Thoughts on Alexander Karavaev Nightingale Whistles?

[dunnp]

Hi Richard,
I recently came across these whistles in a shop in Inverness.
I was with the kids so didn’t have time to play it extensively.
The low E bore looked big and the windway large.
I thought ‘this isn’t going to be to my liking’.
But it played really well.
The Eb I tried was slightly better but I wouldn’t mind the E at all and I’m not a big low whistle person.
If they end up in a shop in Glasgow I’ll try it again and give you a better idea of the sound and playing.
Sorry it doesn’t help more but I certainly liked it more than I thought just looking at it.
I should say the only low whistle I’ve kept over the years is a 25 year old non tuneable chieftain with a tweaked wind way. I really want to like an MK more to justify buying one but it hasn’t happened yet.
All that said I’d be very happy with Big Davy’s Swayne or Impepe. Both are the best low D’s I’ve tried.
All the best
Pat

[BigDavy]

Hi Pat

Glad you like my Swayne and Impempe. Next time our paths cross, I have a Syn low D for you to try. (and some wooden high ones as well).

David

[pancelticpiper]

Thanks for the review!

I visited a shop in St George's Cross (near the Underground) that had loads of whistles to hand, way back in 2007. I heard that shop closed. Where does one find a good selection of whistles nowadays in Glasgow?

I might be there next year for the Worlds.

About the AK Low Whistles, he uses the same tubing and head from Low C up to the F. Yes it's common for makers to use the same tubing and head for C, D, and Eb but in my opinion E and F are getting questionable.

Burke AFAIK has dedicated tubing and head for every size, which is why each size Burke plays so uniformly.

[Blaydo]

I have four of Alexander's whistles and I'm very happy with all of them. I have Low E/Eb and Bass C, and a high B major. He's great to deal with too. I don't think he keeps much in stock so it was usual to wait for around 3 weeks before they were shipped out from Moscow.

[pancelticpiper]

Do the low E, Eb, and C all use the same tubing size?

How would you characterise how the E plays, especially the ease of the 2nd octave?

Thanks!

[Blaydo]

Do the low E, Eb, and C all use the same tubing size?

How would you characterise how the E plays, especially the ease of the 2nd octave?

Thanks!

Yes, those three all use the same tubing size, I just checked.

I'm not sure how to characterise how it plays. I'm not a professional musician and have not had other Low E's to compare it to. But I found them all very easy to play as soon as I got them, and well in tune on both octaves. I play mostly low whistles and they're not any more difficult on breath requirements than other makes I have like my Dixon low D or Kerrywhistle low F.

[pancelticpiper]

Thanks!

[Blaydo]

I've no idea how to attach an image here, tried the image tag but didn't seem to work. Hopefully you can see them at this link? The other whistle is the Dixon low D

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d5dktryyyhhpb ... istles.jpg

[Tunborough]

I've no idea how to attach an image here, tried the image tag but didn't seem to work. Hopefully you can see them at this link? The other whistle is the Dixon low D

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d5dktryyyhhpb ... istles.jpg

Dropbox isn't very cooperative about this.
This code:

Code: Select all

[img]https://ucbf10be303a8d0cb1bb7499c47d.previews.dropboxusercontent.com/p/thumb/AAj8aEwh8wOapR1cZWbTJ1-3bDkNCh3nmomsVPxsq9pPIYHX8ELGfO9aWeXacsH8yJnn3eZR4sKs3fJlaIn9PBpWvF38A61XHviNwq4cmUu-gf2vmrTAaiBoAzVn9q4FkaLpJBDTC1yo3ZUZawRVtaHdKTyqrpB1hWoHQuX9HdEJHRgp2rldUOT9xqynfpwXxRrTB6sjkInRSzMFqvnmVruBGDgN3G8cPE9V47LbbEC-9ehQ_zCx-mL6RV7SmEaf8nCzRvJ_-h7pMF4cGD2mEE_fwytuqjUq71QOg8g5JpKr_aqHRhGIMcEDJqASV_te5TVRuiqEQzRMSyhdiTNkgTRBeTBO8nLCizw_0VqZP7kWwOh2cM8-j1_sG1UV24b5iH4hZXID5rHJbgEbrwiNc2LA/p.jpeg?fv_content=true&size_mode=2[/img]

Produces this, which hopefully is the desired photo: