Choosing a high D

The Ultimate On-Line Whistle Community. If you find one more ultimater, let us know.
Mikethebook
Posts: 1803
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:04 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: May 2022, I'm a second-time beginner to the whistle and low whistle after a three-year gap due to a chest injury brought to an end twelve years of playing. I've started on a high whistle and much is coming back quickly but it will be a while before I can manage a Low D again where my interest really lies. I chiefly love slow airs rather than dance tunes and am a fan of the likes of Davy Spillane, Eoin Duignan, Fred Morrison and Paddy Keenan.
Location: Scotland

Choosing a high D

Post by Mikethebook »

I mainly play Goldie Low Ds but would now like to buy a more expensive High D (brass or alloy) than the Dixon I currently play. I may well end up buying a Goldie but would prefer something a bit quieter—it is mainly for home use. Given I would like a thick-walled whistle with chamfered or rounded holes and a decent amount of back pressure what would be my options. Lofgren, Impempe and Alba come to mind because they are all, I believe, thick walled whistles but do they fulfill my other criteria: rounded holes, medium backpressure and on the quieter side? I'm sure there are other makes too that I'm forgetting. Thoughts appreciated.
User avatar
brewerpaul
Posts: 7300
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: Clifton Park, NY
Contact:

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by brewerpaul »

Talk to Colin. He's very accommodating and might be able to make you a quieter D.
Got wood?
http://www.Busmanwhistles.com
Let me custom make one for you!
Mikethebook
Posts: 1803
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:04 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: May 2022, I'm a second-time beginner to the whistle and low whistle after a three-year gap due to a chest injury brought to an end twelve years of playing. I've started on a high whistle and much is coming back quickly but it will be a while before I can manage a Low D again where my interest really lies. I chiefly love slow airs rather than dance tunes and am a fan of the likes of Davy Spillane, Eoin Duignan, Fred Morrison and Paddy Keenan.
Location: Scotland

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Mikethebook »

Thanks. He is indeed! That had crossed my mind and is still a possibility but since I prefer playing low whistles I thought I'd look for cheaper options and save money for further tenor/alto Goldies.
Stefanremy
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 3:24 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hello, I ' m a fanatic whistler since 3 years and former recorder player. Started on flute very recently and love ITM.

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Stefanremy »

Hi, have you thought about a syn whistle(set). Thick walled alloy, beautifully rounded wholes, not too loud, medium pressure, very beautiful sound round warmer than most whistles and not shrill in the second register. Not too expensive also. I think it firs your description. Don't have lofgren, but I can compare with a lot of different makers, brass alloy etc...

I bought mine at big whistle,

http://www.bigwhistle.co.uk/whistles?manuf=15

I live in Belgium and am a whistle fanatic and don't have any links with the mentioned whistle or shop.
Mikethebook
Posts: 1803
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:04 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: May 2022, I'm a second-time beginner to the whistle and low whistle after a three-year gap due to a chest injury brought to an end twelve years of playing. I've started on a high whistle and much is coming back quickly but it will be a while before I can manage a Low D again where my interest really lies. I chiefly love slow airs rather than dance tunes and am a fan of the likes of Davy Spillane, Eoin Duignan, Fred Morrison and Paddy Keenan.
Location: Scotland

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Mikethebook »

Hi Stefanremy,

Thanks for your reply. I have actually thought about Syn and they sound a really nice option at a great price but it is what Big Whistle writes about them as being loud that has put me off. You wouldn't agree with that? They say:

Syns are not recommended for beginners but would suit the intermediate player upwards. They take moderately more wind than a conventional mass produced whistle but they reward confident playing with full bodied sound. Ideally suited for pub sessions or playing environments where greater volume is required.

Erle Bartlett himself says: it is loud enough for medium to large sessions

Cheers
Mike
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Peter Duggan »

Mikethebook wrote:Lofgren, Impempe and Alba come to mind because they are all, I believe, thick walled whistles but do they fulfill my other criteria: rounded holes, medium backpressure and on the quieter side?
I had an Alba. Might not be typical of all Albas (?), but I had to blow dizzy hard to bring the second octave up to pitch. The whistle could take it (!) but I couldn't, so I sold it.

I had an Impempe (actually two in quick succession because I returned the first). Think most folk would class this as a medium-loud whistle, but it/they had the opposite problem to the Alba, i.e. needing carefully limited pressure (to the verge of dropping the octave) to bring the second octave down.

The Alba could take (indeed demanded) more pressure than any other whistle I've tried, but neither was for me and I doubt either's what you're looking for either.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
Mikethebook
Posts: 1803
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:04 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: May 2022, I'm a second-time beginner to the whistle and low whistle after a three-year gap due to a chest injury brought to an end twelve years of playing. I've started on a high whistle and much is coming back quickly but it will be a while before I can manage a Low D again where my interest really lies. I chiefly love slow airs rather than dance tunes and am a fan of the likes of Davy Spillane, Eoin Duignan, Fred Morrison and Paddy Keenan.
Location: Scotland

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Mikethebook »

Thanks for your thoughts, Peter. Lofgren may be a possibility but there must also be others out there that I haven't thought of.
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Peter Duggan »

You might consider a Bracker narrow bore. It's not especially quiet... probably comparable to a Killarney up top and a bit firmer at the bottom, but takes more pressure than the Killarney to produce that volume and feels very even over the full two octaves (yes, it can go a lot higher if you want!). But you might also have to wait for answers and/or whistles from Hans at the moment... he's recently fulfilled two long-standing orders (Db and B bodies) for me, but I'm still waiting on two more (F# and G#) and don't want to push him because I know he's not been 100%. That said, I think it would meet your requirements as well as anything unless you really can get Colin to conjure up a quieter 'special' for you.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
Mikethebook
Posts: 1803
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:04 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: May 2022, I'm a second-time beginner to the whistle and low whistle after a three-year gap due to a chest injury brought to an end twelve years of playing. I've started on a high whistle and much is coming back quickly but it will be a while before I can manage a Low D again where my interest really lies. I chiefly love slow airs rather than dance tunes and am a fan of the likes of Davy Spillane, Eoin Duignan, Fred Morrison and Paddy Keenan.
Location: Scotland

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Mikethebook »

That's an interesting possibility, Peter. I'll check out his web-site. I may be wrong but I thought Hans's whistles use thin-walled tubing so I wouldn't get the rounded out feel I like with the holes on a Goldie. But I won't dismiss the idea without checking into it.

I'm not sure how Colin would produce a quieter whistle with the design he has unless he used D# or E tubing to make a narrow bore but I can ask him. Though the low whistle is what I love most, last Saturday I attended a small whistle workshop with Brian Finnegan which has kickstarted more of an interested in the high whistle and I did love the sound of his Goldie. It was just too loud for my own personal taste, I think, though I've never played one myself.
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Peter Duggan »

Not sure what you consider 'thick' or 'thin', but it's a lot thicker than any typical trad type including my nickel-bodied Killarney, which is way thicker than most. I'd say (without fetching calipers from my outside workshop) about 1mm. The hole edges are gently rounded but could take much more in the available thickness.

What Dixon have you got? Because you might consider DX204 (brass) or DX006 (alloy) if you like Dixons. Some folk (including Tony) seem to regard these as loud, but I've always found my DX203s no more than medium and very even at that. But the Bracker narrow bore takes more pressure when these don't take much at all.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
Mikethebook
Posts: 1803
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:04 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: May 2022, I'm a second-time beginner to the whistle and low whistle after a three-year gap due to a chest injury brought to an end twelve years of playing. I've started on a high whistle and much is coming back quickly but it will be a while before I can manage a Low D again where my interest really lies. I chiefly love slow airs rather than dance tunes and am a fan of the likes of Davy Spillane, Eoin Duignan, Fred Morrison and Paddy Keenan.
Location: Scotland

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Mikethebook »

Peter, you do surprise me. 1mm would not be much less than the tubing of a Goldie. I understood the tubing to be much thinner.
The Bracker narrow bore takes more pressure when these don't take much at all.
I'm assuming you're saying it has a decent amount of back pressure. If so, my preconceptions are wrong again. I thought Brackers were relatively free blowing whistles throughout the range.

I'm not especially attached to Dixons, although I like the tapered bore Low D for figuring out tunes at my desk. My high D is the non-tuneable DX001D. But I much prefer something with a little more backpressure. Plus I would assume the tubing on Dixon alloy/brass whistles is much thinner, more like that of traditional whistles. Maybe the Bracker narrow bore would work for me and be quiet enough for my needs.
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Peter Duggan »

Mikethebook wrote:Peter, you do surprise me. 1mm would not be much less than the tubing of a Goldie. I understood the tubing to be much thinner.
Definitely in the region of 1mm.
I'm assuming you're saying it has a decent amount of back pressure. If so, my preconceptions are wrong again. I thought Brackers were relatively free blowing whistles throughout the range.
Depends how you define 'free blowing'. They blow easily, but there's resistance. So not like an oboe, trumpet or super-shallow Overton, but you've got more to blow against than any trad type I can think of. The low D/Eb head takes a little more air than I'd really like, but that's not to say it has no resistance... just a big windway! As soon as you get into the smaller sizes (i.e. low E standard bore and smaller) that problem's gone, and the wee ones will go for ever on a breath as well as give you the resistance for an easily-controlled steady tone.
Plus I would assume the tubing on Dixon alloy/brass whistles is much thinner, more like that of traditional whistles.
No. Can't tell you how thick the walls are on the DX006 I tried, but I remember them as thick. And the heavy brass Dixons have really thick walls... considerably in excess of 1mm. But they blow as lightly as trad types (the newer ones share the Dixon Trad heads) and have a very narrow workable pressure range, which I don't think is what you're looking for at all.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
Adrian W.
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:39 am

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Adrian W. »

I have an Impempe. I suppose the holes are a bit rounded, but there's only so much you can do. I would say medium backpressure. It's medium loud... not too loud, not too quiet. Louder than my Sindts I would say. Pure, clean, sweet sound. I love it; think it's a beautiful whistle, but have never played a Goldie or similar, so can't help there.
In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Mikethebook
Posts: 1803
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:04 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: May 2022, I'm a second-time beginner to the whistle and low whistle after a three-year gap due to a chest injury brought to an end twelve years of playing. I've started on a high whistle and much is coming back quickly but it will be a while before I can manage a Low D again where my interest really lies. I chiefly love slow airs rather than dance tunes and am a fan of the likes of Davy Spillane, Eoin Duignan, Fred Morrison and Paddy Keenan.
Location: Scotland

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by Mikethebook »

Peter, thanks for your thoughts. They have been very helpful. Adrian W I appreciate your input on the Impempe. Right now I'm thinking about either the Bracker or Lofgren (which is Goldie-like but a little quieter I think) but I'm open to other possibilities. Jean Pierre Le Meur is another that comes to mind.
oldfiddler
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 9:08 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8

Re: Choosing a high D

Post by oldfiddler »

I have a JP Le Meur D. I had to wait a while but I like it very much. Walls are about the same thickness as my Goldie with nicely chamfered edges to the holes. An easier 2nd octave than the Goldie so a bit quieter there.
Post Reply