,Last Updated November 23 - 2023
Here is a list of some of the various models of Irish whistles and flutes we make. To see what is available for sale now, click above on the store tab. If you would like to request a certain model or a certain key, please use the contact tab above to let us know, and we will try to make one for you as soon as possible. Please note that we specialize, not in standard models, but in unique individual instruments, but these model descriptions can give you some idea of what Nick makes.
Skye Whistle
The Skye whistle is named after the legendary Isle of Skye of the coast of Scotland. It is made from Imitation Ivory (white CPVC) with a copper mouthpiece and acetal (Delrin) for the fipple plug. It is a non-tune-able whistle, but it has been individually hand tuned to concert pitch A440. This whistle is available in all keys from Bass G up to high G. The man-made materials of this whistle keep it in tune no matter what the temperature or weather. It has a lovely Celtic knot emblem in copper color. This is a hand crafted hand tuned Irish whistle made by Nick Metcalf in Texas USA. This whistle has a curved wind-way and has a bright, crisp, and pleasant sound with a touch of chiff. The sound is similar to a wooden whistle.
Iona Whistle
The Iona whistle is named after the legendary Isle of Iona of the coast of Ireland. It is made from Imitation Ivory (white CPVC) with Brass for the mouthpiece and the tuning slide, with acetal (Delrin) for the fipple plug. It is a tune-able whistle, and it has been individually hand tuned to concert pitch A440. This whistle is available in all keys from Bass G up to high G. The man-made materials of this whistle keep it in tune no matter what the temperature or weather. It has a lovely Celtic knot emblem in copper color on the brass tuning slide. This is a hand crafted hand tuned Irish whistle made by Nick Metcalf in Texas USA. This whistle has a curved wind-way and has a bright, crisp, and pleasant sound with a touch of chiff. The sound is similar to a wooden whistle.
Silver Star V2 Whistle
The Silver Star whistle is made from all aluminum construction. It has a slightly more traditional metallic sound. It also has a curved wind-way and is available in all keys from bass G up to high A. This has been a go-to model for many artists and session musicians. It is a tune-able model with a beautiful Celtic knot on the tuning slide. This model is hand crafted and individually hand tuned to concert pitch A440 By Nick Metcalf in Texas USA
Ceol Pro V3 Whistle
The Ceol Pro Models of whistles have been extremely popular, so much so that they have been copied by many other makers and even by mass producers in China, but the copies are nowhere near the quality and craftsmanship of the original. This whistle has an aluminum body with brass for the mouthpiece and tuning slide, and Delrin for the fipple plug. This model has a pure sweet tone and plays easily into the second octave. This whistle is tune-able as well as being individually hand tuned to concert pitch A440. This is a hand crafted Irish whistle made by Nick Metcalf in Texas USA. This whistle is available from Low C to high E.
Polycarbonate Whistle
The Polycarbonate whistle is a very cool model. It is made from clear polycarbonate plastic that is extremely durable, nearly unbreakable. The sound is warm and fairly loud, and resonates quite nicely. Sometimes I make them 100% clear and some times I add interesting paint jobs or etched designs. This is a tune-able model of whistle and it is available from Low C to high E. It is 100% hand crafted and individually hand tuned to concert pitch A440 by Nick Metcalf in Texas USA
Dyed & Stabilized Wooden Whistle
The Dyed and Stabilized wooden whistles are some of the most complicated to make. The stabilization process only works on certain woods and take 3-4 days for each piece of wood. It involved soaking the wood inside of a vacuum chamber in resin which can be dyed various colors. The resin and die fill in all the tiny air pockets in the wood leaving it much heaver harder and more durable. The wood is also much less susceptible to being affected my temperature and humidity like normal wood. When polished up the stabilized wood shows the wood grain beautifully and the wood looks and sounds incredible. These whistles are extremely rare (as far as I know I am the only maker who makes a whole whistle from this wood) and they are usually only made in Low D, Low F, Low G, High Bb, High C, or High D. Like all my whistles they are 100% hand crafted and individually hand tuned.
Wooden Whistle
I make some very nice wooden whistles. I usually use mostly hard woods, and I hand select each piece of wood before construction. I usually keep the wood in a temperature and humidity controlled area for 3 month to over a year to make sure the wood is dry and stable. My wooden whistles are finished with a food grade finish of Walnut oil and Beeswax. Each whistle is different as no two pieces of wood are alike. The wooden whistles are tune-able, and they will benefit from some oil every few months. They are all individually hand tuned to concert pitch 440 These are hand crafted hand tuned wooden Irish whistles made by Nick Metcalf in Texas USA.
Standard Low Whistle
The standard low whistle is easily our best seller because of it's low price and great sound. It is made form a PVC body with a molded plastic mouthpiece. The standard Low Whistle is only available from Low C to Low G. 99% of the ones we sell are in Low D. The standard models are the only models that we make in very large batches, so they aren't individually hand tuned. They are all tested to make sure the tuning and play-ability is good. But I do make a lot of them at once (usually batches of 25-60) They have a surprisingly great sound for what they are made out of, and being that I have sold over 3,000 of these guys, you can find great reviews and some not good reviews out there. I believe anyone who leaves a bad review does not really know how to play the instrument. Some people struggle with the reach and finger spacing of a low whistle. I make these with offset holes to make the reach as easy as possible, but tiny hands will struggle on a low D and below. These whistles are tune-able by gently twisting the mouthpiece.
Standard High Whistle
The standard high Whistle is basically a smaller version of the standard low Whistle. It is available from Bb to high E. 99% of these that we make are in high D. These whistles are also made in batches and each one is carefully tested by me to ensure proper tuning and play-ability. The main difference between this model and the standard low whistle is that the tuning slide has o-rings where the mouthpiece attaches to the body.
Chromatic Low Whistle Head Joint
The Chromatic Low whistle head joint is basically a low Whistle mouthpiece that pairs with a standard Boehm system flute body. This gives you a low whistle with a fully chromatic scale, and also allows you to play the instrument vertically instead of out to the side of your head like a normal flute. The design of this head joint has taken years of study and testing to perfect, as getting the tuning right was very tricky. I try hard to keep these in stock as they are very popular, but they tend to go very fast. As far as I know I am the only maker in the US that sells a whistle head joint, and I an one of only 2 or 3 people in the wold to attempt to make one. The head joint is made from aluminum with Delrin for the fipple plug and I usually do an etched Celtic knot design.
This is a brand new design of low Whistles made specifically for Matteo Sisti who plays whistles and bagpipes for the band Eluveitie. He asked for a whistle that was rugged enough to take on the road and play at outdoor festivals and concerts. I went to the drawing board a designed something completely different than any whistle I have ever made. This whistle has a body of CPVC and a mouthpiece made from Delrin. The walls of the windway and blade are much higher than most other whistles which adds stability to the sound, and makes it less prone to be affected by light wind. I was surprised at how well the new design sounds. It allows you to really lean into the notes giving you much more dynamic range. It has the sound of an aluminum model and the volume, but with the stability of man-made materials meaning it won't be affected by moisture and temperature and needs no warming up, and the windway will basically never clog up. I am very excited to be able to offer this whistle to the public. It has a painted Celtic Knot, and the Signature of Matteo Sisti, as well as beautiful swirled paint designs.
Signature Series Whistles
The signature series whistles are where I get to have a little fun and play around with materials and designs. each one I make is an individual work of playable art like no other instrument on earth. I spend many many hours on the signature models and a lot of special detail into each one. I can't list many of the specifics here as each one I make is completely different. But if you want something that is a very special one of a king hand crafted work of art, then keep and eye out for my signature models.
Skellig Low Whistle
The Skellig Low Whistle is a newer design that I have been working on for a few years. It has taken longer than I hoped to get the design ready to make for sale, but now that I finally have the machines and tools I am beginning production. The mouthpiece on this whistle is made from a solid piece of aluminum, unlike any other whistle. It takes hours of precision machining to make this design. It is a thick walled aluminum whistle with a straight windway to give it more of that traditional aluminum low Whistle sound. The body is tapered on the outside to make the higher holes thinner and the lower holes thicker. This adds balance to the sound so that the high notes aren't way louder than the low notes. This model also has a teflon coating on the inside of the windway to keep moisture from building up in there. You will notice many low whistle player blowing out the windway before and often during playing, but the teflon coating eliminates that issue. This whistle has an internal tuning slide with o-rings, and it has a beautiful celtic knot engraved onto the top of the windway. I set out to make the best low whistle ever made with this design, and I think I may have achieved it. for now this model is only available in Low D, but I hope to make more keys soon.
Key-less Irish Flute
Our Irish flute is our own special design made from our imitation Ivory (CPVC) We have made our own special wedge design to make the tuning of both octave spot on with a flute that doesn't have an internal tapered bore. The sound is full and solid and sounds very much like a wooden Irish flute. It is a tune-able model and has a copper tuning slide (although I plan on updating that in the near future to an internal tuning slide. The embouchure hole is a wide hole making it very easy to get a full solid tone out of the flute.