Hi I need your help and experience in choosing a low whistle.
If I order it soon I’ll be fortunate enough to find it under the tree in a couple months.
My budget is restricted though, and my lack of knowledge and experience with them makes it hard for me to be sure what I should be getting.
A few things you should know though:
• This will be my first Low whistle.
So I need something I can learn on, but I don’t mind taking more time to learn if it means getting a better instrument
• It may be my last Low whistle
These things aren’t exactly cheap (compared to other instruments they’re cheap, but..)
So I’d like something I can safely and happily stick with, without worrying about having to upgrade later
• I’ve been playing the High Whistles (keys Eb through Low A) since early February 2007.
So I’m not using the low whistle as my intro into whistles
I’m currently looking at two different whistles/whistle makers.
Dixon: DX012 - Tuneable Polymer Low D Whistle (http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/catalogue/dixonshop.html)
Found them while looking for a flute and saw the Duo-Head Low Whistle/Flute, thought perhaps I could kill two birds with one stone,
but some research on this forums found many negative comments, and a few lukewarm positive comments on it.
So that doesn’t seem to be an option any more.
(decided against the flute this year, going for Low whistle instead, will practice my Flute Embouchure on a Fife I have around the house in the mean time)
The “DX102 - Tuneable Low Whistle - Aluminium Body” kind of reminds me of a large Generation, the DX012 seems to have a better look
Anyway, I’m looking for a Low whistle with a combination looks, sound, playability, quality and durability.
Oh, and it needs to be tunable, I’ll be playing with others quite often.
My budget is about $100.00 to $150.00 Canadian dollars.
So links to $400.00 and up whistles just won’t work out
I’d appreciate suggestions, links, and information on what experience you have had with these whistles.
I’ve seen the page on this site for Low Whistles, it helped, but the Dixon review is dated and doesn’t mention there being three kinds of low whistles.
No one seems to have reviewed the O’Brien low whistles either.
Thank you for reading this, and taking the time out to help me.
Since you want it to be your first whistle, and in ideal case, the last, I´d go with Overton. Dixon is good, but I think you would want ot switch for another brand. I haven´t played O´brien low whistle, but high whistles are rather good indeed.
On the other hand, I doubt you would find better whistle than Overton - plus it will be custom made, and with lifetime warranty.
I did a quick calculation, low D is around $300 + some shipping. It´s probably a lot, true, but a) it won´t be crafted immediately, so you´ll have some time to make more money b) in my opinion, it´s THE low whistle.
I’m happy with my SZBE low D. I got the type 1. It is in your price range. I had Ken offset the holes to make the reach easier. I play with the right hand on top so the offset is opposite of normal. Check out the sound samples on his web page. http://szbe.net/index_e.htm
Angelo
Try to listen to as many as possible. Clips and soundbites can be found all around the internet. (Until we get a whistle library on youtube or somewhere else)
If you think you’re only going to buy one low d ever, go for the one you like the sound of.
For me it will be Burke Viper and the Sweetheart Resonance (once i manage to actually save enough $ to buy it)
Getting a 300-400$ whistle you know you love the sound of when played right, will make you play it far more than a 100$ whistle you don’t love.
If it’ll be your last, get an Overton. You’ve got a beautiful lifetime whistle with a loud, dark, deep, haunting sound that’s everlasting! I got one secondhand for $120,-.
Other low whistles in your price range include Syn, which has gotten some nice reviews here, and Alba.
I own a Dixon abs low D and have owned and played an aluminum as well. They are very nice whistles, quiet and very sweet, more flute like than whistle sounding. They do demand good breath control on the bottom notes, and while I really like mine, I would not recommend it if it is the only low whistle you will ever buy. I have not tried an O’Brien yet either, but he is on my list!
If you think you can pony up another $50, I would highly recommend a Kerry Songbird low D, I just got a new one and it has become my main low whistle.
I would be wary of buying an Overton used, I’ve found it to be a bit of a crap shoot as Overtons vary widely from whistle to whistle. Certainly nothing would beat ordering a custom whistle from Colin (I intend to do so myself in the hopefully near future), but that is out of your listed price range and it would be hard to know what your personal specifications and preferences are/would be until you have tried other low whistles.
Hope this helps, although I’m sure your just even more indicisive now! Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt (not to mention several low whistles)
On used Overtons; the main variance is the amount of back pressure. Simple solution: ask the buyer how much back pressure it has. Overton is pretty much the gold standard for low whistles. Cheers, Cyril.
It´s not that simple, even the very sound varies. I´ve tried some Overtons in last few months and they were different indeed - all were awesome, but each was different.
I don’t think there is much variation in quality in Overtons, especially Colin Goldie’s. They are all first rate, and in my limited experience the most consistently good handmade whistles out there. I did sit next to a man from Dublin the other day who had an old Chieftain that he claimed to be an “Overton.” So you want to be careful there. Not every aluminum whistle is an Overton.
Bloomfield: Indeed, but since Overtons are custom made, a whistle made for anyone else will be hardly as good as a whistle, made specifically for you.
By the way, with Overtons, they have specific fipple - if anyone looks at website of Chieftains and Overtons, they´ll see the difference. Besides, all newer Overtons are signed.
Hi,
One thing not mentioned here and is of importance to which low whistle you buy is the fact that if I play a tune on, lets say for the sake of example a Dixon, (which you mention you have done some research on) is what sound, tone, ‘bark’ on lower notes, breath needed to play the thing etc you would get as compared to what I or anyone else would get out of it.
I have a two piece ABS plastic Dixon flute in D (the same model that has the interchangable low whistle head) that I bought on a whim while visiting family in Belfast NI three years ago. It is now my session flute, I can drop it, be very unkind to it by just slipping the head joint off and chucking it in my carry bag and the thing just keeps on going.
My friend can get very strong low end notes out of the Dixon, mine tend to be a bit quieter, she can’t play it at session pace where as I have no trouble with the pace. So, two different players on the same instrument with two varying results in what can be achieved.
I also have a friend who has a beautiful very old pratten flute that she can play like a dream, I had a go at it and cannot get even a whisper of a note to come out of it. So there you go, you may hear a low whistle you really like, but will it sound like that when you play it?
I hope I haven’t muddled your decision making any further!
Yes; probably muddied a bit. I play a McGee Rudall Perfected and high and low whistles. That your embrouchure can’t handle an old Pratten has nothing to do with whistles. Flutes are very different from whistles. Granted, no two people can play a whistle or anything with identical results. Cheers, Cyril.
My friend had an overton non tunable low D that I played off and on over several years. It was a hard whistle to play but very rewarding once you get it warmed up and get use to the back pressure. I eventually bought it for 100$ then sold it back to her several months later when I bought my flute.
Even though it was difficult to play I haven’t found a low D that I liked better. The hole size and fingerspacing was similar to a Dixon. If you find a used one for a good price, I wouldn’t worry that your going to get a second rate whistle just because someone decided to sell it. I haven’t played others so I wouldn’t know the differences in backpressure. I would love to play a batch of 5 or 10 and pick the one the suites me, then keep it for the rest of my life. Don’t think I’ll be getting over to Germany any time soon.
Personally I would like to try an O’brien and a new Howard. The holes are pretty big on a Howard and I would need a custom tube with offset holes so I could reach and cover them.
Oops, sorry about the cross referencing with flutes, what I meant to point out really is that what ever low whistle anyone gets it is going to have certain demands on ones ability to play it. I play tin whistle, low whistle (make my own) and flute, and I know that they all have different requirements for each in regards to how to blow them and finger them.
Find out if the whistle you are after needs a lot of air/breath to sound it and if you have the lung capacity for this. I bought a Susato low D years ago because it had good reviews. The price was good, but that was not my first consideration. It is a really loud instrument for sessions but requires constant hard blowing to hold it in the upper register. It also has the annoying habit of dropping from second G down to first G if there is even a hint of the air pressure waivering, believe me I have a light head after playing this thing for too long. Otherwise it is good enough for a beginner if you have the lungs to fill it! A friend of mine has a high D Susato which does not require a lot of air but had the same habit of drop off as the low D when we both played it.
Does the whistle have a big mouthpiece? Remember some of the models out there have fairly substantial mouthpieces and some people do not like huge pieces of metal/plastic stuck in their gobs while trying to play at the same time. Go for comfort.
Position of tone holes or ‘reach’ or ‘stretch’. Have you got long enough fingers or are your hands/fingers supple enough to be able to adapt your grip on the whistle to reach the bottom holes? If reach is going to be a problem (as it is for most folk new to low whistle) maybe an easy stretch model is the way to go.
There are 3 people who have made Overtons: Bernard Overton, Colin Goldie and for a short period Phil Hardy. I guess it’s always possible to have a bad whistle. Overton is NOT known for this though, on the contrary. I had a Chieftain high D once, which I sold because it was just a terrible whistle. Thing with the Overtons is that they are handmade and therefore each whistle is carefully tested. Even the holes are finetuned and retested after being drilled. I’d say: go for Overton! Both Bernard and Colin still make them.
I’m also VERY content with my Impempe high whistles (got a D, C, F and Bb). If you like O’Brien, then this is also something for you. Ian Turnbull also makes low D’s, although I don’t know how they sound. They are within your pricerange as well.
I’m a little disappointed with the Overton low C I bought a while ago (made by Bernard Overton).
I’ve since sold it and bought a Reviol! I’ll let you know how good it is when I get it, but I was able to try a whole bunch at a whistle store I was at recently and I was thrilled with it.
The Reviol had a smoother sound, especially into the second octave. My gf liked it more as well and she doesn’t know much about whistles.
Oh, and Paddy Keenan played it at a gig I was at, and though i didn’t know what it was at the time, I thought it sounded lovely.
