Kerry Pro Low D - Overtones on low notes

[Nismology]

Hi guys, first post here, pleased to meet you!

I recently got back into whistling after rediscovering my NR Chieftain low F that I got 18 years ago, in the back of a cupboard.

I love this whistle. It's so easy to play, soft to blow and sounds beautiful.

I also have a brass Howard Low D that's around the same age. It's also quite easy to play, but cannot play notes above high B, and I've never really been in love with the sound, or the plastic mouthpiece. I've always wanted a low D all-alloy Chieftain that plays like my lovely NR low F, and I haven't been able to find an NR in low D for sale anywhere. After listening to his various YouTube demos, and finding the V5 a little soft and breathy for my liking, I thought the Kerry Pro sounded amazing. Fat and rich, with a little breathiness, which was exactly what I was looking for.

So I took the plunge after seeing that Phil had a Kerry Pro available, and treated myself.

It arrived the next day and I must say it's an absolutely beautifully made whistle. It's gorgeous looking too. The problem is I'm finding it quite tough to play. I've found that it's a very different animal to the old Chieftain. It takes a much harder blow to get the notes to sound (higher back pressure?), and I'm having a bit of difficulty with the low E and D notes. They seem to have a very raspy metallic (I hesitate to say 'screechy') overtone that's hard to shed. If I start the notes with a soft blow then increase the pressure of the blow I can kind of out-blow the Overtones, but I have to be very deliberate with this, and when I'm playing a tune I almost always get this scrapy sound on those two low notes.

Is this a normal phenomenon with aluminium 'Overton-style' low Ds? Is this what people mean by 'Cosmic Drainpipe'? This is only the second low D I've played, but I have quite a few whistles from different brands in higher keys. (I really like Shaw whistles in high keys).

One thing that I'm unsure of is that after I'd paid for the Whistle and it had been dispatched, Phil told me that he had made this one slightly different to the usual Kerry Pro in that he'd made the blade more curved, rather than flat. I confess I have no idea about the physics behind this, or what such a modification might have on the sound or now easy the whistle is to play. Any ideas?

While I'm a realitively amateur whistler, I've played the great highland pipes for many years, so I'm no stranger to 'piper's grip', or playing wind instruments that are a hard blow.

I'm persevering for now, hoping it's just a matter of getting acquainted with the whistle. It really is a beautiful thing, and I must say the service from Phil was absolutely top notch. I had the whistle in my hands less than 24 hours after my first email to him.

[Byll]

Hello, Nismology. Welcome to the board. Lots of interesting and valuable information awaits you. With a few members of my band, I heard Kevin Crawford and Lunasa perform, earlier this week, in a small town near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. One of the selections had Kevin and 2 of his band-mates play 3 Goldie-Overton low D's at a simply astounding tempo. I listened carefully, and heard none of the raspy, metallic sound that you describe, but I am very familiar with same. I played a Goldie-Overton low D for years, and really did not experience that 'complex' sound. However, my more modern narrow-bore Goldie low D has it on the low D note only, but the instrument exhibits a rather complex overtone series over most of its range. Cosmic drainpipe? I know that some like the sometimes-occurring 'metallic sound,' and some do not. The complexity on the low D note seems to be dependent on temperature, blowing pressure, and probably the phase of the moon. Heh. I know that the complexity of the sound of the low notes on the 'Overton-style' aluminum whistle tends to add to the 'cosmic drainpipe' descriptor. I guess that over the years, I have begun to look at the phenomenon as a ''given condition' of the design, and it is simply something I consider an interesting reality. Best to you, Sir, and again: Welcome.

[Nismology]

Just wanted to post an update now the forum is back up and running.

I picked up a low D Thunderbird in addition to the Kerry Pro, just to compare and found the Thunderbird much easier to play.

I sent Phil Hardy a video comparing the two and asked him about the Overtones and instability in the low register.

Without me even asking he made me a brand new Kerry Pro over the weekend and sent it over special delivery.

This new one has the traditional flat blade and windway. It's a little more open than the first one and much easier to play. It's an absolutely fantastic whistle.

Just wanted to give a shout out to Phil at Kerrywhistles. Some of the best customer service I've ever had and an absolutely top guy with true pride in his craft.

It's very interesting comparing the two different Kerry Pros and the Thunderbird. The first KPro, while difficult to play in the low register (and to be honest very unforgiving going between octaves), has a brilliant, sweet tone in the upper range, especially when you push it. It has a unique 'singing edge' to the timbre that's very pleasing. I'd be interested to see this curved blade system developed further in the low whistle as it has a very pleasing tone in that upper octave. The Thunderbird has less backpressure and takes more air, and has a softer, more open and rounder sound than either KPro. It's very pleasant, and it certainly a loud whistle as advertised. The second KPro is halfway inbetween, but has a lot more tonal range than the Thinderbird depending on how hard you push it. It's brighter than the Thunderbird, and has a really fat Low D and Low E.

Here's some pics comparing the two different KPro blades.

https://ibb.co/wMMjXtF
https://ibb.co/42tcx4q
https://ibb.co/qY4GrNd
https://ibb.co/wctGvNt
https://ibb.co/znqSTw7

[trill]

Nismology,

Thank you for your description of how the two Kerry Pro instruments play. Thanks especially for the pics.

The pics are very interesting.

In the pics, the windway entrances look visibly different. One has a nominally "flat" roof. The other roof has some curves.

Question: which one was delivered "first" ?

Thanks very much,
trill

[Nismology]

Nismology,

Thank you for your description of how the two Kerry Pro instruments play. Thanks especially for the pics.

The pics are very interesting.

In the pics, the windway entrances look visibly different. One has a nominally "flat" roof. The other roof has some curves.

Question: which one was delivered "first" ?

Thanks very much,
trill

Hi Trill,

In the final picture I posted, the first Kerry Pro is on the left. It has a thinner mouthpiece, and although it doesn't appear so in the pictures, a very slightly thinner windway (top to bottom).