First Low D whistle

raham99 · Post by **raham99** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:00 pm

Hi everyone, Graham here from the UK. Please forgive me if this question has been asked a 'thousand times'

I plan to purchase a Low D whistle for my girlfriend - Valentine's day present!!! She is an accomplished player - recorder (all varieties - sizes), cornet, tenor horn, trombone etc. I do not wish to buy her an instrument that she will grow out of quickly - on the other hand she may not play it that often (other commitments rather than lack of enthusiasm). Would an instrument that could be tuned be preferable? Material? Her recorder style is more in the baroque idiom (Morrow) rather than celtic folk - quite bright with strong attack.

Many thanks in advance for your time and any suggestions.

AvienMael · Post by **AvienMael** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:00 pm

Based on how you describe her playing, and the fact that you want it pitched in D, the MK whistle.

wyodeb · Post by **wyodeb** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:34 pm

I think there's a green one for sale here. No affiliation with the seller.

Deb

Hotblack · Post by **Hotblack** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:23 am

Graham, what's your budget?

Tuneable is preferable if she's going to play with others

A Dixon tuneable low D can be had from about £60. Non-tuneable is about £40. Both are polymer whistles ie plastic. I have a tuneable one. For the money it's ok for learning on.

Or you can pay about £250 for an MK hand crafted in aluminium and then anodised in red, green, black or blue, with a range of prices and makers in between.

Try Big Whistle based in Lancashire. Phil's a good bloke and may be able to help.

Anyanka · Post by **Anyanka** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:51 am

Hotblack wrote: A Dixon tuneable low D can be had from about £60. Non-tuneable is about £40. Both are polymer whistles ie plastic.

Lucky girlfriend!
Dixon is a good choice if you're not sure that she's going to keep it up - good enough to play, but not costing the earth. The Dixon tuneable low D also comes in alloy with an ABS head, for £89. I love the sound of my polymer low D, but it looks and feels like a piece of plumbing. The alloy version looks more impressive, hence probably makes a better gift.

tucson_whistler · Post by **tucson_whistler** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 11:04 pm

i agree that if she plans to play with others, you should get tuneable. also tuneable is easier to resell if she doesn't use it.

i'll give you a middle choice... i've tried a bunch of low whistles, and the one i come back to is my Alba. the low whistle isn't my main instrument; i play the whistle and flute mostly, and just play the low whistle for fun.

and it's no fun to play the low whistle when it squeaks... which is what happens if you don't cover the toneholes properly. and what i've found is that it's easier to cover smaller toneholes. and the low whistle with the smallest toneholes i've tried is the Alba.

i think you can get it at big whistle too; or online direct from Alba. if you have time, they pretty frequently come up on ebay as well.

it's also a pretty whistle; looks nice.

good luck.

cheers,
eric

bogman · Post by **bogman** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:35 pm

If you want to by her quality and versatility the buy her a Goldie or MK, if you want to buy her something easy to play but gutless buy her a Burke.

JTC111 · Post by **JTC111** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:26 pm

bogman wrote:If you want to by her quality and versatility the buy her a Goldie or MK, if you want to buy her something easy to play but gutless buy her a Burke.

Wow... that's an incredibly unfair description. Whistles come in different flavors. A Burke might not be your cup of tea, but it's a very respected and popular instrument. Joanie Madden likes Burkes and I wouldn't describe her playing or her sound as "gutless."

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:54 pm

I think, as she is already accomplished as a recorder player, a beginner's instrument would not be best. For tone and volume, MK and Goldie have been mentioned. From a recorder players viewpoint, the MK would be more in line with what she is used to. I put my MK aside when I got the first of the new Reyburn low D's. All the volume of the MK with a fuller and rounder tone. That is what I suggest for a musician looking for a low D for playing ITM or whatever.

mickey66 · Post by **mickey66** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:31 pm

A Dixon tuneable low D I think is a good choice for the first low D whistle.....I have one of these and I like it a lot but on the other hand I'm not a great player. It does feel like a chunk of plastic which, is just what it is. It is easy to play JMHO tho.....sounds good to my ears. Cost me $112.00 shipped to the good ole USA from England. It's a good whistle for the money....enough said

www.tuxedomusic.com

pancelticpiper · Post by **pancelticpiper** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:54 am

I agree with most of the above posters.

I've spent a large amount of time playing and trying many of the Low D Whistles out there, and in my opinion for a top notch professional quality Low D it comes down to MK, Goldie/Overton, Burke, and the newer Reyburns.

They're all similar in the big scheme of things, but all different in the details. The MK is the most air-efficient, meaning that longer phrases can be played on a single breath. (I'm not making it up; I actually timed how long I could play on a single breath on each type.) Also the MK has a nice "dirty" tone, some fogginess to it but with a good clear "core" also.

I recently aquired two Bernard Overton Low Whistles, and their tone is more "clean" than my MK.

The Reyburn Low D I tried has a very nice sophisticated tone and in overall performance is in the same class as these others.

Seems that people coming from non-Irish instruments like Recorder and Boehm flute often prefer the very pure tone of the Burke. People coming from the Irish music world often find its sound rather plain or bland. But have no doubt, the Burke Pro Viper Low D is a very very good whistle.

At the recent NAMM show I tried the one and only original protoype of the new Tony Dixon one-piece moulded plastic conical bore Low D whistle. It's superb. Side-by-side comparisons with my beloved MK were very interesting. The new Dixon played very differently, much more like a flute (which I know about, having played flute for 30-odd years).
It's supposed to retail for an extremely reasonable price, something like $100.

No matter which Low D you go with a recorder player is going to have to get used to an entirely new way of holding her fingers, the so-called "pipers' grip". Trying to finger a Low D Whistle like a Recorder is almost surely going to lead to cramped hands and overall frustration.

ducks · Post by **ducks** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 5:55 pm

side-note - I play my tenor recorder and low whistle in pretty much the same way, kind of semi-piper, to coin a phrase. But I have got big hands with long fingers, so that might make a difference. My only point is that it probably won't be too much of a stretch.

sherriev · Post by **sherriev** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:00 pm

If you're really not sure and want the cheapest route, check these out:

http://www.tinwhistles.us/jubilee/

You can get sound samples on youtube.com : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_KxpBiwGIw

They're way cheap!

mickey66 · Post by **mickey66** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:43 am

sherriev wrote:If you're really not sure and want the cheapest route, check these out:

http://www.tinwhistles.us/jubilee/

You can get sound samples on youtube.com : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_KxpBiwGIw

They're way cheap!

I have one of these Low D whistles and they sound ok(more of a flute sound) but my main complaint is this... it takes a lot of air to play it....way more than the Dixon Low D and the Dixon Low D sounds much better to my ear but at more than twice the price. If you want a cheap-O the Jubilee Low D is worth a try....

www.tuxedomusic.com

Lulu · Post by **Lulu** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:19 am

I play on their low D and for me is perfect

If you havent money for expensive whistles like goldie, mk, burke etc. check this
http://goldfinch.eu/eng/whistles.html

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