I finally got my Dixon soprano D Duo today (It had been on back-order).
Of course, I immediately locked myself in a room where I could try it out undisturbed. Well, actually, I just took it out and tried it in the living room, thereby disturbing my wife.
Interesting comparison to my others… It’s got many of the same characteristics as my Dixon low-D, very low breath requirements, very quiet in the lower octave, especially the bell note. Very easy to flip into the upper octave, but also very clean and predictable.
Compared to my other soprano D’s: It’s got a more “pure” tone than any of them. It’s got a lower breath requirement than even the Meg, which is lower than the Soodlum, and far lower than the original Clarke. It’s more quiet than any of them in the bell note, but louder than the Clarke in the upper octave. It is also missing the “metallic” sound of the others, which should be expected since it’s not metal. One other interesting difference. The Dixon has closer hole spacing than any of my other soprano-D’s, which explains some of my early fingering problems with it. I’ve got thick fingers, and with all fingers down, four of the six are touching each other slightly. It’s not close enough to cause me any trouble, but it makes it feel different than the others, which took getting used to. Its overall length is the same as the Clarke and Soodlum, and a slight bit longer than the Meg when tuned.
So far, I really like it. Like the Dixon low-D, this will not a be whistle that will hold up to a noisy environment. But, also like the low-D, it’s a wonderful instrument for practice, and playing to a small group.
In regard to the closeness of the finger holes, Tony has recently addressed this by moving the top two holes up slightly, as well as enlarging them to improve the accuracy of the B & C# notes. He’s just shipped a batch of the new ones to The Whistle Shop.
Denny
[ This Message was edited by: DRC on 2002-07-22 01:28 ]
On 2002-07-22 00:50, DRC wrote:
Tony has recently addressed this by moving the top two holes up slightly, as well as enlarging them to improve the accuracy of the B & C# notes. He’s just shipped a batch of the new ones to The Whistle Shop.
Denny
Interesting, really, since that’s where this one just came from. Assuming this is one of the new ones, the previous hole spacing must have been very close indeed.
Since you had to wait for a backorder, I’d guess yours is from the new batch. Is yours the tunable D with brass slide, or non-brass slide? I’ve been in touch with Tony about other matters, and according to one of his replies, he mentioned making this improvement to the tunable Ds with brass slide and didn’t mention anything about the non-brass slide Ds. So I don’t know if he’s doing this to both or just the ones with the brass slide. Be interesting to find out, so I’ll contact him about it when I get a chance.
I have two non-brass slide Ds that I’ve had for a while and the top three holes in particular are indeed spaced very closely together, making the whole scale seem a bit cramped. But I’ve become used to it and they’re among my favorite whistles. It now takes just a slight adjustment when switching from the Dixons to my other whistles and vice-versa.
BTW, Yes Hugh Marsh is actually Hugh L. Marsh, I’ve been going by Lee Marsh since the 60’s when “hey you,” and “You may succeed if …” and “You will get in trouble if…” became a little to narcissitic.
Anyway enough nomenclature, hope the tune helps you …
I received a Soprano D Dixon (with brass slide) from The Whistle Shop a couple of weeks ago. I am absolutely thrilled with it. Of all the whistles I have (Oak, Walton’s Mellow D, Sweettone, Meg, Walton’s LBD, Chieftain, Clarke Original) it is my absolute favourite. It has relativly low breath requirements, plays easily, flips between the octaves with little effort, has a lovely pure sound to it, and it looks great. My only complaint is that the high B is a bit more shrill than I’d like; having said that, it is less shrill than any of my other whistles so I suspect my technique may need some work
My Dixon high D is supposed to arrive today – finally! I’m desperately hoping UPS will arrive before I have to leave for a 1:00 appt. This thread is making me more excited about the whistle than I already was!
On 2002-07-22 01:57, DRC wrote:
Is yours the tunable D with brass slide, or non-brass slide
Ah, no, this is a two-piece without the brass slide. It’s the Duo model, with the additional piccolo head.
The spacing between the top three holes is the same as my Soodlum and closer than the Clarkes, but the lower set of three holes is closer to the top three, and are more closely spaced than any of the others.
After practicing a bit, I’ve gotten used to it, and I’m not having any trouble. For the first couple of hours, though, I kept “missing” the lower holes.
On 2002-07-22 11:33, tkelly wrote:
My Dixon high D is supposed to arrive today – finally! I’m desperately hoping UPS will arrive before I have to leave for a 1:00 appt. > > This thread is making me more excited about the whistle than I already was!
Tery
Let us know how you like it after you’ve played it a while, Tery. I love mine.
My Duo arrived just as I was pulling out of the driveway. I got to my appt a little early, so I pulled it out and played a little. Mmmm good (the whistle, not my playing . Went to my appt, then had to play in the car a bit more before heading home to play some more. I’m having no trouble with the placement of the holes. Don’t know if that’s bc I have small hands or bc of the whistles I’m used to playing.
Switching to the piccolo head was odd, though. I’ve only played something “fluelike” a couple of times in my life, and those must have been a different size. My fingers felt very cramped in that position. And whew, it seems to require a lot of air that way. I think that will take some work.
So far, I think I’m going to like the Dixon a lot for jigs and other faster tunes, but prefer the Hoover for airs.
…Tony has recently addressed this by moving the top two holes up slightly, as well as enlarging them to improve the accuracy of the B & C# notes…
Hey, thanks! I like my Dixon High D so much I was trying to find a good reason for ordering another one! “But Dear, I really need another one 'cause this one’s IMPROVED!”
Tony is definitely making some quality, affordable instruments and I’m happy to see more players discovering them. I love my tunable Dixons, and one in particular that’s a bit louder and clearer than the other so it’s my main session whistle in a group of 12-15 musicians. It’s a fairly loud whistle. I also use it with a bluegrass band and it blends in very well with the other instruments. For the money, you can’t beat a Dixon. I’ve played a couple other PVC whistles and the only one I’d spend more money on is a Silkstone, which is a wonderful instrument.
Denny
[ This Message was edited by: DRC on 2002-07-22 18:53 ]
Wow, all this praise for the Dixon whistle! Am I the only one who was less than bowled over? I put my tuner to it and found it not very accurate. The bloomin’ Clarke was better. And it has a touch of that recorder-like tone to my ear, especially at the bottom of the low end.
I got the picallo/whistle model without brass tuning slide. If it had cost $10 I’d say it was worth getting, but at $30, no.
I never got the hang of playing the D Duo piccolo head. It was such a dissapointment . . . however, the Dixon is my favorite whistle, non the less. It was the last whistle I bought. It has so many of the qualities that I might say should be in the ideal whistle.
I am curious is any one mastered using the piccolo head. Reply! Reply!
i was thinking of purchasing a dixon low d, but i need something with some volume, because i play with a few other musicians on an informal basis. have you encountered any low d’s that aren’t too expensive that have decent volume?
I can play a few slow notes on a keyless flute. That picallo thing on the Dixon whistle was another matter. Who can concentrate on playing while the thing is screaming in your ear? Also it is very airy, possibly because the embouchure hole is too big. (maybe that’s not why, but is is very airy sounding).
On 2002-07-22 17:51, Whitmores75087 wrote:
Wow, all this praise for the Dixon whistle! Am I the only one who was less than bowled over? I put my tuner to it and found it not very accurate. The bloomin’ Clarke was better.
If you have to check it against a tuner to tell it’s out of tune, surely it’s in tune enough for most ears? (Sorry to pick on you Whitmores!)
The Dixon is what I would consider a mid-priced instrument. 3-4 times the cost of a Generation, but not 20 times the price. Susatos come out about the same price in the UK, presumably due to importing costs. Of the two types, the Susato is very popular for sessions and recording, but I like the Dixon better for playing at home.
For me, part of the charm of the whistle is that it doesn’t have to be 100% accurately in tune; that’s part of the character of the instrument.
I just got my Dixon high D yesterday (from the whistle shop too). So far I’m very impressed. I have largish hands and though my bottom fingers do brush up against each other a bit, it’s not so bad as to affect my playing. My wife (a clarinet player) loves the tone so I suspect that it’ll be my primary practice whistle.
