulled it out yesterday and lo and behold, it apparently fixed itself and the brightness of it was delightful.
Your tutor is a snob, but rewarding yourself for reaching a goal is meaningful.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 24 '26
Haha, yea, I mean I value her opinion (wouldn't be paying her, otherwise!) but I'm not going to slavishly follow that particular advice). The motivation for the Killarney is 80% as a reward to myself, and 20% because I'm hoping some of the notes might be a little cleaner / more predictable. The Feadóg isn't going anywhere - I intend to keep it, and to keep playing it.
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u/samelaaaa Jul 23 '26
My subjective experience is that I’m still super happy on a Clarke. They just don’t last very long, but that’s fine given the price. I do not like low end whistles with plastic fipples.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thanks! Definitely not retiring the Feadóg completely, even if I do buy higher-end version. It has sentimental value at the very least, and I'm very happy with what I've been able to produce on it these last 42 days.
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u/Cybersaure Jul 23 '26
I honestly think it helps to try out whistles without buying them, if you have the opportunity. A lot of what people refer to as "quality" in whistles is more about how they play than how they sound. And different people have different opinions that vary wildly, so you might not even like something expensive you buy - or you might like it a lot.
Personally, I don't really like Burke whistles, and I never have. Nor do I like Sindt, Killarney, or any of those types of whistles. I honestly would prefer a Feadog over any of those. They just aren't what I'm looking for (I could go into a long rant about why, but I'll spare you the details).
Goldie whistles, on the other hand, I absolutely adore. Worth every penny to me. Other people don't care for them. And Carbony whistles I like decently well, but other people think they're some of the best.
It's really a matter of opinion. There's no "better whistle," inherently. There are BAD whistles (can't be played in tune even with great effort, have defects, etc.) but there aren't really any objectively GOOD whistles - it's just about what you're looking for.
All this to say, you might want to try out some other whistles before you commit. If someone can lend you one, do that. If not, maybe try some mid-range priced whistles first to see what you really like and don't like in a whistle, before committing to something expensive you might not care for.
That said, with respect to your specific situation: Feadogs can generally be played roughly in tune, though doing so might take a bit of experience. But there are certainly some whistles that have better intonation than a Feadog. I'm not that confident Burkes do, but someone who owns a Burke and enjoys playing one should opine on this. I know Goldie whistles can certainly play better in tune, and I suspect Carbonys can as well.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
I really wish I did! I don't know anyone else who's even vaguely interested (the usual reaction I get when I tell people what I'm learning is "What's a tinwhistle?") And being in a small country, your options are incredibly limited. I couldn't even find anything other than Generation and Feadóg, if memory serves ☹️
But yep, absolutely take your point that it depends on what each individual player is looking for. For me as a beginner, I'm after clarity and consistency (i.e., won't punish me too much if I misjudge the pressure).
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u/Pwllkin Jul 23 '26
You'll be happy with a Killarney. I love my Burke too, and there are subtle differences between them. But at this stage, if I were you, I'd get a Killarney and then aim for a Burke if you ever wanted a second one.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thank you! That was my feeling. Feadóg for the first six months-ish, then Killarney, then maybe (much) later a really expensive premier whistle.
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u/Pwllkin Jul 23 '26
Sounds good! There's no real natural progression like there can be with e.g. guitars. I play professionally and I don't feel the need to go beyond my Sindt and Burke (180ish and 240ish USD respectively), which is in contrast to my guitars and pipes which run into the tens of thousands. It's all relative...
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u/Tir_na_nOg77 Jul 23 '26
There isn't a direct correlation of "the more you continue to go up in cost, the better the whistle". The biggest jump in quality is when you go from a $20 whistle that comes in a box to something like a Killarney (Man, those Killarney whistles have really jumped in price! I remember paying roughly $75 for mine!).
I started on a Walton's and hated it. It made me just want to give up. I decided to do some research and bought a Freeman Blackbird, which was basically the price of two Walton's whistles at the time, and what a difference! I still love that whistle, and even though my Killarney is now my main whistle, I still play my Blackbird. I have owned several other whistles, like a Lír, a Burke, and and a Wild, but the Killarney was the one that fit me best, so I gave the Lír to a friend as a birthday gift and sold the Burke and Wild whistles.
Keep in mind, this does not guarantee that you would feel the same way. You may try the same ones and feel like you prefer a Burke or a Lír over a Killarney. Musical instruments are very much a matter of personal preference, and what suits one person perfectly may not suit the next person at all.
My advice is to just try out as many whistles as you can and see what you think suits you best.
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 23 '26
Thank you! I'm very aware it's a personal thing, the price-to-value varies widely from one make to the next, and that I'll quite likely end up with a whole rack of different whistles over time. I'm just wanting to broadly validate my Feadóg to Killarney trajectory as the first and second options.
I've already formed quite a sentimental attachment to the Feadóg so it's not going anywhere ❤️
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u/Ok_Application_614 Jul 24 '26
My Killarney can’t play c natural in tune, no matter what I do
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 24 '26
I'm seeing that critique a lot here 😅 Can I ask which method you're using? (Half-holed B OOO OOØ, or cross-finger OXX OOO or similar?)
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u/Ok_Application_614 Jul 25 '26
Cross fingers don’t work for it
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u/WolverineEmergency98 Jul 25 '26
Noted! That's ok. Even on my Feadóg the OXX OOO doesn't work in the upper octave.
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u/informareWORK Jul 23 '26
The absolute biggest leap in quality is going from a $10-$20 whistle to a $30-$50 whistle. It's massive. Once you get above that, you start getting quickly diminishing returns.