I’ve been eying the Killarney D Nickel whistle hoping to find one used for about $50-$60, but nothing has turned up. Almost tempted to buy one new. But before I decide on doing that, I figured I better check all whistle options in that price range. I know theres the Cheiftan Mezzo D whistle. Which is a nice one, but I like the brighter sound of the Killarney. Anyone know of any other whistles in that price range that I could check on?
You may want to think through first the type of whistle that suits you best, taking into account what music you play, the style you’re aiming for, playing characteristics of the instrument and make a decision based on that. The Killarney and the Chieftain are hardly interchangeable choices, except when any old whistle would do.
Thats why I am leaning more towards the Killarney so far
I would check out Shearwater as well. My Shearwater collection goes from high D to alto A. They suit me well.
The Shearwater whistle definitely looks and sounds nice. I cant decide which sounds better, the standard high D, or the wide bore D.
Unless you’ve got compelling reasons to choose wide bore, I’d go standard. With any maker. Even where you get the full high range with both, upwards cross-register slurs to, say, high G and above will be cleaner. No matter how skilled the maker, it’s ultimately physics.
The Killarney, or a Jerry Freeman modified whistle, should be in your price range.
Of course for under $20 you can find a great-playing Generation, Feadog, Waltons, etc but it might require hunting through a number of whistles till you find a really good one.
You can check out various whistle reviews on CutiePie website for whistles within your budget.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLu6rdd1gG0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JTMLzf0qCA
It is always going to come down to you, the player, and how the whistle sounds as everyone has differing playing styles and purposes. CutiePie will soon review new Killarney whistles after more thorough playing time. Enjoy your whistling.
There also whistle reviews here:
http://tinwhistler.com/Reviews
I’ve seen her videos. All quite good. I have also had the Dixon Pro in mind, but I already have a Dixon Trad, and 2 Susato whistles. So far im really drawn to the Killarney (Nickel D) whistle. It has a very bright and chirp sound to it like a good generation or my Freeman Bluebird (both of which are great, but I kinda want to go a little higher end for my price range for my next whistle). And it sounds like it handles all octaves really well also.
I was a little reluctant to suggest the Dixon, but I have one in ‘C’, & really like it.
https://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/product/soprano-whistle/
Nothing wrong with the Killarney whistles in nickel or brass, I have them all. Here’s an earlier thread about Killarney whistles so see what people think.
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/interesting-killarney-whistles-orlaith-mcauliffe-demo/88924/1
I second Richard’s suggestion of Freeman whistles as well. My Freeman Bb is quite a remarkable whistle. I have all of Freeman whistle from high D to low G. I don’t like going higher than the D on any whistle.
I have read that thread and others on it 
Nothing but high praises from everything ive read about the whistle.
Myself and others here have expressed mixed experiences (like all whistles they vary somewhat) and there was a Killarney-hate thread sometime back!
A thread about fixing octave tuning on a Killarney
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/fixing-octave-tuning-for-a-killarney-whistle/100062/1
My thread about the considerable differences between my two Killarneys
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/killarney-2014-v-2018/99741/1
Very interesting and informative. Thank you.
I’d suggest a whistle by Chuck Tilbury.
Thats another nice whistle! I’ll definitely keep that one in mind as well.
Thank you for the suggestion.
If the 2nd octave of your Killarney was flat, I dont think it would have been wrong of you to call them and let them know about the issue and ask for an exchange. I mean with a sub $50 whistle, I wouldn’t worry so much about it as it would be the luck of the draw (or would the be the un-luck of the draw?). But with a whistle thats closer to $100 or over, I would expect far superior quality control than that of a sub $50 whistle.