Is it technically an alto G or a low G?
Anyway, who has a favorite low G whistle? There are several nice plastic ones, one that I’ve seen with the metal bore and plastic head, and several al metal ones. Any preferences?
Although I do have a Gen “high” G, my lower G is brass, made by Mack Hoover. I won it in a charity raffle here a few years back. I brought it to one of my regular meet-ups last week and it received much praise for it’s tone. Of course that was with someone else playing it. 
I believe alto is Italian for high, I could be corrected. There is a high G pitched above the high D whistle so I personally would not call it an alto whistle. Low G does not cause any confusion as far as I am concerned.
Alto used to describe recorders is another matter and that terminology comes from another point of reference - music not usually associated with the Irish whistle. I’ll stop there. Don’t want to cause any treble.
Copeland, O’Riordan, Burke and Schultz Water Weasel. I also make my own low G’s.
If you search there have been a few favorite low G threads in the past.
Feadoggie
Michael Burke Low G Composite (here). Sounds (almost) like wood, takes abuse like plastic.
I have a Hans Bracker G that I love. I recently sold a Thornton G to a fellow Chiffer that I also thought was very nice. Those are the only two low Gs I have experience with.
As for the terminology, I’ve seen a few makers use the term alto for the range from (roughly) F to Bb (between low D and high D). Guido is one example. I remember a discussion on this board about whether “low A” referred (or should refer) to the A just below the Gen range or to bass A, but I think for most people bass means “low low” when it comes to whistles.
I had a Phil Bleazey low G whistle on blackwood that I just this week sold to another member. It has great tone and response, but I hardly ever played it - maybe it’s his favourite G whistle now.
Copeland brass, Overton, and the Thornton that I just got from Seonachan as he mentioned earlier. The Thornton isn’t as beautiful as the other two but it costs quite a bit less and plays well.
I’ve played a Burke and a Susato that were nice players too. Tommy Dion makes a nice PVC alto G too.
And I’m sure Feadoggie makes a nice whistle, he just won’t sell one to me. Yet. 
(hint, hint)
ecohawk
While both of mine (original Bernard Overton + Chieftain V3) have their good points, I can’t say I’m totally happy with either of them and suspect the root cause lies in the bore (same size as the V3 low F). So, being similarly suspicious of low Es built with ‘low D’ bores (tried one in a shop and sent another back to its maker), I’d personally be looking for a slightly smaller bore in another G although the V3 F on the same bore is still one of favourite whistles…
I had a Chieftain gold that has been my favorite among alto G whistles. They’re heavy, and they’re long out of production, and I’ve only played the one example of that particular make that I owned. Colin Goldie also makes an alto G with nice tone.
The “Alto G” range begins at the G below middle C - just as the bell note on an alto G whistle does, hence it is referred to as “alto G” by many makers. (Middle C would be the bell note on what most of us would refer to as a “high C” whistle.)
Can’t agree with your police work there, AM. The low D whistle’s bell note is the D above middle C, and the high C whistle plays from the C above middle C up, like the soprano recorder. You’re an octave out.
Nothing wrong with my “police work” as you called it, just a mistake in writing “high C” instead of “Low C” - although what we refer to as, “Low C”, is actually “tenor C”.
I suppose this is one point, with respect to the original question, which I did not state clearly at all - both “alto G” and “low G” are acceptible and often used interchangeably to mean the same thing, even though technically they don’t. The same is true with the “Low D” - this is actually tenor D - or the term “middle D” is also sometimes used in music.
Well, just for clarity’s sake, the low G whistle’s bell note is the G above middle C, in normal parlance. (Low bass G’s are so rare that I doubt anyone was even thinking of them. Are there even 10 of them worldwide?)
You’re an octave out all along the line. But worry not, mate - it happened to me once too, but - no, no, I can’t talk about it.
Isn’t it likely that we refer to it as a “Low D” because we’re differentiating from the whistle we call a “High D?”
Rob, maker of Carbony whistles, calls it a mezzo G.
Whatever you want to call it, I have one of his, and I like it.
I think that makes good, common sense! And since there is a high G whislte - usually reserved for calling dogs and ridding villages of small rodents - it makes sense to also call the other G whistle a low G.
It’s never made sense to me to call the G whistle below high D an “alto G” since that translates as “high G” which it is not. Why don’t we have sopranino, soprano, contralto, tenor and baritone whistles? Whistles are, unlike some other fipple flutes, available in every diatonic key. The high and low deignation works for me. But then I’m a Merikan with no sense of … well, you know.
The mezzo designation may make more sense in that the low G is a middle range whistle. But middle of what? Maybe middle of high D and low D. And there are those bass G whistles too. So maybe that does make sense. Buy why mezzo and not just a middle G whistle? Or maybe feadog an lar?
Yeah, I’m old and a tad cranky some days. Apologies.
Feadoggie
You forgot the garklien.
I can see using the “bass” or “mezzo” designations when a whistle is available in 3 octaves of the same key but, offhand, I don’t know of a whistlemaker that offers that. And so far as I know, the only key where that would come into play among varied makers is G (with the possible exception being Daniel Bingamon’s interesting creations) …but someone correct me if I’m wrong.
Oh my goodness. Low G it is and let no one else ever ask the question again! My apologies for being utterly ignorant, I really was just looking for some good old fashioned consumer advice. Living in a capitalist society and all, gotta do my part.
Yes, it is… it’s admittedly my only G and in fact my only low whistle … but I’m totally in love with it!
Georg
There! All in favor?
And I thought we might have to form a nomenclature committee.
Feadoggie