Reviol Whistles

[pastorkeith]

I searched the threads and there is a smattering on Reviol Whistles - I am curious if folks who own/have played them could post some thoughts on his LOW D.

Blessings
pastorkeith

[Don in AZ]

Pastor Keith,

I purchased a Low D Reviol with a Low C tube from someone on this board about six months ago. It replaced a Dixon Aluminum which I sold.

The Reviol is black anodized and feels great in my hands. The tuning slide is cork covered which needs to be treated like a clarinet but slides and seals well. the holes are well placed and seal well, the C is a noticeable reach longer but not that difficult.

I get clear pure tones, and the low notes do create that loud rolling cosmic drainpipe kind of thing. Unfortunately I have never been in a room with an Overton or played one to know how they compare. I occasionally clog when I start playing with a good bit of saliva but it blows out easily. You can tell with the flat windway and very sharp windway ledge wear the good sound is coming from.

Hope this helps.

Don in AZ

[medit8b1]

I have a non-tunable Reviol Low D and a tunable Reviol Low C,D, Eb set. They are currently my second favorite brand of whistles (after MK). They have a very unique, almost wooden flute tone to them that doesn't sound like any other brand of low whistle that I have played (and I'm pretty close to having played them all) and they are nicely responsive. They do have a tendency to clog, but this is easily rectified with any of the usual anti clogging techniques, floss, duponol, etc. There is a bit of a learning curve to them (though not as much as say a copeland) at first to get the right amount of breath control on the bottom few notes, but once you find it, the low D note is actually stronger and more resonant than most other brands. The black anodized finished is especially nice, as it is kind of rough feeling and gives an excellent grip while looking sharp to boot! I highly recommend Reviol whistles, and Maurice is a great guy to talk to.

[lalit]

I have a Reviol tunable low D.
I would agree with the other posters. Will add these thoughts:

It plays in tune.

Love the warm, velvety tone of the first octave.
Third octave D is easily reachable.

The matte texture combined with the reasonable hole size means I can always get a good seal, despite having bony fingers.

I only own a few whistles, and I'm not a very experienced player. But I often reach for this one first because it feels great to play, and I enjoy its tone and expressive potential (dynamics, responsiveness). I haven't had much trouble with the breath control aspects of this whistle's playability, but also know that without some further refinement on my part, I won't have tapped its full potential either. It's a darn good whistle.

[Mitch]

Hi pastorkeith,

The main difference I have found in the Reviol low D is the second octave - it has a soaring quality - very expressive.

Tone-hole placement is fairly standard - of the "this is where the holes are supposed to be" school - i.e not made as a short-reach whistle.

Maurice Reviol was trained by Cillian O'Briain in Ireland. So his whistles are very similar to Cillian's.

To get an idea how they sound, have a listen to Paddy Keenan's whistling - particularly the more recent recordings. Paddy has used an O'briain low D for ages - and, lately, a Reviol.

Hope this helps!

[Doc Jones]

Maurice Reviol was trained by Cillian O'Briain in Ireland. So his whistles are very similar to Cillian's.

To be even more clear, Reviol was Cillian's whistle maker for some time. When Maurice moved to New Zealand CIllian let him take the whistle business with him as CIllian was up to his eyeballs with pipe orders.

As to the Reviol/Overton question...Reviols have less back pressure and a purer, more open tone than an Overton. Still very complex and interesting but less chiff than an Overton unless it's one of Colin's sweeter "easy blowers"

I'd agree with the posts concerning tone and playability already made...grand tooters those.

Doc