New Lir Bb whistle - vs Generation and John Sindt Bb!

[@BaritoneUkeBeast4Life]

I started out on the tin whistle a little over 2 months ago. I bought a Clarke Celtic Sweet tone off Amazon as my first. 2 days later when the Clarke wasn’t to my liking, I wanted something on a concert level so I ordered a full set of Lir whistles, Eb-A. It was going to take three weeks to arrive from Ireland to NY and I couldn’t wait so I bought a Carbony Celtic Winds high D and Mezzo G which are a joy to play. As much as I absolutely love the Carbony high D whistle, I found that the Lir whistle has been my everyday go to when practicing and playing. The tones from it are so amazing as is the ease to hit the high registers every time without fail. Something I can only do on my Lir whistles. The Lir whistles make me sound so much better then I actually am. I don’t know why but my fingers seem to cover the holes cleaner and more completely on a Lir whistle and seem to glide across the holes quicker as well. I am very happy with my purchase and will get other keys if they make them in the future.

[@ChildOfKingJesus57]

Hi, we live in a tiny village just outside of Castlebar. That's where our church is.. the old blue one on the mall or you would say like a green park. I wish I could have watched and listened to you play. It would've been great to say hello! Where were you, which pub?

[@patrickbacher7881]

The difference felt like the C# didn’t come across as well on the Lir whistle. That being in the middle really made the main difference in clarity. The second octave may have been a touch clearer on the sidnt. I’d say Lir had a pure sound while the Killarney had a brassy sound to it. The tone was clearer in the upper octave for the Sidnt though. Both sound gorgeous. I’d get a Sidnt too if I had the money to burn but for the difference the Lir was gorgeous for the price.

[@Benstoyphotography_]

i just got my first Lir Whistle today!

[@fatheroblivion45]

Good video Sean. I was lucky enough years ago to be able try several Generation B flats prior to buying and the difference in quality , considering they all came from the same box, was noticeable immediately. I like the Generation sound though if you don’t get a chance to try one out for stability then they’re a gamble. A gamble worth taking at the price I’d say.

[@gloriatreis2204]

I upgraded from a $12 whistle to a Lir D whistle. What an amazing difference in sound. I do like the sound quality of the Sindt the best, but for me, the difference is not worth the higher price, especially since I am not a professional player. I find I enjoy playing my whistle a lot more since I upgraded to the Lir.

[@TheJensenInterceptor]

Definitely JS, as I have JS I feel definitely the best

[@jurgenhuman8417]

I have a brass Generation Bb whistle and he sat me down quickly 😂 hoping to get a Lir in D soon 😊

[@ritastern1680]

The Lir would be my untrained choice. Not as a compromise either. To me the Lir sounds nicer than the Sindt. Thanks for the video.

[@giorgiolamborghini813]

The Generation in Bb does not have the quality of the Lir but with a simple tweak the distance will shorten considerably. It will involve putting material in the upper part of the mouthpiece where there is a cavity; be careful because in removing it from the body it can crack because it is very fragile, clearly you have to immerse it in very hot water.

[@tcheid]

Sorry if I haven’t seen it on other videos but have you tried the Freeman tweaked Bb generations?

[@whistletutor]

No, unfortunately I've only ever run across the Freeman D, but I'd love to try a Bb if it crosses my path!

[@tcheid]

@@whistletutor I bought one off of ebay (who uses ebay anymore?) and am waiting on it. I'll have to let you know how it plays!

[@Feverstockphoto]

I have a brass Generation Bb. I love how it sounds and it only cost me £6.30. I also have both Lir in high D, which cost £93.95 engraved and a Sindt in high D costing £183.03. All purchased new back in May/June time this year. I still can't play them 🙂but I played the D whistles to several people who could not see which one I was playing, and every single one of them preferred the sound of the Lir over the Sindt. To my ear the Sindt is a bit more rough, raspy, quirky old school and quieter in sound whereas the Lir seems purer, cleaner, more rounded in tone, more flute like sounding. I do like them both although the Lir has it most of the time. By the way the engraving on the Lir was 'Leprechaunic Gods Play Me' I'm still waiting for them to play it! 🙃👍

[@Feverstockphoto]

I just went and bought another Lir in the key of A after watching a few of your videos and other one on here 🙃👍

[@whistletutor]

The A one is lovely too!

[@Feverstockphoto]

@@whistletutor Great, I'm looking forward to it! I seen you reviewed their Lir low D but it doesn't seem to be on their website so I went and purchased a MK Pro low D and an F to fill out the range more.

[@jimobrien84]

I have a Lír D and a Sindt D whistle. I like the Lír quite a bit but nothing like the Sindt

[@noesuarez4186]

The Sindt is the best, but I dont think the $300 difference in price reflects the difference in quality from the Lir. Even the generation sounds ok. But my Lir is currently getting shipped from Ireland to USA as I do notice the quality difference from generation to Lir.

[@jessh2030]

The price of a new Sindt Bb whistle from Mr. Sindt is 210 US$ (price of 2023). He talked about the price for a second hand Sindt Bb.

[@Ryush806]

That high C# on the Lir is so flat it almost sounds like a C natural. It hurt me every time you played it…

[@whistletutor]

Well there is no C# in a Bb scale, that's a C natural - so relative to a C# then yes, I suppose it's flat. If you mean the C#-equivalent-on-a-D-whistle that would be an A, and I just double-checked with a tuner and the 1st octave A is bang on the money. The 2nd octave needs more air than I would initially expect to push it in tune but that's on me for not doing my octave jumping exercise before running through it as all whistles have different air requirements in those highest notes. In Irish trad those top two notes are so rarely used that I often don't even bother - but again, on me for not being more thorough in my preparation. When its played properly, it's in tune.

[@Ryush806]

@@whistletutor haha yeah I meant C# if it were on a D. My brain can’t handle trying to figure out the actual pitch although that should have been easy being just a half step lower than Bb. The other notes in the high second octave didn’t seem to badly off so the A (got it this time…) stood out. Especially with the Sindt being pretty much in tune up there.