Syn Lancewood Soprano D Review
(Review written February 2004)
- Preface
- Here's my review of the Lancewood Syn that I had for about 3 weeks. I got the whistle on a Gaelic Crossing "whistle tour". These tours are neat! Some trusting whistle makers will take an example of their work, and send it to someone. That person plays it for a bit, and then sends it on. Eventually, several people (6-10) get a chance to try a whistle they may not have gotten to otherwise. This is a neat way for a new maker or a new whistle line to get introduced to potential buyers.
- At a Glance
- Whistle Reviewed
- Syn Lancewood Soprano D
- Models Available
- soprano D in alloy or various exotic hardwoods with brass fittings
- How Acquired
- whistle tour
- Construction
- Lancewood, with brass fittings. Wooden fipple, brass tuning slide.
- Price at Time of Review (in US Dollars unless otherwise noted)
- $100
- Available From
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Erle Bartlett
- Appearance
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The wooden Syn is a good looking whistle. It doesn't really scream "work of art" like the Thin Weasel or Busman, for some reason. To me, it looks and feels more "blue collar". That's not to detract from the whistle's looks, because there's nothing wrong with it. It just seems like a working whistle, and not a shelf whistle. And to me, that's a good thing.
I'm a big fan of wooden whistles. That said, I've never kept one. I can't say whether I would have kept this one if it was mine (rather than a 3-week tour) but I think the odds are better. Why? It feels less fragile. The wood feels dense and sturdy. And, as I said, it has a "play me every day and put me in your pocket" kind of feel to me. I can't say precicely why. Maybe the walls of the whistle are ever-so-slightly thicker than the Thin Weasel. Who knows...it's just my impression anyway.
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Here's an overall view of the whistle. As you can see, it's got a nicely-finished look to it. The head is tulip-shaped--not quite like a recorder. Some people have a stick in their rear about non-straight whistle heads. Me, I don't mind..and I think the tulip-shape perhaps gives some stability to the whistle. I like the sound of this one, and I say use what works. The Lon Dubh is being used to win a lot of whistle competitions lately in Ireland, and it too has a tulip-shaped head. Good company if you ask me.
Here's a close-up of the whistle finish. As can be seen, lancewood has a tight grain pattern with minute color variations. The finish of the whistle is impeccable. I noted no nicks dings, or manufacturing imperfections. You can kind of see it here, but not all of the holes on this whistle are perfectly round. A couple of them are slightly oblong. This to me says the maker took the time and care to voice and tune the whistle as he went. A good thing.
Here's a shot of the top half of the whistle. The head and tuning slide and labium ramp are detailed here. As I mentioned before, the whistle has a tulip-shaped head, which fits comfortably in the mouth. The labium ramp seems neither over-long or short, and is smooth and well-formed. Some people have major issues with the look of the pin on the mouthpiece that holds the fipple in place. When I mentioned that to my wife, she just rolled her eyes. My sentiments exactly. I've shown the whistle to a number of people, and not one of them mentioned the pin.
- Playing Characteristics
- This whistle is woodsy with almost no chiff. On the videos below, you can hear just about every note the whistle makes from low D to high B. I couldn't hear it as I played it, but the tone sounds a little thin in the 2nd octave. I don't know if this is due to the limitations of the digital camera, or a real effect. The whistle tends to squeak a bit when hitting high D XXX XXX (as opposed to OXX XXX) in a fast run. This would be mitigated somewhat by practice, and is in line with what I've come to expect from other wooden whistles. Note: The videos of this whistle were made in 2004. At the time, my digital camera would only do 15 secods of video at a time. My how times have changed!
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Video clips of the whistle:
Kesh Jig (recorded 2004)
Blarney Pilgrim (recorded 2004)Volume: This whistle plays medium-loud. I think it's louder than my Copeland. I don't think it's as loud as the Alba SE. The second octave bit louder than the first, but not extremely so. I don't think this would be as much of a "blend in with the crowd" whistle, unless it was a larger session.
Responsiveness: This whistle is decently responsive. It doesn't feel as crisp and nimble as a Burke Al-Pro. But it doesn't make me feel fat-fingered either. I didn't have any problem playing rolls and crans and the like.
Tuning: Here's where I'd have my biggest complaint. The whistle is in tune, but only with the slide pushed all the way in and by pushing the notes a little bit. This means you can flatten the whistle up, but can't really sharpen it. Other than that, the whistle seems in tune across both octaves. Maybe the air's hotter in Australia, so the whistle's just a bit sharper over here, but it's definitely a problem for me. If I were to get one (which I'm seriously considering) it'd need to have a bit sharper baseline. Since the whistle is well in tune with itself otherwise, I wouldn't expect that to be a problem for Earle.
Other than that, the whistle's breath requirements are consistent across the two-octave range to keep it in tune...no breath acrobatics required (i.e. breathing extra-hard on some notes, and extra soft on others).
C-natural: OXXOOO produces an in-tune C-natural with the expected breath requirements.
Hole size and placement: This whistle has holes are medium-sized. As noted, they aren't all perfectly round, but it's only a minor deviation. I wouldn't expect most people to have problems with hole size or placement.
Air volume requirements: Average. I didn't note that this whistle took any special amount of air to keep playing. I didn't run out of breath especially soon, nor was I able to play for especially long periods between breaths. It's a solid average in this regard.
Air pressure requirements: Medium. The whistle has a small amount of back pressure, and if you're in any way shy, you'll drop from the 2nd ocatve into the first. This is in line with what I expect from a somewhat-loud wooden whistle.
Clogging: This is the first wooden whistle I've ever played that didn't clog all up on me. But then again, I've moved 400 miles away from the coastline, so I can't say that had nothing to do with it. Regardless of the reason, I didn't experience any clogging issues with the whistle. Hooray!
Misc Notes: The tuning slide looks like those on the Thin Weasel or Busman whistles: A brass fitting that slides into the whistle. The "female" joint is also brass, so it's a brass-on-brass slide as best as I could see. I think the female side has cork or something on the Weasel. I don't know about the Busman. In any case, the slide action on this whistle is smooth and easy, but stays put once you get it where you like it. I like it better than either the Busman or Weasel tuning slides, which I found myself pushing closed when playing fast.
- Summary
- Very good whistles, and well worth what Earle charges. In fact, as it's cheaper and feels a little sturdier, I'd probably take it with me to play in public, rather than being afraid to as I was with my Busman and Weasels. I like the breath requirements, look, tone, and tuning slide. The tuning itself is a little bit of a problem..if I got one a wee bit sharper, it'd definitely be a keeper!