At what point did the Dixon Trad head design change?
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 12:56 am
I've been curious about when exactly Dixon changed to the current type of heads they use on their "trad" line of whistles.
The reason I ask this question, is because quite some time ago (maybe two years or so?) I bought a dixon trad from a forum member, and it is terrific. I think it plays and sounds just as nicely as sindts, burkes, copelands, etc, and I probably play it more than any other D whistle I own. It does have a bit of bluetac in the cavity under the windway (which I've never tampered with), and I'm not sure how much of an impact this has on tone or playability, but the whistle is fantastic.
Because of this, about a year after getting that whistle, I ordered a new dixon trad Eb. It was like a completely different whistle, and more similar to feadog type whistles. Then, not long ago, I got another D dixon trad, and it is exactly like the aforementioned Eb, and nothing at all resembling the magical Dixon trad mentioned at the beginning of this post.
The old Dixon Trad has a very sweet, pure, and angelic upper octave, and a very round and warm lower octave that is nice and full. The octave transitions are smooth, and it really does play remarkably similarly to a Sindt. The lower octave is a bit more warm and full, albeit slightly less bubbly and chirpy, but otherwise, it is very similar in many ways. However, the "new" ones (again, I have no idea when they began making them like this) are completely different. The new ones have a nasal and somewhat dirty sounding lower octave, and the upper octave is gritty. Really, I think they are basically $45 feadogs. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm not sure why one wouldn't just play a feadog if they wanted that sound.
I'm wanting to know what year they came out with this design change. A few things I noted when comparing the new and old heads, is that the old head had a smaller window, less distance between windway exit and the bottom of the ramp, and a shorter ramp. I'd like to determine what year they downgraded their whistles, so I can hopefully track down one that was made before this time period, as I'm interested in acquiring another one like my first one. (and, if anyone has one of the older ones they no longer want, I would of course be interested!).
Has anyone else here played dixons from different time periods, and also noticed this very drastic difference? Was this done to allow for quicker mass production, or were they going for a more "trad" sound, to the extent that they made them sound and play exactly like 10 dollar whistles? I'm completely baffled as to why they would tamper with a successful design.
The reason I ask this question, is because quite some time ago (maybe two years or so?) I bought a dixon trad from a forum member, and it is terrific. I think it plays and sounds just as nicely as sindts, burkes, copelands, etc, and I probably play it more than any other D whistle I own. It does have a bit of bluetac in the cavity under the windway (which I've never tampered with), and I'm not sure how much of an impact this has on tone or playability, but the whistle is fantastic.
Because of this, about a year after getting that whistle, I ordered a new dixon trad Eb. It was like a completely different whistle, and more similar to feadog type whistles. Then, not long ago, I got another D dixon trad, and it is exactly like the aforementioned Eb, and nothing at all resembling the magical Dixon trad mentioned at the beginning of this post.
The old Dixon Trad has a very sweet, pure, and angelic upper octave, and a very round and warm lower octave that is nice and full. The octave transitions are smooth, and it really does play remarkably similarly to a Sindt. The lower octave is a bit more warm and full, albeit slightly less bubbly and chirpy, but otherwise, it is very similar in many ways. However, the "new" ones (again, I have no idea when they began making them like this) are completely different. The new ones have a nasal and somewhat dirty sounding lower octave, and the upper octave is gritty. Really, I think they are basically $45 feadogs. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm not sure why one wouldn't just play a feadog if they wanted that sound.
I'm wanting to know what year they came out with this design change. A few things I noted when comparing the new and old heads, is that the old head had a smaller window, less distance between windway exit and the bottom of the ramp, and a shorter ramp. I'd like to determine what year they downgraded their whistles, so I can hopefully track down one that was made before this time period, as I'm interested in acquiring another one like my first one. (and, if anyone has one of the older ones they no longer want, I would of course be interested!).
Has anyone else here played dixons from different time periods, and also noticed this very drastic difference? Was this done to allow for quicker mass production, or were they going for a more "trad" sound, to the extent that they made them sound and play exactly like 10 dollar whistles? I'm completely baffled as to why they would tamper with a successful design.