Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hello!

I've been playing my high D for about a year and I really want to have a low whistle, but I I don't know which one to choose, what do y'all think?

Both are about the same price (the james dominic is a bit cheaper).

https://jamesdominicmusic.com/products/ ... 2596725842

https://www.kerrywhistles.com/product-p ... ixed-low-d

This forum is really cool and it has incentivised my playing a lot!

Good whistling

Never played the Dominic, but I think the Optima is an excellent whistle. It took me a while to get used to the hole spacing, not sure why, but once I did I found it easy to play. I like the tone and it’s very lightweight, which is nice. It looks sleek and minimalist too, which I also like. Decent volume. For the price it’s an excellent whistle.

Note I've played neither. In general I vote kerry optima, its well known with a good reputation. The JDM could be great and I do have a tendency to go with less known makers. But I've also regret my purchase before. But not always haha. So you never know. From listening, it sounds like the JDM is going to be more mellow and less loud. I noticed in both videos, you can hear their breathing really loudly. Which implies the whistle isnt that loud. If it was the mic volume would be turned down more and the breathing would be quieter. But theres more to audio than that so I could be wrong. If you want a more booming low end optima may better. If you want quiet indoor practice JDM could be better.

I don't understand why the plastic top of the Kerry Optima is fixed. Shouldn't it just slide up and down for tuning?

I just wanted to add another suggestion: Goldfinch Low D is a tunable plastic whistle made in Poland and has a nice clear tone. €79

The holes are a bit larger and further apart than in my Tony Dixon Low D and the bore is bigger but the stretch isn't *too* bad.

Thanks so much for the replies, they helped me a lot!

I've considered the Goldfinch and like it a lot! But I prefer the sound of the Kerry Optima, which is the one I'm most inclined to choose

Take care everyone, good whishes from Brasil!

pancelticpiper wrote: ↑Thu Jul 01, 2021 5:57 pm I don't understand why the plastic top of the Kerry Optima is fixed. Shouldn't it just slide up and down for tuning?

Phil Hardy would have the definitive response for you. I'll hazard a guess:
Since the Chieftain/Optima/Busker/Thunderbird/Cobre lines of whistle already have a very high quality tuning slide mechanism, which a buyer would want to remain reliable in function for years, I'd suspect that trying to assure that quality of function sustains itself would have them decide not to put the plastic into the "tuning slide" portion of the whistle, and remain with metal, the plastic probably not as durable under friction over time, as the current materials used for the tuning slide part.

The Optima is an excellent whistle. The videos of it being played are very good and when Orlaith McAuliffe plays an Optima lightning fast and the notes are very well defined and the tone is appealing and very clear and consistent, I'd say the plastic mouthpiece is a total winner, matched perfectly to that pipe design, and the design should not be altered, unless as usual, ongoing R&D discover improvement possibilities.