My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

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mickey66
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My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

Hi All !
Phil Hardy (a very cool Guy) suggested I do a review of his Optima Low D whistles. First, I'm new to the Low D whistle! Having said that... i own two of them. I have a tune-able and a brand new Optima Fixed Low D. I like both of these whistles! However, there are quirks to these whistles and I don't think they are necessarily bad. I was surprised to find the Fixed Optima(clear smoke head) to be much louder than my tune-able red-top Optima Low D. The Collet/tuning slide dampens the sound at least on mine it does. So, if ya want to play late at night you can without under blowing said whistle.
The Fixed Optima Low D whistle on the other hand is not a quiet whistle at all! However, you can play it quietly. Next, tuning in the 1st octave on both whistles are spot-on(right out of the box in the 60 to 75 degree F range) except C# which is about 5 cents flat on both whistles. Doesn't take much air to blast these whistles to bring C#up to A440.
Ok, people and many of them have said....I got my Optima Fixed Low D and it was 5 to 10 cents flat in the first octave, right? Where do these people live? Cold climate? I live in Arizona and it's 81 degrees F in my apartment! My Optima Fixed plays at A440 in the first octave. My Red-top plays 5 cents sharp at this temp of 81 F! So, I cut a 3" wide piece of paper and rolled it up and stuck it in the end of said whistle! sticks out 1/16th of an inch....A440 all the way up the range! What I have found is this: The tuning slide on my Optima works great to sharpen the notes! To flatten the notes it has a very slight effect hence the rolled up paper! Paper works great and has no effect on tone! So, you live in a cold climate buy the tune-able Optima. You live in a hot climate by the fixed Optima Low D and when the temp hits above 85 F roll up some paper and stick it in the end of said whistle...... Pull out to flatten the notes! Works like a charm!

Colors and sound: Phil Hardy is not a crazy Man! He is correct about the colors on these Optima head-shells having an effect on the tone/sound! My Optima Red-top sounds different from my Clear Smoke fixed Optima whistle. On the videos, I thought, the difference was very slight BUT when I started to play these whistles side by side....A/B them! I was shocked at the difference! Now, I like both and it's good that they have different sound characteristics due to the different colors of the head-shells. Edit/Note: Both the Fixed Optima Low D and The Tune-able Low D have that haunting, hollow, foggy, sound: "The Cosmic Drain Pipe Sound" I call this the Loon Lake Sound and probably only people that will "get it" is Americans.....

2nd Octave playing sharp: My Red-Top was playing 5 cents sharp all the way up the scale/range so, when I stuck the paper in the end that solved the problem in the second Octave! The Optima Fixed Low D plays about 3 cents sharp up the range(2nd octave) so at this time.... I won't bother with rolled up paper! However, when we get to 115 degrees F! I will be rolling up some paper and sticking that in the end of my whistles! I have many high whistles! They will go sharp too! It's the weather NOT the Build of these whistles, people! I looked up the Temps in England....when my whistles were built the temp was....between 55 degrees F and 65 degrees F! So, whistles get shipped to the rest of the world, right? maybe hotter, maybe colder....whistle goes sharp and or flat!

Would I endorse the Kerry Optima Fixed or Tune-able whistles....absolutely! If, you know how to deal with the quirks of this lovely sounding and playing whistle.... you will have and I'm not kidding or joking! A Entry level Pro grade whistle ! Quirks? yes! BUT, I can't say enough good things about the Kerry Optima Low D whistles! BUY SOME TODAY! I know, Phil Hardy is aiming this line of whistles at beginners,noobs,first timers. and, these whistles are filling a niche in the market place. but, it's a good whistle for all skill levels!
Last edited by mickey66 on Wed Apr 05, 2017 7:59 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Tell us something.: I am a Professional Musician in Phx, Az. Lived in Calif(Hollywood) for about 10 years(1970's) working in the studios and on the road with stars of the day. Started to follow my roots which took me back to the old country and the Irish Tin Whistle. I wound up here on C&F forum!
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

Quote from yesterday on Facebook C&F page." Phil Hardy ~ I am holding the price of the fixed Optima low D at the current price as I think it's a great starter low D for newbies." Phil has changed his mind on ending the 49 pound + postage sale. The sale goes on!

All you have to do is listen to Phil play these whistles! Or, any of the other Great players who have played them on Videos and you will see the whistle is for all skill levels! And I am talking about The Kerry Optima Fixed and The Tune-able Optima Low D Whistles.
Last edited by mickey66 on Wed Apr 05, 2017 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by Gym Kirk »

I live in a hot climate myself. It will be interesting to see how my whistle works in the heat once it arrives. I didn't know that would effect tuning.

Phil has a couple videos about the color and sound. The first one I saw was a promo for the red top. When I first watched it, I figured it was all marketing. Albeit good marketing. The second video was Phil showing the new colors on the new F models. You can definitely hear a difference between certain colors. I was surprised! Youtube compresses sound, so I'm sure the difference in bigger in real life. I'm not convinced the color is effecting the sound. I would be more inclined to believe it's the manufacturing process. If the type of plastic sounded that much different between colors, wouldn't then the Kerry Pro sound astronomically different? Maybe it does in person, but it doesn't sound like a huge difference in his comparrison video. Maybe someone with experience can weigh in. I would also be interested to see how much consistency there is within a given color especially between different runs. Either way, I've NEVER heard of someone complaining about a bad sounding Optima. The variation sounds like a cool thing.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

Gym Kirk,
First, as a Professional Musician(not a Professional Whistle player tho)I have very good ears! I hear a big difference between the hand built Kerry Pro and the mass produced Kerry Optima Whistle. The sound is similar but i do hear the money speaking sound wise! I know for a fact research has shown color can and does effect sound/tone...has to do with viscosity of the plastic(gotta put different chems together to make different colors.i.e.changes viscosity of the plastic). Gym Kirk, when the temps heat up and you're whistle goes sharp try the 3"x 6" length(don't cover hole #6) piece of paper rolled-up. This will flatten the notes and bring whistle down to A440....really does work! PS: ", I've NEVER heard of someone complaining about a bad sounding Optima." You will never hear someone say that, Gym Kirk! They may say it's not my cup of Tea or something to that effect or my taste is different, etc.etc.
Last edited by mickey66 on Wed Apr 05, 2017 2:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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mickey66
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

All alloy whistles have to deal with Temperature changes! Big or small whistles.... heat and cold play a big part in tuning. This is why when, I read the threads on the Optima tour..... I was surprised at a lot of the comments about intonation/tuning! All whistles are different and they were comparing the Optima to their whistles. This would be normal, I would think? That Optima whistle went through many different climate changes, hot/cold and hotter and colder! Not one person tried the paper trick that many,many whistler's know about.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

"how much consistency there is within a given color especially between different runs." Gym Kirk....this is a very interesting point you bring up! I don't know if Phil Hardy will go there with his R&D department? The color thing definitely has my attention with these whistles!
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

A Review from "The Pipers Grip" On The Kerry Optima Fixed Low D Whistle......http://pipersgrip.50webs.com/Optima.html Current Price is 49 pounds + postage from the UK http://www.kerrywhistles.com contact: Phil@kerrywhistles.com Here is a new Video of The Kerry Optima Fixed Low D whistle with some new colors...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caMqEOT9rTY AND https://www.facebook.com/groups/2229480589/
Kerry Optima Low D Colors. Left to Right Black, Red, Silver.Clear Smoke, Turquoise, Opaque Sparkle.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by Mr.Nate »

This is obviously a marketing conspiracy. Garbage.
Whistling in the Rockies!!
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

The Nerve of It All :evil:
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by Tor »

Hmm.. colours affecting sound? I don't even believe the material will affect the sound, all other parameters staying the same. So that sounds like an April 1st to me. Which is fine, but that was then.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

Tor wrote:Hmm.. colours affecting sound? I don't even believe the material will affect the sound, all other parameters staying the same. So that sounds like an April 1st to me. Which is fine, but that was then.
I know its weird but seems to be what's happing.....not an April fool's joke. This has been happing way before that. Look at Phil's Videos!
:boggle:
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by Tor »

In Youtube videos it's hard enough to hear differences to begin with, by that I mean you may hear differences but maybe not the same differences as you would hear if you were in the room with the player. And the sound in a video is affected by small changes in position by the player.
As there's no conceivable physical theory that I know of which would support colour affecting tone, I simply can't accept that as fact. I have no problem accepting that, say, a red whistle can sound differently from a green whistle of the same type, but will that red whistle sound exactly like another red whistle? That's the question that should be asked. Because there are so many other microscopic physical differences which affect tone. It's very very hard to produce two whistles with the exact same sound, even if they're made with exactly the same process. I think colour will be last in the queue to claim tonal differences.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by mickey66 »

Tor wrote:In Youtube videos it's hard enough to hear differences to begin with, by that I mean you may hear differences but maybe not the same differences as you would hear if you were in the room with the player. And the sound in a video is affected by small changes in position by the player.
As there's no conceivable physical theory that I know of which would support colour affecting tone, I simply can't accept that as fact. I have no problem accepting that, say, a red whistle can sound differently from a green whistle of the same type, but will that red whistle sound exactly like another red whistle? That's the question that should be asked. Because there are so many other microscopic physical differences which affect tone. It's very very hard to produce two whistles with the exact same sound, even if they're made with exactly the same process. I think colour will be last in the queue to claim tonal differences.
I basically agree. I once saw an article on color and sound and it had to do with viscosity of different color pigments added to plastic and the difference in sound. I don't remember where I read this tho....It's Phil Hardy's project and I took a risk here just talking about this. It is a strange theory for sure! But, I have two of the same whistles of a different color and they sound different! If you will read my above post with Gym Kirk we talk about the same question that should be delved into....I.E. Phil's R&D department.....do all red whistles sound the same? The smoke sounds different from red.
Last edited by mickey66 on Thu Apr 06, 2017 2:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by RLindner »

I own a tunable Optima with the original black head since 2013.
When I saw Phil's vids about the different colours I was curious and decided to try the red head.

It's true they sound different. The black has a more open sound, which my tutor really likes.
The red is more chiffy (Overton style) with a stronger bell note. It seems better balanced between
the octaves but the sound is also a bit dull.
Both heads were used on the same tube!

But it's not the colour that effects the tone. That's for sure. It's certainly the manufacturing process
that leeds to slightly different geometries. I compared both heads using a precision measurement tool
(slide gauge). There are differences of up to one-tenth of millimeter in the window height and the distance
of the fipple to the blade.
The bevel on the fipple edge of the read head is slightly bigger which explains the stronger bell note.
(BTW the fipple block is a seperate piece which is shifted in the mouthpiece and locked. When I got the red
head it wasn't even locked and I had to push it in).
The window height at the beginning of the mouthpiece of the red head is less.
I finally made one modification on the read head to get the more open and focused tone of the black head,
but to keep some chiff and the stronger bell note as well.
I just sanded the windway (approx. plus one-tenth) at the very beginning of the moutpiece (maybe half the way down to the fipple edge) using extremely fine sanding paper (800er).

So, it's probably all about dimensions.
Last edited by RLindner on Thu Apr 06, 2017 2:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My New Kerrywhistles Optima Fixed Low D Whistle

Post by Tor »

mickey66 wrote:But, I have two of the same whistles of a different color and they sound different!
Yes, but do you have two of each and do the ones with the same colour sound the same? That's the important question. It's not difficult to find whistles sounding different.. all of them do! :)
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