Premium Clarke Tinwhistle-Key of C

Its very comfortable to play on, being keyed in C, so Im able to play music that needs that extra step down from my D whistle. The tone is very warm and sweet, like the make implies. Of all the penny whistles I own, I prefer the sweet tone ones in my posession.

But the sound is very nice when I get it right.

The C tin whistle is 3cm longer than the D whistle, but requires only about 1cm more of finger span to reach the holes, or 12cm for both hands to cover. The finger holes and windcutter are larger on the C tin whistle, so the C tin whistle requires a slightly larger volume of air (or a faster stream of air) to sustain a note than an equivalent note on the D whistle. Otherwise the two use an identical design.The size difference should not prevent most anyone capable of playing the D whistle from using the C, but for beginners the D whistle would likely be easier to learn on, due to the lower volume of air required to play it.

With a small tweak to the embouchure, the sound became quite nice and plays beautifully, but I'm knocking one star off because I had to adjust it to get a sound out of it. The metal that bends down into it needs to be bent up about 0.5 mm on both the C and D Clarke whistles I purchased. Yours might be perfect, might need to go the other way, but after the fix, it is really fun little instrument.

At first glance, I thought it would be made indecently due to the price, and the simplicity of the design. But boy, was I wrong. For the price you pay, this flute can really put out some good tunes. The instrument in general is easily to learn, but hard to master. I'm not about to say you should consider joining an orchestra with this thing, but for around the house, and casual playing for friends and family use, it's a wonderful buy! I'd definitely recommend this product for anyone looking into beginning to play the tinwhistle.

This is a fairly typical Clarke whistle, in that it has a a bit more of a breathy tone (associated with the wood in the mouth piece). I tend to like this rather than the somewhat harsh sound of all metal/plastic whistles. However, this particular whistle I received has some trouble in the upper register and really loses its tone to almost completely air sounding. Not a fan of that, but if I keep things a bit lower I don't have to worry.

I like to have different sounds, and I use the Clarke when I want a traditional, airy, throaty tone. This does take a lot of air to support the tone, and I do like my Sweetone and Feadog Pro better, but this is my No. 3 whistle.

This whistle is just as advertised, but I would not use it for actual playing in ensemble. The tone is very airy and the block of wood at the mouthpiece makes it hard to hold and control the instrument. Maybe not bad for beginners or kids, but not what I was expecting. It is not a bad instrument, but it is not what I needed for the Celtic music I am working with.