Beginner Low D Whistles

[JayDoc]

I'm an "intermediate" beginner on the whistle and can't afford a real high end one. Does anyone have any advice as between the Howard low D and the Kerry plastic mouthpiece low D whistles? The low whistle page on Chiff and Fipple seems a bit out of date. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Mick Down Under]

I don't have a great deal of experience with it, but I've found that the Howard requires only very gentle blowing and isn't quite as much finger stretch. As I own and play an (Goldie) Overton, the Howard, that belongs to a mate, feels very odd to me indeed. This is not to say it would be a bad choice, it's just not what I am used to. I don't know much about the Kerry, so no help there. Of probably no use to you whatsoever, the same mate that owns the Howard, a professional musician, would love to own an Overton. His description of the sound in his words,"...It's just so creamy...Magic!"

See if you can try the Howard and a Kerry to decide which would suit you better.


Mick

[Deasan]

Also worth exploring:

http://www.albawhistles.com/

[gerardo1000]

I had both the kerry plastic head and the Howard and I prefer the Howard.

[Protean]

Domnahl na Gruen whistles are cheap, relatively speaking, if that's your primary metric. I recently entered the low D owners club because one of these was too cheap for me to pass up. Previously, price had been a big part of my staying away from low Ds. I don't know how well it plays compared to other low Ds, given that I have zero experience with other low Ds, but I've been enjoying it, anyway. Finger spacing is pretty comfortable on it, too.

http://www.domnahlnagruen.com/

[MoonMind]

The Alba whistles Deasan recommended are wonderful instruments, but from my experience, they're not easy players, neither in terms of breath control nor when it comes to finger stretch. OTOH, they sound great - I'd give them a big thumbs up for that. I've also had good experience with Dixon low D (I prefer the aluminium lows over the polymer, but the polymer ones are by no means bad whistles - and very reasonably priced!). There's also been a lot of praise lately for the new tapered flute/whistle Dixon has made available, but I don't own one, so I can't comment, and it's not really cheap (though if you compare prices, it is not expensive at all). Check out Dixon here:

http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/

And of course, I fully subscribe to "try before you buy"! Chiff and Fipple has been tremendously helpful in avoiding bad choices, but in the end, the whistle should suit you personally (that's been said before - it's true!), and you'll only know that *after* you've played it.

M.

[Whistler Bard]

Domnahl na Gruen whistles are cheap, relatively speaking, if that's your primary metric. I recently entered the low D owners club because one of these was too cheap for me to pass up. Previously, price had been a big part of my staying away from low Ds. I don't know how well it plays compared to other low Ds, given that I have zero experience with other low Ds, but I've been enjoying it, anyway. Finger spacing is pretty comfortable on it, too.

http://www.domnahlnagruen.com/

Damn you! Now I checked the site, saw a great priced-looking-sounding one and I NEED to buy it! And I started with the whistle a couple of weeks ago!

WhOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[hoopy mike]

There are lots of threads on cheap low D whistles...

Cheapest - make your own or buy from Guido. Or how about a Dixon polymer low D?

[jemtheflute]

Guido Gonzato. A far better instrument in playability and sound quality than either Howard or Kerry, IMO, at a fraction of the cost. "No brainer"!

[brewerpaul]

You could make one for practically nothing using the Guido Gonzato plans (do a search for them). Not hard, and you'll get great satisfaction from it.

[jemtheflute]

http://guido.gonzato.googlepages.com/whistle.html - make your own

http://www.ggwhistles.com/index.html - buy ready made

With Guido's money back satisfaction offer, you can't go wrong!

[Guidus]

Thanks Jem!

[ancientfifer]

http://guido.gonzato.googlepages.com/whistle.html - make your own
http://www.ggwhistles.com/index.html - buy ready made
With Guido's money back satisfaction offer, you can't go wrong!

Thanks for sharing those links, Jem! Wanton for my first low D as well, making one for myself might go over better with my wifey, as far as cost goes, and it would surely keep me out of her way for weeks as I am sure it'll take 10 or more tries given my handywork skills.
Cheers!
Russ

[Whistler Bard]

I'll build one eventually, but I don't have the workspace to do it at home unfortunatly

What do you guys say about Domnahl na Gruen?

[jemtheflute]

I'll build one eventually, but I don't have the workspace to do it at home unfortunatly

Workspace? what space d'you need? The kitchen table/worktop is adequate, or the floor, plus a few hand tools. When I very first tried any of this stuff (bamboo flutes, actually) 30+ years ago with some carpet-bamboo and a hacksaw, hand drill, a few bits and some needle files, dowel and sandpaper, I did it on the floor of my student digs bedroom........

For anyone going DIY in Britain, BTW, the black electrical conduit tube is the best bet, though you may struggle to get the smallest 16mm OD size for high whistles off the shelf. The 20mm and 25mm OD sizes are easily found in most DIY stores. You want the 25mm for low whistles. The white stuff in GB will do the job, but is softer and it's harder to get rid of any work-marks on its surface.