Dixon Soprano D Whistles?

Black Mage · Post by **Black Mage** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:47 pm

Hay all, I was wondering if anyone has had experience with a Dixon soprano D (whether it be plastic, brass, or aluminium)? I've been doing research on higher end whistles, but there's little under $100 (or without a 10 month waiting list). I have a Dixon low D and I really like it, but was wondering about his high D's.

So has anyone played one of these? I was looking more towards the aluminium or brass models myself.

Pete D · Post by **Pete D** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:59 pm

I bought a plastic one for about $35 (USD). I think it was worth the price.

For solo playing...it is very nice. It has a mellow tone, except perhaps in the upper, upper register. For the majority of tunes, I enjoy the sound it makes.

However, when I play this whistle with a group it becomes very obvious that the whistle is out of tune for high G and above.

PS...This is all coming from somebody who only buys whisltes for under $50.

Feadin · Post by **Feadin** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:24 pm

I have an all-plastic tunable high D, and I really like it. The sound is clean and sweet, and a bit woody... it also sound pretty "closed" (sorry can't think of a better word for it) so the ornaments don't "pop-up" like in other whistles like a Water Weasel or a Susato. It's very quiet too, and requires a good breath control, but for the price it's a very nice whistle. Especially if you like a clean, not buzzy sound.
I don't know about the aluminum or brass models, but there shouldn't be much difference in sound because they all share the same plastic mouthpiece and the soundholes look very much alike in photos.

slowair · Post by **slowair** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:47 pm

I have the aluminum and it is one of the sweetest, most pure, most well behaved whistles I own. It gets more play than any other make.
It has a low air requirement and may take you a bit to get use to, but in the end you'll appreciate it. You won't ever run out of air.
For the price you can't beat it. And Tony Dixon is terrific to work with.

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:49 pm

I really love my aluminum D, and I'd like to reiterate the fact that Tony Dixon is a stand-up guy. Really a pleasure to deal with.

ShadowBG625 · Post by **ShadowBG625** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 7:07 pm

I have a all plastic C with the brass slide, and its one of the best investments I've ever made. I can hit well into the 3rd register with the greatest of ease. So clean, so pure, so perfect. The only flaw is that it is somewhat quiet in the lower register, but that's just fine for me. I remember before I got it, I had wanted one for the longest time. Now that I have one, I want a D, but am slowly building up the whistle fund.

Tom Dowling · Post by **Tom Dowling** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 10:39 pm

I think the tunable D strikes a real good 'price performance' balance. A few years ago, when Jim McC and I were in the same class, he bought a batch of tunable and non-tunable Dixon D's--the black plastic ones--for a local community group he was working with. I ended up with a tunable D at a real decent price. It remains one of my regular 'go to' d's in a not too meagre collection of decent D whistles. I think it is a fine whistle, well rounded, full on the botom and not shrill on the top. If they are still to be had for $35.00, I would think that is real good value. If they are a few bucks more--I have not checked their pricing recently--that's OK as well. I am not aware of many better under $40.00, but I do not regard myself as particularly well informed. I've got more decent D's that I can do justice to as it is.

IMHO,

Tom Dowling

Scott McCallister · Post by **Scott McCallister** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 11:28 pm

I just picked up the Tunable Aluminum with the brass slide a few weeks ago. It is a very nice whistle. Grabbed it for about $50. The store I got it from had two of them and two of the plastic kind. I tried them all and got the one with the sweetest sound. There is a bit of a difference from whistle to whistle.

I also went with the aluminum as the plastic kind were so light weight it didn't feel natural to hold it.

After playing it for a bit I found that the C# hole was notably flat to my ear so I bored it out with a Dremel tool until it sounded right to me. (maybe enlarged by the width of a fine pencil line... maybe...) As I went on playing I also found that the A hole was very slightly flat and was thinking that I would have to fire up the Dremel again. To a larger degree though, the bell note was a fair amount sharp, so I rolled about 3/16 inch wide strip of stiff paper into a circle and rushed the bottom of the whistle and that brought everything right into tune after pushing in the slide a short bit. I also ran a fine rat-tail file round the edges of each hole to smooth them a bit.

Now it is a strong favorite of mine. It gets as much time as my Copeland Nickel D. Sweet and pure, not too loud, just a whisper of chiff. A great whistle to practice or record with but too soft for a session I should think.

Fit and finish on the fipple/head piece is excellent and there are no visible milling marks. The whistle body is an aluminum tube, nicely painted metallic silver with a good diameter that is easy to hold and although it is not as poppy as a Susato, it's feel in your hands allows for similar play. The brass tuning slide is well made and has a long enough throw to effectively alter the pitch in either direction so tuning to other musicians should not be a problem. It is a unique design in my opinion for this type of mechanism as it only has one side to the slide. So the brass bit slips into the throat of the aluminum tube directly, rather than having a brass receiver section to complete the slide. The slide works well but was a little gritty when I got it home, so a quick wipe with a clean cloth and a dab of the Susato chap-stick grease, and it works a treat! Secure and snug, but moveable on command.

All in all, I'd give this whistle a solid 8 out of the box and a 9.5 when tweaked for intonation. Best whistle I own for less than $100!

Best regards
~Scott

Dee Whistler · Post by **Dee Whistler** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:06 am

I have a brass bodied tunable high D. It is a decent instrument, bit heavier cause the body is made out of thick brass. My concern is that it has very little if any backpressure and takes breath more than some other whistles. The sound is very clean and pure and somebody have liked the sound very much. Personally I like whistles that have more backpressure and more "character" in the sound.

Also mine is not perfectly in tune, the lower octave D and the C-natural is flat. C-nat is in tune with odd fingering 0X0000. I'm not sure can the bottom D be corrected with slightly shortening the tube.

In all other ways, I think it is a good whistle. If one likes the low backpressure and clean sound and gets over with the tuning problems, it is okay. I'm not sure how common the tuning problem is, have only two dixons the high D and a plastic A one (which is in tune, low backpressure still).

talimirr743 · Post by **talimirr743** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:13 am

I have an Aluminum D. It was my first 'high-end' whistle. I really love it! It's quiet but not too quiet. It is perfect If your living in an apartment or have really close neighbors. I love working with Tony too! If any thing is wrong he always takes complete responsibility, and sends you a replacement whatever without a sceond thought. If your getting your first High-end whistle I think you should definately go with the Dixon!

Good Luck!

amar · Post by **amar** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:26 am

here's my dixon story:
early in 2002 I ordered, plasitc, untunable: D, C, , Bb, lowF, lowD.
I got: plastic, tunable: D, C, , Bb, lowF, lowD. (for the price of tunables!)
I wasn't too happy with the lowF. it was narrow bore, very quiet. I told him, he sent me a wide bore. for free! and i could keep the narrow bore which I like now very much!

great guy, tony.

talimirr743 · Post by **talimirr743** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:37 am

amar wrote: I wasn't too happy with the lowF. it was narrow bore, very quiet. I told him, he sent me a wide bore. for free! and i could keep the narrow bore which I like now very much!

Thats Tony for ya!

Black Mage · Post by **Black Mage** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:02 am

Thanks everyone! I thinkI've found my next whistle, probably the aluminium D. But it will probably have to wait till after Christmas (or maybe I'll just put it on my list

)

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 2:17 pm

Erle Bartlett (syn whistles) has just released his Black Diamond whistle. A narrow bore brass whistle with a delrin mouthpiece. I liked it a lot more than the Dixon (brass tuning slide model) I had some time ago. I actually like his Lancewood high d better, but that goes for about $125 while the BD is under $100.