Low whistle in Eb?

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Evahanna
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Tell us something.: At the moment I seek some advice regarding whistles - at this point, low whistles in particular. I am a musician/songwriter/singer with interest in scottish/irish folk music.

Low whistle in Eb?

Post by Evahanna »

Hello,

So... This is my first post on any forum, really. But I have been looking into buying a low whistle and thought I might seek some advise.

I have been playing the whistle for a little bit over a year and I am by no means a great player, but I feel like I might be ready to try out the low whistle by now.

So here's the thing: I would really like to have an Eb whistle, and I can't seem to find a lot of them out there - I know that the D is the "standard" key, but since I rarely play with others, and find that the Eb suites better with the key I prefer to sing with, I'd rather have one of these.

I'm unsure whether I should just go with a cheaper plastic-whistle to try it out first, or if I should invest in more of a quality instrument since I'm not even sure if I'll be able to play the whistle. Any suggestions? I'd prefer it to be not too loud, and I believe not too much of a hard-blower. Oh - and I don't have the option to try them out. If I'm lucky, the local music store can offer a feadog D if I ask them and it's still not much of a choice (that's what I did with my first whistle, and it's sadly awfully out of tune).

Well, I hope I did this correctly, please accept my apologize otherwise. Thank you!
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by tomcat »

I recommend a low Eb by Tommy Dion. I have a nice low E and Eb he made for me. Mine are made out of black pvc. Tommy's whistles are on the pure-sounding end of the scale. In volume, they are on the softer side of things and are well in-tune. They also blend well with other musicians. But the greatest thing about them is the finger stretch--quite easy on the hands. I consider this a big plus.

They don't have the strong bellowing bell note of a Burke, nor the unique growl of a Reviol. So if your looking for those features, you should look elsewhere. As a side-note, I do miss the Reviol I sold a few years back . . . ah, there's that desire for more, More, MORE kicking back in . . . just breath, slowly breath. Ahhhhh. Back to the Dion's......

I own Dion whistles in the keys of B, A, Ab, E & Eb. Some in wood while others in PVC. All, imho, are well worth their price.

Tommy is super to work with. He lives in South Texas near where hurricane Harvey hit so not sure he's up and running yet....
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ytliek
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by ytliek »

Hello, and welcome to the whistle forum.

I can't help with low whistle recommendations, but, other low whistlers here on the forum can help.

Enjoy your whistling and keep it fun whether high or low.
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BigDavy
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by BigDavy »

Hi Evahanna

It would help if you indicated what in country you live, as this will help us to give appropriate recommendations.

If you live in the UK - Howard low Eb would be a good place to start.


David
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pancelticpiper
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by pancelticpiper »

tomcat wrote:I recommend a low Eb by Tommy Dion.
I just Googled "tommy dion" and got this... wow, and he makes whistles too?

https://www.google.com/search?q=tommy+d ... 80&bih=629

But back to whistles, I don't know about Tommy Dion, and I can only recommend whistles I own/have owned.

If you're interested in a professional-level instrument my recommendations would be Michael Burke and Colin Goldie.
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Goldie Low D whistle
Ketil
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by Ketil »

I talked to Colin Goldie two days ago (regarding a low E) He mentioned that he had a finished low Eb laying around. I believe it was a soft blower. You won't og wrongwith a Goldie, and they are very easy to resell if you decide not to keep playing it.
I recommend you call Colin. Not e-mail.

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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by Tommy »

pancelticpiper wrote:
tomcat wrote:I recommend a low Eb by Tommy Dion.
I just Googled "tommy dion" and got this... wow, and he makes whistles too?
I Googled ''Tommy Dion whistles'' and this came up
https://www.google.com/search?client=sa ... 8&oe=UTF-8
scroll down a bit for some pictures too.
Or try the Chiff & Fipple ''Search'' feature upper right cornor and put in ''Tommy Dion Whistles of Wood''. search.php?keywords=Tommy+Dion+whistles ... mit=Search













.
''Whistles of Wood'', cpvc and brass. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69086
Evahanna
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Tell us something.: At the moment I seek some advice regarding whistles - at this point, low whistles in particular. I am a musician/songwriter/singer with interest in scottish/irish folk music.

Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by Evahanna »

Thanks for all the replies so far. I live in Sweden, perhaps I should have mentioned. I haven't heard of Tommy Dion before, and like the others I didn't get a lot of info through my google searches. Is there any soundfile/video where I might get an idea as to what it sounds like?

I do want a proffesional-sounding instrument, or at least one that's in tune with itself (and tunable).

My favourite whistle at the moment is my Killarney high Eb, don't know if that helps. I also have a generation F, as mentiond before - a feadog D, a Dixon C and a Dixon A.

I have been looking a bit at the Goldie but... Ugh, I don't know! It's so hard, especially since the closest thing I've tried is an alto A. But I don't really want to buy a too cheap instrument to try out. Hope that made some sense, thanks again for helping me out!
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BigDavy
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by BigDavy »

Hi Evahanna

The person selling the Howard whistle will ship internationally at cost. You would be unlikely to get a tunable low Eb at anything like that price.

David
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pancelticpiper
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by pancelticpiper »

Ah, they're wood whistles.

It's wrong to judge any whistle I've not played, and I'm not going to do that.

I will say that I've never played a wood whistle that I liked very much, from several different makers, some of the highest reputation, some costing around $1,000.
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1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
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Re: Low whistle in Eb?

Post by Mae »

Alba Whistles makes an Eb...I've been recently looking into an E and an Eb whistles myself:

http://www.albawhistles.com/whistleshop/index.php?#shop
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