Cheap vs Expensive Tin Whistles ($10 - $1500??)

No, I don't have a $1,500 tin whistle but I guess I used to? Let's break down the differences in instruments, cost/benefit analysis style. In the roundup today are whistles from Michael Burke, John Sindt, Michael Copeland, Gary Humphrey, Killarney, Wild, Feadog, Clarke, Sweetone, and Generation - and a few in the grab bag that I'm not really sure what they are.
Disclosure: I was not paid or asked to offer up these opinions. I own all of these (except the Burke, I'm borrowing that from Claire Shirey. Check out her channel at / @claireshireymusic
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[@Lee-nh5bb]

I picture travelling back in time, say 200 yrs, and meeting an old musician sitting by a fire in the forest. You show him your $10 whistle and he plays it. What would he think? Would he be impressed with the manufacturing standard that we take for granted, or would he think that old Shamus down the road could make a better one from some wood from his garden?

[@johnmcgahern3946]

"Shamus"?🙄

[@Lee-nh5bb]

@@johnmcgahern3946 Yeah, you know old Shamus.

[@gerarddip]

@@Lee-nh5bb Seamus

[@TheRamblingShepherd]

I think modern instruments would compare favorably. One thing I learned on the Tod's Workshop channel is that "high quality" means something almost completely different now than it did in pre-industrial times. "Handmade" is only synonymous with quality now because we have "machine made" to compare it to. Machines can achieve levels of precision and repeatability that were unheard of prior to the industrial revolution. Because of this, the expectations were quite different, and in many ways lower. These days "handmade" means quality because you're almost certainly spending more time on it than you would to make it by a machine, which means you need to charge more for it to make it worth your while, which means it HAS to be better than the machine-made one in some way for you to be able to sell it. Prior to mechanization, everything was hand made, including cheap crap. There was good stuff, too--master artisans were master artisans. But Seamus' neighbor probably isn't a master artisan. If he were, he probably wouldn't be Seamus' neighbor, and he certainly wouldn't be using scrap wood from the garden to make instruments. On top of this, the person you're talking to has never heard a recording of music. There are no music recordings, anywhere in the world. Unless he's quite rich (which...not a ton of rich people named Seamus in the 1820s), he's probably rarely heard music made by people who weren't friends and family. Likely amateurs, if enthusiastic ones, because again...they couldn't just turn on Spotify or even the radio if they wanted to hear some music. Seamus has likely only ever heard folk music played by local farmers, carpenters and the like in their downtime. MAYBE a band hired for a festival if he's lucky. And even the members of that band had infinitely less exposure to music than we do today--this isn't to denigrate their talent or dedication, but like...you or I can, on a whim, listen to the greatest songs ever written by the most talented musicians of the past 80 years from any continent, and we can listen 30 times in a row to study their techniques, and get to know how different instruments sound. How many whistles has Seamus even heard in his life? There was that one the fella at the fair played last May, and Aodhagán plays one--Oh, and Darragh has that one he bought in Dublin on his way back from the Napoleonic Wars, but he pretty much never plays it. Seamus is not watching KZbin to compare the best instruments from across Europe and America that $250 can buy in 2023. I think the fact that the Clarke's a bit breathy wouldn't set it back too much.

[@gerarddip]

@@TheRamblingShepherd Bro wrote a whole-ass Dr. Brohner soap bottle on KZbin lmao

[@critterfermonkey2]

These comparison videos are truly one of the most important videos to make. Thank you for taking the time to do this!

[@mheermance]

You sounded great on all of them. It seems to me that it's the player more than the whistle.

[@moorejl57]

Have a Clarke Sweetone and a Killarney in D, saw a pretty big improvement in tone. But I am happy to take my Clarke backpacking, so they each have their place.

[@birkins1]

Literally just bought a cheep Dixon for the same reason haha don’t want to beat up my Lir on a hike

[@mattbruch5431]

That’s awesome. I’m brand new whistle, and I have to admit one of the main draws for me is the ability to take this instrument camping hiking etc. and not have to carry something big heavy or expensive!

[@johnmcgahern3946]

@@birkins1 "cheep"? Must have song bird sound like qualities.

[@birkins1]

@@johnmcgahern3946 hahaha whoops

[@mattbruch5431]

Really helpful. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference in sound. They all were fantastic!

[@AntonEmery]

Lovely review, and probably some of the best production quality I have seen in a whistle video. Really enjoyable!

[@msk-qp6fn]

The funny thing is people often get annoyed at the metallic chiff or breathy cool(?) sounds of the cheap tin whistles and them being out of tune here and there, I myself included funnily enough, yet that's kinda the point of tin whistles and its their unique identity and charm. I almost feel a little disappointed when a whistle so in tune 😂 The chirpy chiff of Generations and breathiness of Clarkes are truly iconic and the occasional off sounds gives them a nice quirk. It does seem like Generations used to be better when the company had better quality control, so it is a shame they lost it. Oh well at least we have Clarke Sweetones.

[@TheRamblingShepherd]

Agreed. If I hated timbre, I'd play a synthisizer.

[@justwhistlinpixie]

That's why I like the sound of the Humphrey over the Burke. My ear gets annoyed at the low end whistles when they're out of tune, but the high end whistles are often too clean sounding. I like an in-tune whistle with plenty of chiff, so mid-range are my sweet spot.

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

I have a couple of Setantas and I think they’re awesome feeling and sounding. I also have a Humphrey which is great in it’s own right - they’re different vibes and different feels but consistently great to pick up. I started out on a sweetone with only the most basic idea about how to approach a tin whistle and fought it for a month while in the Norwegian mountains because I had no idea that temperature might actually make a difference. No doubt the more expensive whistles are more approachable to play, and provides a more stable frame of reference while learning. I am still an entry level player so the difference is noticeable. However I still kinda dig both my sweetone and my slightly cracked meg, I think there is a hoarse, original poetry to that sound and a certain haunting quality to the way the high end cut is always on the verge of cracking into a squeak. I am rather amazed how close the Humphrey and sweetone sound in this presentation. In person I feel like the setantas sound somewhat fuller with more different timbres to explore and arguably more dynamic if that’s a preference - certainly louder for their wider bore and bigger holes - but if I had to go for a more rustic sound I might look the others or even my vintage generation which has a certain inescapeable sweetness to it ...

[@jacebeleren1703]

I got the MK Midgie High D whistle (paid about 280$ for it) which i'm waiting to arrive. A session-mate has one, and the main reason that i decided to get it (over my Killarney) is that it can hold it's own, volume-wise (especially in the low octave) in our 10-14 people session. Also loved the tone! If we weren't so many, maybe i could get away with playing the Killarney, but even then, i like to match the volume of all the other instruments and not get drowned out by them.

[@Henjo29]

I bought a Burke D around 2006 for about $176.00 USD. Prior to that I had a Walton's (with book and 2 CDs for $20.00), and a plastic D tuned bought at the NY Renaissance Fair in 1999 for 20.00. In my opinion a blind hearing test would be difficult, but the ease of play between them is noticeable. Also, if you're playing with other people having adjustable tuning is a must. Lastly the materials and labor comes into play with cost. New players might get frustrated with the cheaper models because they're difficult to control, so I would recommend under 100.00, but not the cheapest.

[@My_God_is_Jahovah]

I loved my waltons whistle. It was very old, sounded perfect, very loud, qnd hqd patina all over it. I took it SUPboarding and lost it in the river.

[@MPahana]

I have a Humphrey and a Killarney, then I got a Wild as a gift. All great. I tend to play the Killarney a little more, it just feels right, but I really like the warmth of the wild ( and I like that I don't have to crossfinger the C nat with the Wild) and I like the overall consistency and fullness of the lower notes with the Humphrey. Well, that's just my opinion anyway. :) Oh, I also have a Freeman Blackbird. Sweet sound! Loved this video. Your playing is inspiring! Thank you.

[@djlogan1222]

Excellent review... It's the musician more than the instrument 😊

[@markmiller1315]

The Burke Is amazing, there is a fullness in the sound that is rich.

[@Valkaneer]

Oh ya, it certainly has a noticeably better bright chipper sound.

[@billp5292]

I just got my 1st 100 dollar whistle i love it. It in a C I'm used to a D. But is sweet. It made by Eric the flute maker.

[@gragall78]

I've owned a lot of high end whistles from chieftain setanta wild and even mc manus but recently after 4 months waiting I've received the best and loudest and most beautiful whistle I've ever played and I'll cherish it till I die, its made by a man in Argentina called David Ferman, his company is called clover flutes. Absolutely no shrieking no matter how hard you blow and every note in both octaves are perfect. It took me a few days to get used to the perfection and volume of the notes. I still can't believe how loud even the bottom D is. It makes you play in a totally different way than your used to because you can trust every note to do its job if you know what I mean🤔

[@whistletutor]

Interesting - I'd be curious to try one out!

[@Yowzoe]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKOzgXlrjLulpNE&autoplay=1

[@fluteheart]

Thanks for doing the research, this answers a lot of people's questions!

[@Jill23Kim]

This was a really helpful video. I've got a Clarke "Woodstock" which is a Sweetone apparently. I was thinking of upgrading. Your video was exactly what I needed.

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

The sweetone that you began with I bought brand new about four months ago for £16.99, it was the cheapest new one of that variety that I could find on the 'bay. I dropped quite lucky recently by getting a Tony Dixon low D tuneable for a swap of a wooden flute that I paid £24 for, it's a delight, though the spacings took about two weeks to get used to. Encouraged by this I bought an untuneable Tony Dixon low D flute, I have had it now for about five weeks, two weeks to get a real sound and even now I still get escaping air, very frustrating. About three weeks ago I bought a concert flute and to my surprise I could play it straight away. I mean irish tunes here not classical pieces. I was amazed at how close they are and it's ease. My heart still lies with the Tony Dixon and I continue to persevere. This was a great idea for a post, really good. 👍here and up top.

[@O3177O]

Not classical ? Are your inferring classical tunes are harder or better some how ? Palm face

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

@@O3177O you misunderstand me, unlike irish and celtic music which I have been surrounded with since a very young age. I have never actively listened to classical other than the occasional bits on adverts. As I don't read music it is something that is currently outside of my musical sphere. That's not to say that in the future I won't, given the chance, I always like a challenge.

[@michaelrs8010]

Just goes to show you that a kick-ass whistle player can make most any whistle sound good. 👍 On the other hand, with my old Sweetone you can hear every penny of that $10 when I play it 😄

[@bonenfant96]

As i said before, a can of sardines would sound nice in his hands.

[@KamenRiderGumo]

I bought a Feadog in D a couple of years back and I love it. Specifically I'm trying to learn a very particular tune from Star Trek: The Next Generation that centers around Captain Picard (if you know, you know).

[@Martialbenoitmusic]

I have a killarney as my main whistle, and a Goldie as a session whistle (When i don't play my irish flute, that is rare!)

[@raughboy188]

I have clarke sweetone in high d and i like it. Good price and good and clear sound.

[@msk-qp6fn]

Although I am worried about how to take care of it, I have a lot of saliva, I am quite content with my pink Sweetone D. Now I want to have the Celtic one and a yellow Sweetone C, too. Interested in Generation Bb since I heard those are still decent in quality. That being said, I think my next purchase is probably going to be from Dixon until Clarke has its pc website fixed.

[@christophert320]

I love the humphrey. I'm just getting started and I'm reasonably certain it will be a serious hobby. I'm extremely bummed about the Chris Wall scenario because they sound incredible. I would buy one of those in a heartbeat but I can't wait 2 years for it to get to me.

[@HymnWhistle]

I liked the Burke but I think the Humphrey had a nicer dynamic, especially with the ornaments but your right, talking differences that are minimal. The only thing that’s different is price I guess.

[@dukesc5562]

When you did the fast comparison at the end the differences all but disappeared and all we were left with was your skillful playing -which I guess is what really matters. It's like photography, it's the photographer that ultimately makes a great shot not the camera. Great video.

[@qmariop]

For me... There isn't really a difference in what I can hear, even though I can "sense" something between the $10 and the $100 one. Nice video! On my way to spend 100 bucks on one!

[@DerooJos]

Go for secondhand top quality. Burke's go about 150 $ on the Chiff and Fipple. That's more than a new Wild or Killarney but it'll keep it's value. Looking for something else? Sell or exhange... That way I got to try most of the top whistles without spending a fortune.

[@iaian7]

That's how I got my Burke whistles; used on eBay. I saw a Low E a few years ago (with thumb hole, my preference) and didn't bid...really wish I had, seems to have gotten harder to find them used in the past 4+ years?

[@stephanledford9792]

I am leaning towards the Clarke Sweetone for learning, and if I enjoy this like I think I will, I will upgrade to a "better" whistle.

[@cathytai]

One other thought; we don't all play jigs. I like slow airs and also popular non Irish songs, so my whistle kind of doubles as a direct blown bamboo6 hole flute. So maybe it depends on what you are personally looking for in a whistle. If i have a favorite 'go to' whistle right now, out of all my whistles, it would be my reasonable but not cheap brass Shush whistle, even if I'm not willing to risk leaving it in my car (I'm ok risking my D Feadogs eyc, though. 😉)

[@JoesFavoritesUno]

Hey Sean! What was the lightning round tune?

[@whistletutor]

Ahh that's Dowd's #9 - a great tune!

[@JoesFavoritesUno]

@@whistletutor thank ya sir!

[@nalomelikukui8134]

This is a fun and informative video. I wish you would speak a little slower, but rewinding the video to listen again and again is part of the charm. The inexpensive whistles are great for portability and sharing. You can take them hiking or sailing or to the beach and give them away if someone is truly interested. In my opinion, cheap whistles sound WAY better than cheap recorders and they're easier to play. By the way, I like my Woodi Whistles, two for the price of one and tunable. On another subject, are those lights on the painting on the easel in the background special in some way? Why doesn't their weight, light and heat damage the painting? Thank you for sharing your music passion.

[@jdbegg1]

I’d love to get a John Sindt if for no other reason they are so rare and people that own them do tend to brag on them when comparing to a Killarney.

[@chrisvalery3678]

Could you cover the difference in keys, bore diameters and those sort of things for beginners..or if you already have point to a link. Really like your no nonsense style. Cheers

[@shimmeringreflection]

Seems the cheaper you get, the shriller and more hollow the tone

[@kittygillane273]

I like both how much is lir and Kilmarnock whistle

[@samlichtenstein2754]

Is the Killarney whistle just as good as the Burke Whistle?

[@dylanmenzies3973]

Kind of depends how much roughness you want in the sound. The most expensive are very sweet and pure, but that can be a bit boring.

[@EMINEM11713]

What was the model of the second one you used??

[@JP13492]

lol closed my eyes and opened them on the best...oh wow, it was the sweet tone

[@firefalcon100]

the thing i hate about my sweet tone is the stupid ridge line along the back where the rolled tin meet. it hurts my fingers to hold when i play and cuts into them. Maybe mine has a more pronounce ridge than others or something but i dont see how they can sell those things with that ridge line being so pronounced.

[@josephkretschmer3388]

The Humphrey really sounds good, but the burke sounds definitely better to me. So the higher price isn't for no reason. But if 250 is too much for you, you can be happy enough with a Humphrey for 100 I think.

[@watermelonhelmet6854]

I own a bunch of whistles from the $10 range to about a $150 being the most expensive. One of my absolute favorites is a Clarke I paid about $15 for....but I think once you pass the $50 mark, it's way more about how it feels to play than the sound it makes. I have a Killarney whistle that sounds fantastic, but requires so little airflow I always feel like I'm suffocating when I play it.

[@EthosAtheos]

Between the 2 professional instruments and the beginners 10$ one there is a night and day difference. Expectedly the difference between the 250 and the 100$ ones there is less of a difference. But the more expensive one sounds warmer on my sound system. Not enough to justify the price difference. But if your a pro and it is how you make your daily bread. Then I could understand the more expensive one.

[@msk-qp6fn]

Hmmm I should say the cheaper the whistle, the lighter and more textured the sound becomes. It's pretty subtle and a skilled player could probably use the cheaper whistle's trait to their advantage regardless but I can definitely see people with sensitive ears prefering the more expensive ones.

[@dereknolin5986]

Where would Susatos fit in here?

[@danasullivan8598]

Now I wish I had a Burke. Could really hear the difference. But after sidelining my Generations and a plastic Dixon, I’ll settle for my new Killarney.

[@Ryush806]

My Burke is definitely the easiest to play of all my whistles to play by far, but I find it has no character relative to my other, cheaper whistles. I only use it if responsiveness is key with a super fast piece when you might not pick up the timbre differences anyway.

[@ivanrossi2051]

I am a novice and had problems with C natural and high-octave notes braking easily on a Generation brass and a no-name Susato clone out of Amazon. Problems solved when I got a plastic Dixon DX005 (definitely cheaper than 100$). To me, sweet spot is closer to 40-50.

[@steveogden5774]

I'm old enough to remember when all the whistle players played Generations and I'll still take Micho Russell on a battered Generation any day.

[@julioferrer186]

I have the second whistle Dixon copper-nickel 28€

[@brew1138]

I can hear a definite thinness in tone on the $10 (That said I do have a very nice Generation in D...). But the $100 and the Burke are much closer! Then some of the tone answer comes down to material the whistle is made of. Plastic can be so sweet and warm, but a brass Burke seem like a warhorse next to it, even if it is a Session model and made to be strong. I also have an Abell, with C and D foots. It is wood and so amazing. (But sooo expensive!). There's so much room for niggling, etc. SO! Get a decent whistle. Learn it well. THEN go for a nuance you like (and can afford...).

[@urosmarjanovic663]

Burke is by far the best.

[@Heath75032]

Whistle by Gene Milligan is my best. ive owned a Copeland. I have an Abell.

[@whistletutor]

I'm not familiar with those but I just looked them up and they look lovely!

[@GoingBrogue]

I’ve played whistle for over 30yrs and music professionally for over 10. Definitely nothing wrong with a Generation or Feadog type whistle if you just want to play some whistle. I think that $100-150 is a good price for a “professional” instrument and I think anything over $500 is just absurd. How does the feel and playability of that Burke compare to the Humphrey? I know that my Burke and my Reyburn Session D sound and play totally different…. it’s like the difference between driving a luxury sedan and a Ferrari.

[@WhoThisMonkey]

I cannot hear a difference between any of them... maybe a slight wind sound in the $10 but I kind of like that sound.

[@Nieosoba]

for me $10 is really, really good, for $10, but $100 whistle is much better, worth the money, then doesn't matter that much. I have the cheep one, and it's great, the only thing which is bad is the higher octave. That's maybe not the whistle fault, we will see if I improve my skills, but it sounds drastically much worse on high C and in general higher octave.

[@luckyjinxer]

Humphrey does sound the best, but I wouldn't know it without the A/B.

[@usernamemykel]

I dunno - In my prejudiced opinion, I believe that my John Sindt, bought new from John for $60 ("Back in the day" - before he became so famous that he had a two-year waiting list) blows (pun intended) all of them away.

[@jamesmolloy4798]

In my day you had no chioce really . It was Clarke or generations. If you went into a music shop they just handed you a whistle. I got friendly with a guy Paddy Rice from Derry. He had a record shop . I think you young ones call it vinyl. In my day you put vinyl on a floor. He kepted toilet waste bins in the shop full of whistles . You just went in played till you got what you were looking for in sound a how you thought it would play in over time . I think that was the secret you have to play them in . Would be interested to hear what everyone else thinks. Old or young.

[@darkijah-andersjehovahsn7893]

Carbon flute? Abell?

[@whistletutor]

Yes, there is at least one company making them out of carbon-fiber (Carbony) and Abell makes some lovely (and expensive!) wooden flutes and whistles.

[@darkijah-andersjehovahsn7893]

@@whistletutor You tested them? :) Whats your view.

[@Harleyrk99]

When you have your talent I don't think it matters which you use. 👍 Personally I would like one with some weight to it. But I am not good enough to be picky.

[@sittinginthebasement]

I agree that the heftier whistles are more comfortable and make me more confident in my fingering. I've only been at it a few weeks but already have some preferences and am buying whistles accordingly. Good thing they are relatively cheap! I'm working hard at playing better, but am having more success at being a collector, it seems.

[@dalemachin4896]

The more expensive whistle sounded far better than the cheap one, I could tell straight away. You really do get what you pay for and the cheap ones are crap, especially Clarke.For

[@platformzero1731]

I can't really tell the difference between the $10 one and the most expensive. I suspect the same is true of most people, unless they are a real tin whistle enthusiast.

[@jeffbezos5699]

Did he say Riordan?

[@whistletutor]

O'Riordan whistles, yep!

[@docalexander2853]

I bought my wife every best pennywhistle from the very best makers. She like a cheaper one. I managed to make a lot of money selling the ones I had because some of the makers died.

[@OifelOifel]

To my ears you can hear a clear difference between the sweettone and the humphrey. The differences of the more expensive ones are marginal.

[@odettepross2435]

lol they all sounded the same to me

[@OrderedEntropy]

id say in my humble autism auditory sensitivity opinion, the 250 dollar ones sound more birdlike if that makes sense

[@institutakustikisputnika]

Honestly I don't hear too much difference however the $100 is probably alot better quality build wise.

[@munchaking1896]

The burke $250 sounds miles better

[@Zulwind]

Why does he always look stoned out of his gourd?

[@whistletutor]

Ssshhhh

[@Zulwind]

​@@whistletutor Music is the mightiest psychoactive medication in my opinion.

[@ジョンジョン-d4d]

humphrey one sounds the best

[@Ryush806]

I recently got a high and low D from Alexander Karavaev in Russia. The high D is in the $100 range normally but I couldn’t help myself and got them engraved for waaay too much... check out his IG for pics: whistles_workshop. I love them! Super in tune (even the C natural), good balance between octaves, and they have a great classic tin whistle sound. Check out his KZbin channel for some sound samples.

[@stewbail1]

I managed to pick up a high D tuneable Karavaev for £40. As a beginner the only reason I bought it was because of the price, a £100+ whistle was bound to make me sound better, right 🤣. To be fair the tone is cleaner but I find the second octave needs more air to hit the note than my Dixon dx004 and the hole spacings are different too. That said I do enjoy playing it more than the Dixon which tends to clog up more but the Dixon is a little bit quieter for playing when there’s other people in the house. Not that you’d notice judging by the moans I get 😒

[@Ryush806]

@@stewbail1 yeah it’s definitely harder to play that my Burke but I like the tone better and also the price!