Clarke 700550 Pennywhistle D-tuning

This very fine whistle arrived very well packaged and on time 2 days ago. I took up the Irish whistle 4 weeks ago and started with the basic brass type which was inexpensive and squawky in sound and it was unbearable for those listening. I kept at it and bought a Clarke Sweetone D whistle and the difference in tone was instantaneous. It's softer in sound and when you go to the next octave it behaves better than the brass whistle I started out with. I learned a few Irish and Scottish tunes and and people were now saying how much better I sounded. This improved my confidence and after seeing a video on YouTube about this Original Clarke Irish Whistle, I thought I'd purchase one. And am I glad I did. I'm now up in the higher octave and getting the notes right. It is a quieter whistle than the Clarke D but that's part of its charm. I switch between whistles for different volumes and tone. And, I even now find myself playing the brass whistle again now that I have improved my fingering and seem to have gained more control overall. Make this your first whistle and fly.....!!!

Bought this for a friend who is just beginning to learn. Quite frankly, I'm astounded that you can get a whistle of this quality for £12. It has a very nice, breathy tone which isn't as 'sharp' sounding as whistles with a plastic mouthpiece, but that comes down to personal preference as the sound/tone you're looking for. There is a slight ridge down the back of the whistle, but I didn't find it distracting or uncomfortable. The only negative is that this whistle isn't tuneable, and while the one I bought was spot on, 'fixed' whistles, especially cheaper ones, can be a touch flat or sharp...but for a practice whistle or for situations where you're not playing with a band or backing track, it's not going to be an issue. Long story short, great whistle, great price, would highly recommend. In short, this is a great beginner to intermediate whistle

The whistle arrived shortly after it was dispatched by amazon, the box was slightly flattened probably by the pressure of other boxes and the fact that is a very weak cardboard. Not a problem at all, since the whistle was in perfect condition. I bought this whistle to replace my Feadog D whistle which i've been playing for the last year. The black paint on the tube makes it extremely more confortable to play than the Feadog, i can play faster songs without messing up now. Also, the shape of the whistle is kinda funny at first but you'll get used to it in a couple of days. I don't mind about the back of the whistle (it is not a tube but a rolled sheet of metal and you can feel the joint) but i have to admit that the mouthpiece is really annoying. A carved piece of wood (the shape of the classic plastic fipple) would have been much much better. The sound is PERFECT. The feadog had a very high volume and terrible sound on the upper octave (this does not happen with both the C and the Bb models), this one is just perfect. Woodish, low and a definitely nice tone overall. Totally skipped the manual, fingering chart and sheet music as i've got plenty experience with tin whistles, so can't rate that :)

Crisp the best class A .great for opening musical ear especially if you play guitar etc. Has a beautiful bass sound to her. She is the only whistle i love to play. The penny whistles has a haunting sound to her if u play. I dont play her for trad i play her for for all tyes of music in the charts. When i play the penny whistle i feeel@ 1 with her sound. Its the best. 1 out of 10 ? I give her a 10😘

I love this whistle, great make and sound, once you got it nail its brilliant. Love the black colour and gold. Make of the whistle is extremely good. Down side is it can get clogged up but that is down to me. Along with the Clarke book its is fantastic. Once you learnt a few tunes you can transfer them to the flute. However as time goes on, that means as you play it, the wood in the top will become wet, as it become more wet it will swell and expand. So what i hear you say, it means the wood will stop the whistle from playing. What this means is if you play for more than 20 minutes, it becomes unplayable and you have to put it down and wait for it dry out. Blowing, warming up, shaking to get rid of the condensation does not work, it just clogs so easily and you will become frustrated. So for a long piece of music the whistle is just not good enough, you will need more than one of this type to practise with may be even three of them which makes t his whistle while on the surface cheap really expensive.

The whistle comes in high quality packaging with a one page guide to the tin whistle. The whistle itself is excellent quality, traditionally made out of enameled tin with a wooden fipple. It''s a conical design which means that it tends to stay in tune and does not take a lot of air pressure to make a melody. It's comfortable to hold and has a breathy pleasant sound. I like it a lot and it's one of my all time favourite whistles.

Simple affordable and will give great pleasure. Gets 2 octaves with ease in tune and easy to play and learn. Get yourself a book of Irish music or folk and enjoy.

The whistle is not black with gold details it is silver...

As advertised. Would buy again.

This review will be in comparing this whistle to: Clarke Celtic, Feadog pro, Feadog, Generation, Sondern whistles. First, The Clarke whistles are tapered, the others I have are not. What I have discovered this means is that in order to get a good sound in lower registers, you have to blow a little harder though the Sondern whistles are very tolerant, the Clarke whistles will make a good tone quality with constant blowing pressure. I believe this has something to do with the tapered design. My straight tube whistles require more air for higher tones. The feel of the whistle is nice. Though it is metal, it is a bit textured so the whistle doesn't slide around so it is easy to keep your fingers in the same position. The whistle isn't nearly as loud as brass or nickel. Not sure if it is the paint, the taper, or because of the piece of wood in the head, but it has a softer woody type sound, so for tunes calling for a softer, rich tone, this is my go-to in the key of D. The wood piece mentioned...one of the things I do not like about this whistle is the feel of the piece of wood against my lip, at first it was rough...after playing it a bit, the wood wore down some (along with my lip at first) The wood does absorb some moisture which helps prevent condensation buildup in the fipple, but it does reach a saturation point where the wood swells a little and then it doesn't play right until you let the wood dry out. The headpiece does not feel good on the lips, but. that piece of wood that is uncomfortable also I think is responsible for several pros. The wood piece is cut at an angle and is directly in line beneath the fipple...having taken physics classes on sound. I know that what this does is it causes the acoustic length of the whistle to match the actual length. What this means...is that when you go from the first to the second octave, there is not a cavity of pressurized air in the hollow whistle head that causes a crazed sound during the transition. So...all that science talk just to say that you do not need to 'tweek' this whistle with a piece of tack to soften the sound, it has a soft sound with nice smooth octave shift out of the box. Recap, when just learning a song I use this whistle because the tapered design will let me hit notes while blowing softly, and it is not overly loud, also the second octave has a softer tone and is not screechy and I think this is because of the wood piece and the paint. Con...I don't like the feel of the headpiece and when the wood gets too moist, it has to be dried before it can be played...takes a good hour or so to reach this point, but you'll know it when it happens.

There is a wooden piece inside which makes it difficult to sanitize or clean

Buen producto

If you want to learn to play a musical instrument that has a unique sound, and is easy to carry, the penny whistle is best for you. The penny whistle from Clarke is of top notch quality -- its Made in England. Go for it!