Chiff and Fipple Forums

Okay I'm just trying to consolidate the theme of several threads here, some a little dated.
A number of people seem to feel there's been a significant change in the Dixon Trad. I'm not sure when, prior to 2015 sometime(?), but pretty much to the point that today it's just not the instrument that it once was. And that right now it's basically just trading on its prior reputation.
Now I know we're not talking about a Burke here, but if you have experience with a newer Trad (particularly the high D as that's the one I'm thinking of getting) over the last year or two, what's the bottom line for you as 2018 comes to a close?
Is it worth the little premium bump in price over, say, a Generations or Feadog or Waltons, or not so much anymore? Knowing what you know now and you had to do it over again would you have ordered it?
If yes or no, why?

Is it worth the little premium bump in price over, say, a Generations or Feadog or Waltons, or not so much anymore? Knowing what you know now and you had to do it over again would you have ordered it?

Only you can decide whether or not you like a whistle. Stopping short of an instrument being objectively and irredeemably defective, and even there there would probably no agreement, it's unlikely you'll get any sort of consensus.

Some people seem to like the Dixons and will heartily recommend them, and that probably holds true for most makes discussed here. Some will sing their praises, some won't go near them. Ofcourse you could weigh opinions, based on experience of the person giving their opinion but unless you know someone and their playing well, mostly it's just people on the internet sounding off without you ever knowing if they can even play at all or what they are looking for in a whistle. All I can say is that I bought a few highly rated, and priced, whistles based on near unanimously raving reviews here and it never ended well.

I bought an early Trad when they just came out, out of curiosity. Played five of them before buying one that seemed serviceable. Had it for years but rarely played it. I thought it was serviceable but not likeable as a player. I could play it but didn't really want to. Sold it when someone here asked about early ones and was glad to be rid of it. That's my story and take on them but the next man or woman will come and tell you how they like them, leaving you none the wiser. You'll have to do your own leg-work, sit down with the instrument and make up your own mind, no two ways about it.

My personal feelings about the Dixon Trad range, is that they are a good whistle, in general, but I don't have a lot of whistles to compare against.

Certainly different enough from my Gens, Feadog, & Waltons, especially the mouthpiece, which has a shorter beak, & took a bit of getting used to.

Worth the money? Yes, I think so.

This sort of discussion comes up so regularly that there perhaps should be a sticky that says something to the effect (to parrot Gumby) of, "some will like it, some will hate it and the asker won't really know which of the respondents knows all that much about whistles anyway.

"They only cost about $30–$40 US which is pretty cheap for a musical instrument that isn't a toy. So buy one, new or from the UIE, try it and, if you like it, keep it and if you don't, sell it along. It's only by playing a whistle—and living with it long enough to make an informed decision—that you'll know if it's for you. (And for those just starting out, in a couple of years of playing you'll come back to that whistle you thought was cr@p and discover how good you can now make it sound.)"

That's my rant for the day before Christmas.

Otherwise, happy holidays.

Steve

+1
especially the part about "coming back" to a whistle. When I 1st got my Feadóg "pro" I didn't like it very much. Now I think it sounds pretty good. I got all the "cheapo" whistles (Feadóg, Walton, Generation) and a few Dixons as well. IMO the one-piece plastic version DX001 (which has a slightly different head geometry) sounds the "sweetest" and plays very easily. The nickel trad is too loud for my taste so I hardly play it. The DX204 is excellent but way more expensive. Of the cheapos I like my standard brass Feadóg but they all pale in comparison to my vintage Generation D which I bought for 30 ct at a flea market. Long story short -- I think all the cheap whistles can be played (stay away from the 5€ piece of crap "Thomann" whistle and stuff like that) reasonably well and you can have fun with them. When "upgrading", one could also jump straight to the next price category and get a whistle for about 80-100 bucks. My "best" (for my personal preference) whistle I ever bought is my "Al Jo" from TWZ (German whistle maker, all hand made) for 90€. Easily beats my Killarney when it comes to ease of playing, sound and responsiveness.

Sedi wrote:+1
especially the part about "coming back" to a whistle. When I 1st got my Feadóg "pro" I didn't like it very much. Now I think it sounds pretty good. I got all the "cheapo" whistles (Feadóg, Walton, Generation) and a few Dixons as well. IMO the one-piece plastic version DX001 (which has a slightly different head geometry) sounds the "sweetest" and plays very easily. The nickel trad is too loud for my taste so I hardly play it. The DX204 is excellent but way more expensive. Of the cheapos I like my standard brass Feadóg but they all pale in comparison to my vintage Generation D which I bought for 30 ct at a flea market. Long story short -- I think all the cheap whistles can be played (stay away from the 5€ piece of crap "Thomann" whistle and stuff like that) reasonably well and you can have fun with them. When "upgrading", one could also jump straight to the next price category and get a whistle for about 80-100 bucks. My "best" (for my personal preference) whistle I ever bought is my "Al Jo" from TWZ (German whistle maker, all hand made) for 90€. Easily beats my Killarney when it comes to ease of playing, sound and responsiveness.

Oh geez, thanks, Sedi, I was all set on getting a Killarney in a few weeks, to cap off my high D stable, now I have to go check out the TWZs. LOL

They are quite nice and I love the material. I have all three standard models they offer (they also have a 3-piece pocket version of one of their models). The "pure brass", "Al Jo" and "XL1". The XL1 is their "session" model. Bit too loud for my taste. The "Al Jo" is the perfect middle ground and I love the material (nickel silver -- same as a normal boehm flute). The brass version leaves a bitter taste in my mouth as does the Killarney to some degree, however there is not much brass touching the lips on the Kilarney.
They offer free worldwide shipping: https://www.tinwhistle.de/tin-whistles/ ... -al-jo.php

Sedi wrote:They are quite nice and I love the material. I have all three standard models they offer (they also have a 3-piece pocket version of one of their models). The "pure brass", "Al Jo" and "XL1". The XL1 is their "session" model. Bit too loud for my taste. The "Al Jo" is the perfect middle ground and I love the material (nickel silver -- same as a normal boehm flute). The brass version leaves a bitter taste in my mouth as does the Killarney to some degree, however there is not much brass touching the lips on the Kilarney.
They offer free worldwide shipping: https://www.tinwhistle.de/tin-whistles/ ... -al-jo.php

It's hard for me to tell through videos between the two. So in what way do you feel it beats the sound of the Killarny? Is the Al Jo lesss chiffy and is it louder to any meaningful degree.

It has less breath pressure, more "oomph" on the lowest notes, feels more agile and responsive, reacts faster to ornamentation while still retaining a very traditional sound. Sound is very similar between the two. The "Al Jo" is a bit sweeter in the 2nd octave. But - the differences are not huge. If I play them right after one another the TWZ does feel like an upgrade however. I think the main differences result from reduced backpressure and a larger bore. While I'm at it - Chuck Tilbury also makes an excellent whistle with outstanding tuning and sound. I do have some issues with clogging however. Apart from that it's brilliant. But it needs some warming up.