Shaw tin whistles

Subject: Shaw tin whistles
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 09 Sep 04 - 02:52 AM

I have a selection of tin whistles and of them I like the Clarkes C & D. I am considering buying some Shaw's. Has anyone used them or can give me adive on other tpaered style whistles?

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 09 Sep 04 - 05:43 AM

All the info you want to know, plus info on virtually every whistle maker, can be found at this site: Chiff and Fipple (click)

Cheers!

Allison

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: Leadfingers
Date: 09 Sep 04 - 06:32 AM

If you like the Clarkes you should have no problems with Shaws - I personally prefer a Straight Bore to a taper bore , but I do have some Shaws as well as the Chieftens and Tony Dixons .

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 09 Sep 04 - 09:57 AM

I love the Shaws. My favourite Low whistles are the Howard (early models) C & D respectively, but the Low D Shaw is wonderful - even though it takes 4 times the amount of wind that the Howards do.

With a 'standard' 4 line 16 bar tune, I can get all the way thru withe the Howards, and breath over, but the with the Shaw, I have to breathe after every 4 bars, or I run out well before the next 4 - interferes with the natural phrasing!

The Chieftains and the Susatos (conical and straight) Low D's have their uses too.

But I really love the breathy sound of the Shaws, especially for certain styles of music - I have all the pitch models they make. The Howards are an 'orchestral' sound, and purity of sound, much like a high quality recorder of the same pitch range - I can see why the Irish Sessions Musos didn't like them, and persuaded the maker to make them louder and more raucous!

As for smaller sizes, my best D is a slightly modified Chieftain. But the fastest responding, and for me the most difficult to get to sound cleanly at slow speed! is the "Little Black" D.

BUY 'EM ALL!

Robin

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: GUEST,John from Tarneybackle
Date: 10 Sep 04 - 07:54 AM

I have played whistle for years and I've only used Shaw for the past ten years. I love the breathy tone. The C can be a little quiet in the lower range, but push the low F into the second octave and wow.

Dave Shaw has his own web-site so support the maker and buy direct,

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: GUEST,Sedgewick
Date: 14 Nov 04 - 10:20 PM

I bought a tweaked Shaw D whistle and frankly it did not live up to all the reviews. I was disappointed and retired the whistle. However i wanted to give the Shaw a second chance and obtained an un-tweaked model. Difference was day and night. Why someone wanted to tweak something as sweet as that pure, unadulterated whistle is beyond me. I am a firm believer now in the Shaw D.

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 14 Nov 04 - 10:56 PM

I am only a makee learnee beginner but I bought Shaw's C & D plus their low D and they play really well. The go into the upper register very nicely. I like their breathy sound.

I bought mine direct from Shaw's as they knock off the VAT and their postage charges to China were very reasonable. They arrive unbent as they were well packed.

A guy played last night at the Blarney Stone in Shanghai and he had about 6 of the Shaw whistles which he had bought several years ago. Well used and abused at he once sat on them but managed to straighten them out and they still play well. The low F he had sounded beautiful.

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 14 Nov 04 - 11:16 PM

G'day Shanghaiceltic,

I have not had any hands-on experience of the Shaw Whistles ... but they certainly look like original pattern Clarke Whistles 'writ large'! Over the 40-odd years that I have played (and made) a variety of different whistles I have always accepted that Clarkes needed a bit of external adjustment - the blade (~ labium) to modify the upper or lower range ... and (particularly with the post-Clarke Family production) the wind channels to reduce the inefficient shaping that lost most of the wind into "breathy" sounds.

I remember a player with a bundle of Clarkes playing at the local Folk Club ... commenting that she loved that breathy sound ... but was nearly hyper-ventilating. I asked if I could modify one (promising that it could be easily reversed) ... and I straightened the arched tinplate over the wind channel. Immediately, the breath needed was reduced by more than half ... while keeping the characteristic 'breathy' sound.

I would expect Shaws to present with better accuracy that those Clarkes ... but they should be amenable to adjustments in the same style to achieve the many of the same improvements.

I really should grab a low D Shaw when I'm around someone that stocks them ... the tapered design has a much more manageable span for the right hand than cylindrical ... especially my low D Overton. I've been a bit too obsessed with cylindrical designs - mostly because I don't have the tooling / skill (/ inclination) to make my own tapered tubes!

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: Ella who is Sooze
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 05:19 AM

Dont know about shaws - but if theyre the ones with wood bits in em... then yeuchhhhhhhhhh!

I love Tony Dixon whistles - fabarooni as my nephew says!

Ella

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 07:08 AM

The Shaw Low D is my No 1 Favourite - followed by my old early pattern Clarke Low C.

Subject: RE: Shaw tin whistles
From: GUEST,DD
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 02:06 AM

The Shaws have a lovely breathy sound,and are very reasonable priced. They have a sweet soft breathy sound without much chiff. They come in a good variety of keys. Some of my Shaws are not tuned to pitch however, and work okay for solo stuff or if it is an setting where accompanment can tune to the whistle, as they are not tuneable. Basically the thing with them is the AIR requirement. Compared to all of my other whistles they require a LOT of blow especially in the upper octaves. A lot of it depends on the player, and how...well full of hot air they are...okay it doesnt have to be hot.