S.Z.B.E Soprano D whistle
(Review written June 2005)
Preface
Ken Matsusaka makes the S.Z.B.E. whistle in Kyoto. I'd run across his website, but very few people seemed to know anything about the whistle. So I asked him if he'd like to send me one to review. Amazingly enough, it took about 3 days to arrive from Japan. I've had local mail take longer! The name of this whistle is a word play. The letters S Z B and E are pronounced SU-ZU-BU-E in Japan. When pronounced, SU-ZU means "tin" in Japanese, and BU-E means "whistle". And so, if you say the letters S.Z.B.E in Japan, you're also saying "tin whistle". Neat!
At a Glance
Whistle Reviewed: S.Z.B.E from Japan
Models Available: Aluminum whistles in C, D, A, G, F and low D, with either aluminum or Delrin mouthpieces. Ken is working on making brass and wood available soon as well.
Construction: Aluminum with Delrin mouthpiece
Price at time of review: $78
Available From: S.Z.B.E Whistle Japan
How Acquired: Product sample from manufacturer
Bottom Line: Nice, well-made predictable whistle with a pleasing, complex sound.
Appearance/Construction
The whistle appears to be made of aluminum with a Delrin mouthpiece. It's a sleek, professional job, free of nicks, burrs and other imperfections. Ken lists the mouthpiece as being made of POM, which I wasn't familiar with. A little web research found that POM is another name for polyoxymethylene, also known as Delrin (the Dupont-trademarked name for acetal). So now you know, POM, Delrin, acetal. It's all pretty much the same stuff when it comes to your whistles.
Here's the full whistle. From here, the whistle looks pretty good. Aluminum and Delrin construction provide a classic silver and black look. The joint for the tuning slide appeared to be a little longer than necessary, but it turns out to be a functional requirement of how the slide is made.
Here's a close-up of the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece has this neat flared geometry, where the part where it joins the whistle are narrow, but it widens above the top of the windway.
Here's another angle on the mouthpiece, showing the fipple area. This kind of reminds me of a Syn whistle.
The S.Z.B.E. tuning slide isn't constructed like most whistles. When I went to tune this whistle up, I grabbed the big joint and went to twist it, and it didn't budge! It turns out that the mouthpiece-end of the whistle is the movable part, sliding into the big tuning joint, which explains that part's size.
A shot at the end of the whistle, showing the last three holes. Like many whistles, the E hole is a little closer to the F# hole than the D hole.
An image of the purple S.Z.B.E. logo.
Playing Characteristics
This whistle has it's own specific tone, which is hard to put into words. You can't say it "sounds like a Generation" or "raspy like one of those old traditional instruments" or (on the other end of the spectrum) "it's pure and sweet". It's none of those things. It's richly complex, with it's own sound. It's not pure, but not scratchy or reedy either, with a little more chiff in the second octave than the first. It really is it's own animal.
The closest thing I can compare it to is a Silkstone alloy whistle, which has very similar characteristics (and is also, none of those things above). And that's a definite plus. It has a similar character to it's tone, while being slightly quieter and easier to play.
Sound clips of the whistle:
Maggie in the Woods
Kesh Jig
Volume: slightly above average. Recording with Audacity puts this a few decibels louder than my Sweetone. It feels even louder than that when I play it, but that's likely due to the strong tonal character of the whistle.
Responsiveness: No complaints. The whistle didn't give me any trouble at all.
Tuning: Plays in tune with the proper breath control, and likes to hang right on the in-tune mark. I played the whistle with my eyes closed, hit a note, opened my eyes, and was right on the green on my tuner. That said, you can push the whistle around with your breath, 15 cents plus or minus. But it's really stable about staying on the in-tune point. Not quite as much as the Burke (which takes work to get off the in-tune mark), but still right on the button.
C-natural: Though each takes different breath requirements, this whistle plays C-natural cleanly and in tune with OXXOOO OXOOOO and OXXXOX. Versatile! Pick your favorite!
Hole size and placement: The holes on this whistle are well rounded, nicely centered, and slightly chamfered so they feel smooth on your fingertips. They're also a bit on the small side, so they shouldn't present a problem for people with narrower fingers. You'd think that'd make half-holing more of a challenge, but I personally did not find that to be the case.
Air volume requirements: Solid average. It takes very nearly the same amount of breath as my Generation D.
Air pressure requirements: Slightly above average (though not near the Silkstone Alloy). The D and E notes require a bit less air than the rest of the whistle, in both octaves. The second octave A and B notes require a good deal of push compared to the rest of the scale.
Clogging: Low. I played this whistle for a half an hour or more before I got my first indication of moisture: The high G note squawked at me. I blew the whistle out, and didn't have any problems for the next twenty minutes or so. I haven't treated it with Duponol yet, but I imagine even that minor clogging will clear up when I do.
Wind Resistance: Low. I expected this to be higher, based upon the louder than average volume and slightly higher breath pressure you put into the whistle. But it turned out not to be the case. The whistle played fine in light breezes, but stronger winds across the windway cut it out. It plays pretty well when facing directly into or away from the wind, though.
Summary
Nice whistle with an interesting character. When I very first played this whistle, I thought to myself "It's like an easy-blowing Silkstone alloy"...after a couple weeks, I still feel the same. It's not as loud as the Silkstone, but it's definitely a little easier to play, and isn't harsh in the 2nd octave like the Silkstones can sometimes be.
