Hermit Hill whistle tour

[ytliek]

Today, I have received the HHFI mountain mahogany whistle on tour, safely.

I'll post my feedback in a few days.

For anyone interested in differences in woods, the mountain mahogany whistle on tour is on top along with my dogwood. Just a quick visual.

[Ted]

Your dogwood whistle looks like the same diameter as the mountain mahogany. If it is possible, I would be curious as to the weight of each of them when you post your review.

[ytliek]

HHFI mountain mahogany whistle tour review Sept. 7, 2014

I would’ve thought a denser mountain mahogany wood would’ve made for a thinner walled whistle, not thicker, as on this tour whistle. Now I would be curious to have two of these same whistles tour together with the only difference being… thick walled and thin walled whistles. Just curious. Just a thought.

I too am not a fan of blunt, short, steep beaks on whistles. I have a few whistle makes like that, PB, GS, CA, TH, FR, Clarkes, etc., so my preference isn’t particular to the HHFI whistle. I rather like a little flat landing pad to rest the tip of the beak on my lower lip while playing. I do not insert the beak into the mouth. The ideal beaks, IMO… are JS, MC, and PO. I was able to make the beak playing adjustment easy enough on this mountain mahogany whistle.

The only note that I consistently struggled with is the high d between octaves while playing. I have other whistles that I don’t struggle with on the high d so I don’t think the inconsistency is all me. The mountain mahogany whistle tone hole coverage took some getting used to as well, and on my dogwood whistle too.

I do like the wide diameter of the whistle which feels good in the hands with a nice heftiness. Solid feel. Same diameter dimensions as on my dogwood whistle. The mountain mahogany whistle has a heavier feel to it compared to my dogwood whistle. The weight of the tour whistle HHFI mountain mahogany with stainless fittings on my scale is 2.9oz. The weight of my HHFI dogwood with Celtic brass fittings on my scale is 2.4oz.

The mountain mahogany whistle notes have a solid whole sound, while my dogwood has a slightly hollow, airy sound to notes. I think the density between the two woods (and fittings) is the difference in sound. I thought I liked my dogwood’s sound, but, after hearing, feeling, and playing the mountain mahogany whistle, well, maybe I’ll need a mountain mahogany in the future. My dogwood whistle is definitely more porous.

From my limited experience with the touring HHFI mountain mahogany whistle and my dogwood whistle one issue for me is the large consumption of air. IMO, both whistles require too much air, way too much and I have other whistles to support that.

I do like the chiff and mellow tone to this touring wood whistle.

Mountain mahogany is on the left. Dogwood on right. In right photo Mountain mahogany is on top.



I’ll be sending this mountain mahogany whistle along on its’ way to JL in Meadville tomorrow.

I want to thank AlexD and Ted for getting this whistle out and about in the whistle community. And I especially hope AlexD continues with the craft… it’s an art and very much appreciated. I love wood. Thank you!

[Tommy]

I had this tour whistle a few weeks ago and found it to be an excellent whistle.
It does have a larger outside diameter than most wood whistles and it was comfortable to hold with tone holes easy to cover. It has a very nice tone with good pop/response of the notes. The beak was a bit blunt but a person could get use to that. The wind way height was in excess of 1/16'' making this particular whistle to require an excess amount of air to play.

[ytliek]

I've sent this whistle on its' merry way. Yes, I do like the overall design and playability.

Do you think adding wax into the windway would help (its removable)? Like doing the opposite of the Laughing Whistle Volume thread. I'd experiment with wax on into my dogwood whistle just to get the air consumption reduced. The pipers out there in whistledom must be some big winded peeps. BIG.

[AlexD]

I've sent this whistle on its' merry way. Yes, I do like the overall design and playability.

Do you think adding wax into the windway would help (its removable)? Like doing the opposite of the Laughing Whistle Volume thread. I'd experiment with wax on into my dogwood whistle just to get the air consumption reduced. The pipers out there in whistledom must be some big winded peeps. BIG.

It could potentially reduce the air requirements by making the windway narrower in width if you get it positioned just right, though may be tricky to get everything packed in evenly and can be the very devil to get back out.

[ytliek]

I've sent this whistle on its' merry way. Yes, I do like the overall design and playability.

Do you think adding wax into the windway would help (its removable)? Like doing the opposite of the Laughing Whistle Volume thread. I'd experiment with wax on into my dogwood whistle just to get the air consumption reduced. The pipers out there in whistledom must be some big winded peeps. BIG.

It could potentially reduce the air requirements by making the windway narrower in width if you get it positioned just right, though may be tricky to get everything packed in evenly and can be the very devil to get back out.

I probably won't do anything to my dogwood whistle. I've been very happy with it other than the amount of air required and I know that I haven't perfected my breathing while playing. I just thought if the wax was a quick fix I'd try.

[Flexismart]

I’ve had the HH tour whistle for a few days and will be sending it to RF in Irwin, PA.

Overall, it’s a solid performer, but in my case, I’m a hard blower and if a whistle is touchy in the first octave I’ll never use it in my kit. Since much of the music I play dwells in the first 8 notes of the instrument I’m not one who is willing to baby a whistle along. The beak is pretty short compared to an OZ or a Milligan, and way short compared to a Chieftain Custom, and reminded me of the Abells that I used to have, but it wasn’t too much of a bother. It’s a good effort that, in my opinion, could use several refinements and tweaks.

Pros of the Hermit Hill tour whistle
Comes alive at G and above
Solid build
Nice finish
Can be played softly in tune
Flutey sound - not reedy sound of recorder
Has a nice chirp when pushed
Responds well to half holing for accidentals
Sounds relatively in tune with itself - I didn’t bother with a tuner since tuning is severely affected by consistency of blowing stream.


Cons of the Hermit Hill tour whistle
Shy bell D and 1st octave E - favors jumping octave if barely pushed
Hi C and mid C may require different fingerings: c = 0X0XX0 and c’ = 0X0X0X depending on tune
(I came across this with my Thornton Whistle, too)
Sound is overly ‘airy’
Doesn’t have the distinguishing overtones of my favored whistles
Large fipple window seems to not economize air flow
Poor response to alternate fingerings for accidentals
Heavy for a whistle - reminded me of the first time I picked up a Seery flute - heavy for the size.

Pics show comparison to whistles of similar materials and price ranges.
Shown: OZ, Milligan Session, Chieftain Custom, Kerry Songbird, Thornton, Killarney

Blow here... HH, Milligan, Chieftain Custom, OZ

Comfortable? Chieftain Custom, HH, Milligan, OZ

Noisy part - OZ, Milligan, HH, Chieftain Custom

Size Comparison

Bottom end comparison

[plunk111]

The whistle arrived today and I was able to toot it for a little bit. So, here are my first impressions (more later)...

I think this is a real case of "different strokes"! I find a lot to like about it. I love the look. I love the feel - yes, it's heavy for a whistle, but I really like that. It plays pretty well in tune, but I have to push the first octave A and B to get them up to pitch. The "normal" C-nat (OXXOOO) works fine for me, too. I also like the short beak.

Only negative I find is, as mentioned in earlier reviews, a bit (very little, actually) too much breathiness in the lower octave.

More later - taking it to session on Monday.

[plunk111]

OK, the verdict is in - I took the whistle to session tonight...

The only complaint we have (and it is very minor) is that the whistle exhibits a touch too much "airiness", especially in the low octave. Even as-is, we both felt it was a superb whistle. I should mention that one of us (there are three whistle players in our group) didn't want to even play it because he thought the sound was too "pure" - both of the other players (me included) disagree.

Positives:
- It is a really beautiful whistle
- The weight and outside dimensions were perfect. In fact, the other guy liked that it feels a lot like a pipe chanter (he's a piper, too)
- It plays really well in tune - better than most other whistles
- It has a nice, mellow tone that sounds especially nice in the second octave - it "cuts through" really well when surrounded by fiddles, bodhran, box, concertina, and flute
- After playing it for a while, the low end seems to "warm up" and be solid
- We both liked the stubby beak

I think I may buy one of these!

I will get it sent on in the next couple of days...

Pat

[Thomaston]

Is it too late to get in on this tour?

[plunk111]

The tour whistle is back on the road again - it's "Off to California"!

Pat

[Thomaston]

I was able to hop in last minute to this tour. I received it yesterday and it will be back on it's way to Ted either today or tomorrow. I don't have much to say that wasn't already said on the previous page by Steve Bliven. It's a beautifully made whistle, just not my cup of tea tone-wise. I felt like a narrower beak, higher back-pressure, and perhaps a narrower bore would have made this a much more preferable whistle for me.

Thanks again for allowing me to hop in on the tour so late.

[ggunner]

Several participants in the tour have commented on their perception of the Hermit Hill whistle now on tour. Readers of these reviews should be aware that Alex DeWilde produces several different models of whistle in the Hermit Hill line and each model has its own characteristics.

The heavy-duty, thicker tube model that is now on tour is different from the thinner tube standard model in tone, breathiness, back-pressure, etc. Some of the reviewers have commented and made worthwhile suggestions. Many of these suggestions are already inherent in one of Alex's other models.

It should be noted that Alex listens to his customers and modifies his whistles to meet their desired preferences. What began as a line of standard whistles, similar in dimensions to the Busman or MacMaghnuis whistle, has evolved into the following options:

1. Standard, Thin-Walled, Narrow Tube Hardwood Model, much like a Busman or MacMaghnuis in size, weight, playing characteristics, etc.
2. Heavy-Duty, Thick-Walled, Wide Tube Hardwood Model, more like Boisvert, a little breathier and less back-pressure, requires slightly more push in second octave.
3. Delrin Versions of Model #1 and Model #2 above.
4. A Non-Tunable Economy Whistle with Delrin Mouthpiece and Brass Tube, very little breath necessary.
5. A tunable version of the Economy whistle with similar playing characteristics.
6. A tunable all-brass session whistle with very soft breath requirements similar to a Bluebird or the like.

So before you decide that a Hermit Hill whistle isn't your cup of tea, you should consider one of his alternate models or give him a call or drop him an e-mail to discuss your particular needs. Chances are Alex can make you the whistle you desire. He knows one whistle design is not going to please everyone, and he is very accommodating.

[AlexD]

Thanks for the shout out Greg, and thanks for all the input (and pictures) people have offered throughout this tour and to Ted for helping organize this whole tour event.

I'm hoping to get another tour under way before too long that will actually have a full selection of all the different style whistles in the package:
- Economy model set
- Brass session
- Stainless steel session (new)
- Standard model Delrin and wooden
- Heavy model delrin and wooden
- If time permits a new Bb model that I've been working on

It might be a little bit to get this all made up to send out, I'll try and keep everyone in the loop on this.