I apologize here… I didn’t mean to start world war 3… Just looking for some information between the two low whistles. Negative comments aside that is. I’ve personally played a Chieftain low D, the old style non-tunable and the new-style tunable. And both were great whistles. I could care less if one whistle is hand crafted or made totally by machine. I have Feadogs, and Clarkes, that I sometimes prefer over my Burke. (but not always, so no offense to Burke whistles) If a kindergardener made a great whistle, I’d value it just the same.
-Eric
I don’t think you have anything to apologize for.
I agree.
I also heartily recommend a Reyburn low whistle. But that’s not really pertinent to the requested conversation.
In total I’ve owned 3 Chieftain whistles and 6 Overtons:
Chieftain OS tuneable bass C
Chieftain OS ‘Gold’ brass Bb
Chieftain NR Bb (Sent as replacement for brass Bb specified above)
CSG Overton tuneable low D
CSG Overton alto F
CSG Overton mezzo A
CSG Overton mezzo Bb
CSG Overton modal D/C
Bernard Overton low D
I very much like the sound of both brands, but as I play with other people regularly and I have perfect pitch, intonation is just as important for me as the tonal qualities of an instrument. In this respect I find the Overtons to be far more reliable across the range of the whistle.
Parkwood
I had the privilege to audition at my leisure both the NR tunable low D Chieftain and tunable Low D CG Overton and I fell for both of them. Both had amazing pitch and tone and obvious attention to detail. My fingers, as an entity of themselves preferred the holes of the Chieftain over the Overton and for that reason alone I chose the Chiefy…oh wait I also went with the Chieftain because now Phil’s got low E and Eb bodies to go with the low D head at a really good price so that put me over the edge. From my study of the industry both these manufacturers/artists are impeccable when it comes to quality and will not put their names to anything but the best so my final word is…Chocolate or Vanilla…
WTA
