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Wooden whistles from Thornton Whistles

I am now based in Dublin, Ireland
So all prices are now in Euros.

E flat and D whistles are 265,
C whistles are 280.



 

tommmymartin@gmail.com
(yes, 3 m's in a row)

 Double click on the large photo for full size photos

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I spent some years designing this instrument and I have came up with a whistle that has a tapered bore (in the style of Clarke, Victorian flagolets and late medieval recorders/piffero, etc.

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So the result is a D whistle with a nice bit more volume and body than my other brass bodied whistle. Although it is a little louder the tone from the wooden body results in a nice mellow tone.

The internal taper means that there is a better balance of volume between the 2 octaves so the high notes aren't piercing and the 2nd octave doesn't take a huge amount of extra air.

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In saying that, this instrument does take a bit more air in general compared to my other brass D whistle.

Materials

Typically the bodies of each instrument are made from African Blackwood

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I also use various types of Rosewoods, lignum Vitae and Katalox.

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Now and again I'll use lighter coloured woods such as Turkish Boxwood and Mountain Mahogany with imitation ivory (which is a white plastic with a subtle grain to impersonate antique ivory) and brass rings to secure and decorate the wooden body of the whistle. 

These materials will not always be available so you'll usually see these instruments in the "Available now" section of this site.

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Boxwood and mountain mahogany whistles can vary in price.

These instruments are quickly becoming popular so please drop me a line at the email address below to check for expected delivery times.

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My production has been on pause for a while but if you are interested I can put you on a list an let you know when I have some whistles available.

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No deposit is required for this.

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This is the new brass Thornton Whistle from February 2016.

It has a pinch more volume that the previous model, better balance in volume between octaves and better tuning between octaves as a result.

D models are Euro 135. Eb C and Bb will be available  later in the year.

Please contact me for availability information before you commit to purchase. 

Issac Alderson kindly called into my workshop to play a tune on my whistles!

I was selling re-tuned and improved tone factory made Clare whistles but I'll be switching to the Feadog brand.

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The video explains how I make these adjustments and how the whistles sound before and after.

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The video is a bit older so the new price is Euro 36.50