How’s the top end on this whistle? Does it get bitingly loud or does it stay kind of airy and pleasant? I kind of gave up on Soprano D whistles a while back, but I’ve recently begun to take an interest in finding one I really like. They’re just so darn portable compared to my lower whistles. A low A is about as low as will fit in my backpack, but a soprano D will fit in my camera bag, but it won’t matter if I can’t stand to play the thing. Is it comparable in volume to a Goldie, or is it softer in the upper reaches?
Haven’t played one of these yet. I have a lower Chieftain. Love it.
In the soprano whistles… A couple that I think have wonderful high end are… The Parks Whistle, the O’Brien, and the Oz Vambrace… All are pleasant through out their range.
I’ve taken my Vambrace well into the third octave, and my four dogs let me live to tell about it! Really great sound.
So, certainly give the Chieftain a good run, but don’t count these others out.
Best of luck in your search.
… Get one of each… They’re small!
but it won’t matter if I can’t stand to play the thing. Is it comparable in volume to a Goldie, or is it softer in the upper reaches?
I think it would be a big mistake if you’re looking to play at the top of the second octave. Not only is it loud, but you’ll struggle with intonation problems and notes above B that might not sound at all without trick fingerings. My Chieftain tuneable high D (second of two identical ones I tried, but now thankfully long-since sold along with the rest of my Chieftain ‘set’) was also tuned closer to Eb than D and didn’t respond nicely at all to being tuned down (which simply introduced a stack of new problems in return for getting some notes down to pitch). Just possible that the non-tuneable model might respond better through not introducing an accidental bore perturbation when tuned down, but I’d steer clear if I were you.
I loved my Chieftain high D for years. It was a great whistle with a strong tone. I used to play in a band with a fiddle player, and the strong tone helped. That being said, the upper notes of the second octave were super loud. I knew two other people at the time with Chieftain high Ds, and they were also louder than the typical whistle. Keep in mind all of these whistles were made around 15 years ago, so the design might have changed.
That being said, I think Chieftain whistles are great, just assume it will be louder than most. While I don’t really play my Chieftain high D these days, I bought/sold many low D whistles before settling on a Chieftain low D that was made around 6 years ago.
If you are interested in portability as well as a pleasant and not harsh upper notes, I will second the O’Brien whistle. I have one of his three piece Rovers in delrin and it is all that and lovely in black and brass.
I second Peter Duggan.
I had a Chieftain high D and sold it to a guy who busks in Spanish train terminals. I have a high D Chieftain custom (pad rosa) that I play for gigs where there is no flute mic.
Phil Hardy made a very nice high D called ‘the Songbird’ that was solid and very playable in the upper octaves, but he’s, sadly, discontinued it. The closest I’ve found to it is the Impepe high D - or maybe a Tilbury high D, but both of those have minor intonation issues.
For playability and intonation, however, the Goldie high D is unsurpassed, in my opinion.
I’ve wondered if there’s something about the McManus wood bodies that’s an improvement on the originals. Based on observation of videos (including Phil’s own) of both types, the pitch the instrument seems happy at (you can find several of the regular high D including at least one of Phil’s where it’s playing true to itself but way sharp) and the apparently better range and intonation at a true D pitch. But it’s some time since I’ve listened to any of these…