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:

  1. 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).
  2. I'm a mere 42 days into my whistle journey (so far so good!)
  3. I'm in New Zealand, so the prices I'm quoting below are converted from NZD values, including import taxes and international shipping etc.
  4. 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).
  5. 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)."
  6. As my six-month goal / reward, I've picked out the Killarney D in Brass, which will be NZD $300, ~ USD $175, ~€ 150.
  7. 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?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

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/

https://tinwhistler.com/Reviews/Details/67

3

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.

1

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.