the Goldfinch whistles are crated in Poland, made from a cream colored PVC with a black fipple plug.   I have high D, C, Bb, G and a low C.   They are tunable and have good tone.  I suspect you'd be pleased with them.  

Goldfinch- not familiar with those. Are they white PVC like what I see when googling them?  What key is yours in?  They look very pretty in that cream color.

My Bruke aluminum D is mt best whistle.  Even having this high end whistle I mostly play my Becker PVC or Goldfinch, also PVC.  

I do like my Jerry Freeman tweaked Blackbird whistles. Mine are silver in color and are I believe nickel metal body, with plastic heads. They sound very sweet and are easy to play.

If you are considering getting a whistle made of a material other than brass or tin (plastic, aluminum, polymer, wood, etc), then be sure to do some searches within Youtube to get a preview of players playing these types of whistles before you order one. There are lots of great videos there comparing various whistles in different materials and brands.  Though not quite as good or as accurate as playing them all in person, it's still a great (and free!) way to listen before you buy. It'll get you a little closer to narrowing down your preferences.  It's how I wound up getting the whistles that have become my favorites.

I don't know where you live, but if you could visit an Irish session you could see and hear different whistles. You might also attend a dulcimer festival in your area. A lot of dulcimer folks also like whistles. Let's hear it for diatonic instruments.

I have several, Generation, Faedog, Tony Dixon, Waltons, Clarke, (told you you can't just have one).

Of these, my prefered high 'D' is a Tony Dixon tunable aluminium, but their cheaper one piece ABS comes a  close second.

Keith: If I post in this thread my whistle aquisition won't look so bad.

So you think you're fooling us?

If I post in this thread my whistle aquisition won't look so bad.

I really wasn't intending to buy any more, although I would have liked another low 'F'.....

Guess what - an MK Kelpie low 'F' just came up for sale - now these are the bees knees when it comes to whistles - so I just had to add it to my collection.

It was priced at two thirds list price, is one year old, & has been hardly played, by someone who has a low 'D' Kelpie, which s/he prefers to play in their limited available playing time.

Yes, I think I like the aluminium whistles the most , there is just something in their tone .

Make that four aluminium whistles, a Chieftain Thunderbird in 'A' has just joined my collection.

My second aluminium whistle came today, & I'm getting used to their sound a bit more now, & beginning to really like them.

So far, a Dixon Duo in 'C', & my Dixon in 'A'.

(Plus, I'm awaiting my Shearwater in low 'F').

That way works fine, thanks, Norman, & I also find that covering up half of the aperture with electrical tape works well too.

Thanks for the photo of doing it that way, Norman, I'll give that a go.

Keith, this works for me to make a whistle quieter. I use kneaded eraser.

IMG_20181221_1235441_rewind.jpg  •  542KB

No, no luck with Dixons, they replaced it with the aluminium model some time ago.

(I just thought it might have made a good/quieter practice 'A' whistle - not to worry.)

Have emailed - will wait & see what they say.

Well he did them previously, since I got one online a year ago.  Maybe he would make you one if you contacted him via his website? He probably has heads for it already and would just need to make the tube in the right length/holes.

https://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/contact/

I haven't actually looked for an ABS in 'A' - just thought that I would likely be tempted to acquire one, if there was one available, but I don't think Tony Dixon does one in 'A', there isn't any on his website.

(There is a very nice aluminium 'duo' - I could be tempted to get one of those in 'C' - just for the times that I don't have the energy to hold up an 'A' whistle.)

I have one in A, Keith.. though I maybe wouldn't call it 'little'.  ;)

It's a two piece tune-able black plastic, with the little 'ivory' plastic end ring on the tube. So he must make them... are you having trouble finding one for sale online?

Those little ABS Dixons are nice - if they made one in 'A', I'd likely buy it too.

Yes that's correct. My whistles are all high D except for one which is an Eb Generation.

Chris, is that one a high D whistle, I'm assuming?

My favourite whistle at the moment is a Tony Dixon DX001 black abs plastic whistle.

I have 9 whistles 2 of them i never play, 3 of them I play now and then and the last four are nearly all my favourites, but the DX001 always ends up the winner.

I could be changing my mind........my new aluminium whistle is a very nice whistle.

I like various ones but my current favorite material would have to be black polymer (ABS I guess they also call it).  It has a mellowness that reminds me of wood whistles (which are too pricey for my budget)

Being a newbie, I'm still searching for my favourite, but presently, it's brass.

I have brass & nickel Generations, a brass Feadog, an aluminium Waltons, brass Dixons, & an ABS Dixon.

(Soon I'll have an aluminium Dixon to try out too.)

So, what is your best/preferred whistle made of?