One of the best whistle review formats I’ve seen was done by Stephen Jones, and I’d like to follow his format in this review.

I’ve played several soprano whistles in the keys of F & G, and have always been less than impressed.... until I played Sandy Jasper’s new Elf Song ‘Sassy Brass’ whistles. Not only are the Sassy Brass whistles beautiful, but they also sound wonderful.

IN BRIEF
Whistles Reviewed: "Sassy Brass" Hi F&G set with one mouthpiece
Models Available: Hi F, F# & G
Construction: Brass body; brass mouthpiece with wood fipple plug; copper tuning slide sleeve.
Finish: Large selection of colors/designs; custom designs negotiated; all mouthpieces and bodies are coated with nontoxic lacquer.
Price at time of review: $75 U.S. for each key (one body/mouthpiece); $105 U.S. for a "combo" set consisting of 2 bodies and 1 mouthpiece; $125 for all 3 keys & one mouthpiece. All prices include shipping, a very nicely made embroidered carrying pouch, and information on cleaning and maintenance.
Available From: West Coast Whistle Co. (Sandy Jasper), Ladysmith, BC. For more information, https://www.angelfire.com/music2/WestCoastWhistleCo/

Bottom Line: Beautifully made, tunable, very responsive, accurate, easy playing whistles with a nice round, pure tone.

APPEARANCE/CONSTRUCTION
Unlike other Elf Song whistles, which are made from copper, the new Sassy Brass line (as the name implies) is made entirely from brass, except for the wood fipple plug. Beautifully unique is what first comes to mind, and it’s obvious much care and workmanship is put into each whistle. It’s always refreshing to see true hand craftsmanship and Sandy’s work is excellent. I’ve been in contact with Sandy about the production process, and after hearing how much time and effort goes into each hand-shaped mouthpiece alone, I’m amazed at the low selling price....which includes shipping! The result is a superior whistle in beauty, sound and playability.

Sandy uses a fairly heavy gauge brass, so one of the first things you’ll notice is the weight, although it’s not objectionable and both whistles are well balanced while playing. The F is noticeably heavier than my Burke AlPro D. One thing for sure...you’re not going to bend or crush these whistles!

The beautifully made mouthpieces are always the same, but the color choices for the bottoms will satisfy everyone from the most traditional to the more progressively minded players. At the time of this review, some fifteen colors/designs are offered, and custom designs can be requested. Purchasers of any Elf Song whistle can also have their mouthpiece custom engraved for only $5.00.

The tuning slide is a brass sleeve attached to the mouthpiece. There are no o-rings used but the fit is tight and works well, allowing easy and quick adjustments. As is normally the case with tunable whistles, the pitch is slightly sharp with the mouthpiece pushed all the way in, requiring slight adjustments to achieve the desired pitch.

PLAYING CHARACTERISTICS
Sound: These whistles are what I’d term sweet, clear and pure with nice body. Chiff lovers had best look elsewhere. I’m impressed with the overall balance of both, and the F in particular is strong throughout its two octave range. I love "pure" sounding whistles and these are among the best I’ve played. Finger hole spacing is comfortable on the F, but as with any G, it gets a bit tight but still very playable. The G just takes some getting used to, especially if you have large hands.
Volume: Both whistles exhibit surprising volume. The F is the stronger of the two, but I use the G in our bluegrass band with no problem, and it mixes well with the other instruments. Both have "cutting" power in the second octave, so can be easily heard in sessions.
Response: Both are very fast and come close to my Generation Eb, the most responsive whistle I’ve played. No complaints here!
C-Natural: An accurate C-natural can be achieved using my favorite OXXOOO fingering on both whistles. OXOOOO is a bit sharp but can be used in fast passages without noticing the slight sharpness.
Tuning: Accuracy is a must for me, and both whistles are extremely accurate and each is in good tune with itself in both octaves. Obviously, Sandy takes great care in fine-tuning each whistle/mouthpiece combination.
Hole Size: Both have large finger holes (particularly the F), providing easy half-holing and expressive playing.
High Notes: The high D and E notes on the F and G whistles respectively are solid and clear. The high D on the F whistle remains stable when covering the bottom three holes, but the high E on the G whistle is affected by covering the bottom hole, noticeably sharpening it and causing it to distort into shrillness. But hey.....no one’s going to be able to stand that high of a note long enough for you put a finger over the bottom hole anyway! My ears are still ringing.
Clogging: I found that the mouthpiece clogs fairly easily, probably due to the small dimensions.
Air Requirements: Average. The excellent mouthpiece design allows for easy playability using a consistent volume of air through both octaves. You don’t have to push much in the second octave unless you want more volume. Requires a bit more air overall than my Burke AlPro D.

IN SUMMARY
Sandy is producing some fine, unique instruments at great prices, and her new Sassy Brass line is certain to draw attention from discerning players who want quality whistles in these keys. I also want to thank Sandy for allowing me to review these beautiful whistles.

Reviewer: Seva

If I ever feel like I need some time to relax and get my mind to some place else, I whistle. There is something unique to act of whistling that is uniquely spirit free-ing. The F and G whistles that you have graciously sent to me are very special. I own many whistles and have given many as gifts. I immediately noticed the quality of these instruments when I received them. First they are strong, heavy, stout and fit my hands quite nicely.

The F and G Sassy Brass whistles have met my whistling friends and they instantly realized that these were superior instruments. A few of my testers are beginners and they had a fine time exploring the easy playability of the Sassy Brass. So far I am pleased with these whistles. I will keep you all at The West Coast Whistle Company updated as to the whistle’s travels.

Reviewer: Jacqui Adams from Scotland

Sandy sent me a G and F body to review for her. On first glance I found these whistles so cosmetically beautiful that I was almost afraid to play them. They are absolutely professional in appearance and would certainly sparkle on a stage. The G is beautifully painted black with gold swirls all around the body and the F body is solid brass. And as if that wasn’t pleasing enough on its own to the eye, the mouthpiece made me do a double take. I can’t start to describe it. It really is ethereal. There is a copper band with the Elfsong logo on it and the words Sassy Brass on it. My nickname had also been engraved on the back which really was the icing on the cake.

However, the best was yet to come. This was the wonderful fipple. The back insert is wood but it has been lacquered so it feels as if your bottom lip is sliding smoothly over something like an ice cream! The first session I took it to, was the other night when I played a tune called The Otter’s Holt. I used the F body and the high notes were crystal clear and with no squeaks. The applause was terrific. I’ve also played for hours with it at home and didn’t have to use a lip salve at all. After the solo the whistle was passed around and admired by all. They are certainly a talking piece when spotted because of their beauty and sound.

Sound. I’ve found that a lot of higher whistles can sound squeaky and harsh. I didn’t find this with these whistles. I began playing with the G and fell in love with its sound but it didn’t quite have the purity that the F did. Once I had switched over to the F I just couldn’t put it down. I found it had a strong pure tone with a lovely richness even on the high notes. There were no mice hiding in these whistles. Even with my left arm in a plaster cast I was able to change the bodies, tune them easily and even play them. The distance between the holes is good but somebody with large fingers would have difficulty. This would be a great whistle for a child to learn on as it is so easy to play. I didn’t find I had to blow hard to produce a clear note, which surprised me as it is a pure brass whistle. Others I have tried have made me see stars!

Problems. Nothing major. It was a question of getting used to a different whistle and possibly blowing it through more often. I did seem to clog it up but I tend to do that with my other D whistle anyway. I also had to make sure the whistle was warmed up enough before playing as temperature does affect the way it performs. To me I feel personally that the F whistle performed better on the very high notes.

And Finally. Sassy is the correct word for it. For a little whistle it has a mighty sound. I can imagine it echoing through the Scottish Glens and Hills. I’ve really enjoyed reviewing these whistles and Sandy and Steve have gone out of their way to advise and help. I play with others in a Folk Group and we play varied music. I tend to change my whistles to match certain types of music and these fit in well. One other good test of any of the whistles I own is whether my pets run away. They obviously liked these as they stayed to listen! Many thanks to Sandy and Steve for giving me the chance to review these whistles.

Reviewer: Sandra Bykowski

The first thing that strikes you when you take the Elf Song whistles out of the little red drawstring velvet bag is how pretty they are. In the F-G set that I received, one was a shiny solid brass, the other a stunning black and gold marble. I can imagine how beautiful the copper whistles are that they make. Their web page shows an incredible variety of colors and designs—enough to make a WhOA inflicted musician suffer a major relapse!

The next thing to strike you as you take them out of the bag is how substantial they are. For such tiny instruments, they are remarkably heavy. This weight is helpful, as most high F’s and G’s are so light that I always fear that they will fly out of my hands—not a worry here. (I wonder, though, if the weight would pose the opposite problem on the larger whistles—if a D, for instance, would be so heavy that one’s hands would tire too quickly...)

The mouthpiece has a wooden fipple with a heavy, non-toxic coating. The coating gives the fipple the same smooth feel and sound that a delrin or metal fipple would give—I personally find that wooden fipples require more air and are far more breathy—these whistles are only faintly breathy and do not require much air (then again, one would not expect to blow very hard on a 6-inch whistle—it may be harder on a D whistle or lower).

The whistles come as a set with a shared mouthpiece (I like buying whistles in sets like this—getting 2 whistles for one price is a nice economic feature). Switching the mouthpiece from one to the other is easy—they come apart with little effort, and the pieces fit snugly. I’ve struggled with interchangeable mouthpieces, and some can be very awkward and stubborn—particularly if you’re on stage, and need to switch keys quickly before the next tune—you want your whistle to cooperate! But these are pretty cooperative.

Being so tiny, the fingering is very very tight. I have very small hands and thin fingers, so I found this not to hinder my playing (low D’s however, are a challenge). Yet someone with medium to large hands would have difficulty.

The C-natural fingering (actually an F-natural on the G whistle, and an Eb on the F) is best played with an OXXXOX fingering, but Sandy Jasper had offered to modify the whistle so that the OXXOOO fingering could be used. I opted not to take her up on it, but it was nice to know that the maker is aware of it (and willing to "fix" it) and that the option is available.

The sound is clear and pure. Only a tiny bit of chiff, in the higher octaves, but not a lot. The shift from low to high octaves is easy, and seems to stay in tune. The high octave comes out as a bit shrill—but it’s the range of the scale the whistle is playing in, not necessarily the whistle itself. We’re talking dog-calling range here. Even at that range, though, once you’re ears adjust, it’s not too squeaky or screechy or painful. Although it is loud. I haven’t yet had an opportunity to play them in public yet, but they seem like they’d hold their own very well in a session or ensemble playing. The response is generally good, although on a really fast tune, the tight fingering and weight of the instrument causes me to skip some notes—but I suppose it’s a question of getting accustomed to the feel of the individual instrument.

Overall, these are impressive, well-made little instruments. Sandy Jasper, like many of the fine whistle craftsmen out there (Glenn Schultz, Michael Burke, and Mack Hoover come to mind), is generous, personable, stands by her product, and is eager to work personally with her customers until they get exactly what they want and are satisfied. Elf Song is an up-and-coming maker to watch for.