The Freeman Mellow Dog has achieved a devoted worldwide following. Many players consider this whistle, together with the Freeman Blackbird, to be among the best in the world, on par with instruments costing several times the modest price. The Mellow Dog is a wide body whistle with a velvety timbre, towards the sweet/pure end of the spectrum, but a little warmer, slightly more complex and also somewhat louder than the Blackbird. Established players often choose the Mellow Dog when they’re looking for a superb whistle that accommodates a stronger breath or when they’re picking a whistle for session play. Beginning players almost universally choose the Mellow Dog because of its hauntingly beautiful sound coupled with a remarkable ease of handling. Although the Mellow Dog is a tweaked whistle, it is completely different from the mass produced whistle that was transformed to make it. The Mellow Dog whistlehead began on a key of C standard body tube and then was extensively reconfigured to create a new instrument in the key of D. The Mellow Dog tonebody is made from scratch in Freeman's workshop.
D**R
Four out of Five Stars - wish it had achieved that last star
Jerry did a good job tweaking this whistle as it is within 5 cents on every note in the first octave. However, while the second octave is also very close to spot on from a tuner perspective, the tone of the whistle itself, is a bit harsh throughout the entire second octave (except for D). The whistle easy to play and does not require a lot of breath to hold notes steady, and the jump to the second octave takes just enough pressure to not accidentally jump up while playing (like one of my Clarks does very easily on low D and E).I love this whistle for those lower octave tunes as the volume and tone are just great, but when you have to play up in the second octave it leaves you with a bit of the fingernails on chalk board feeling..not high and sweet, but just sort of shrill and loud. Obviously, that's not Jerry's fault since he just tweaked the whistle, didn't make it, but I will keep looking for a whistle that has great tone in both octaves.
S**T
Great choice, glad I bought one.
Nice instrument, much easier to play than a standard Clark.
S**H
I love my Mellow Dog whistle!
I fell in love with Jerry Freeman's whistles at the NEFFA festival two years and bought a Mellow Dog D whistle. The next year I went back for a Blackbird, which has a brighter sound which is great in a session. I love both of them, but the Mellow Dog is where my heart lies. This year I treated myself to a second Mellow Dog as a backup, but my current one is well loved and holds up beautifully. You just can't beat the price and quality, and maybe it's just me, but I prefer the plastic head to the hardness of the metal of more expensive instruments. Jerry is a whistle genius.
Trustpilot
1 week ago
1 month ago
