Chiff and Fipple Forums

I'm not needing but wanting a new high D whistle and I'm considering a Dixon Pro DX 005. Has anyone any comments about this whistle, good or bad ? Anything appreciated. Thank you.
Mike-S

Never played one but I've used a Dixon DX006, and liked it very much. Certainly a company with good quality control, well designed whistles and good tone. There are a few reviews of it online, including over at McNeela.

Here's a detailed review of it by Stephanie at CutiePie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLu6rdd1gG0

If you play solo and have no need for tuning adjustability, the one-piece DX001 version sounds and plays the same for around $18. Both whistles are of good quality and worth having.

In her review, CP mentions the brass-tipped version. She posted that in July of 2018 but I've not seen them available until now at Hobgoblin https://tinyurl.com/y736zhev

I have not played the DX005 but I have both of its brothers, the DX001 (one piece polymer) and the DX004 (two piece polymer). They are quiet whistles, with relatively weak low notes but a sweet upper octave. The DX001 that I have in particular is a lovely whistle, very nimble and chirpy. Tuning is spot-on as well, as much as a whistle can be. I prefer them to the Dixon Trad whistles that I've tried, which I don't generally seem to get along with.

One thing I'll note while echoing facet's recommendation of the DX001 is that tuning slides are IMO generally overrated on whistles. Yes, they're nice to have, but as long as the whistle is tuned properly in the first place, they are less of a concern than most people make them out to be. After all, concertinas and accordions do just fine without the ability to tune in the moment, don't they? The tuning of the all-plastic Dixons isn't affected by temperature nearly as much as metal whistles. Plus, all whistles are tunable by their nature. I can change the pitch of each note of my one-piece by at least 10-20 cents up and down by varying breath pressure.

But that's a digression. If you're looking for a decent whistle without a ton of volume, the DX005 is a good choice.

I don't have that particular model, but have several other TD whistles, including the one piece, trad brass, & two of the aluminium tunables, in high D.

Both the ABS & the aluminium are more mellow than the trad, but there's not a lot in it the way that I play them, (which is quietly).

I have 2 x DX001 (one old style and one new) and 2 x DX005s (along with a worryingly large number of other whistles).

Personally the DX005 is my favourite of all of my whistles. It has a slight "woodland" tone, with very little chiff, that makes it much nicer to listen to in solos and airs than the shriller metal whistles I have. Unlike most whistles, they're actually made of 2 sections (of different thicknesses) bonded together between F and G, to give good tuning across the range. All 4 of mine were faultless, which is probably a good sign re. the quality control of the maker (or luck).

I agree the sound is very similar to the DX001. There is a very slight difference (01 is slightly less complex and bright, but it's very slight and some may prefer it).
I've not found the tuning slide necessary (if anything I'm more likely to be out of tune because of it than intune as I'm an intermediate), but music is slightly mental as well as aural and I like the finish and extra weight from the brass of the 05 over the 01.
I also like the fact that, because of the slide, you can break it into two sections making it easily pocketable for impromptu playing!

The low notes are slightly quieter than you'd want, but only an issue in a session.

I'm still a new player, but I have a DX-005 and I consider it the baseline whistle of my small collection. I compare all of my other whistles to it. It is pretty easy on air requirements and playing the 2nd octave. Its tone is fairly pure, but not as much as Susatos. I enjoy playing all of my whistles, but I keep coming back to the DX-005 when I am trying to learn something new.

Thanks for all your comments. I took the plunge and ordered one last weekend and it arrived about an hour ago and I can honestly say that it's the most pleasing whistle I have ever played. Mind you I'm only an 80 year old beginner but the sound is better even in higher notes than I can get on my other whistles. I'm like a kid with a new toy !
Mike

Good for you, enjoy your new whistle.

A review comparing the Tony Dixon DX001 with the DX005:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t13abzDrrv0

I can almost hear an Irish Captain screaming "land ho!".
Good tone and volume.