comments on dixon soprano D????

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 3:00 pm

could anyone tell me their (whatever kind of) playing experiences on a dixon soprano D.
today I got mine in the mail and hmmm I am not so sure if I will LIKE this whistle but maybe it is just me, because this is my first REAL one, as I am still new to this and have played a clarke TOY (intended for kids no fipple plug) till now.........hehe
I found it not very loud (family members appreciate that don't they) and the sound is not what I expected.........maybe I just need to get used to it? hm?

I especially would like to hear, besides experiences, what does polymer material do for a whistle.

berti

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 3:23 pm

Mine is as good as a Burke, but you'll get lots of folks saying theirs was bad. I guess they are either wonderful or really bad. But Tony Dixon will send you a new one if the problem is actually an out of tune whistle.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 3:25 pm

I have a Dixon non-tunable Soprano D. I like it.

Not the loudest whistle own, but not the quietest either. Nice, round sound, on the pure end of the spectrum. Volume pretty well balanced between the octaves. Needs a little extra push to go above 2nd octave G, though less than my Syn or Serpent Ds - about the same as a Clarke Sweetone, say.

Not my absolute favorite D whistle, but close to the top - and my favorite travel whistle because it's tough, sounds good, and doesn't scare airport security.

I like it well enough I just bought a Dixon tuneable Bb (from Blackhawk, actually) to go with it.

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 4:30 pm

I've only been playing for about three weeks, and the Dixon soprano D was the first whistle to arrive. (Now I have four.)

I have the tunable D, and I just spent an hour or so experimenting with the tuning to get the D->C# sequences in "Sally Gardens" to sound right. Getting that fixed has made me feel a lot better about it.

I like the tone. It's a bit raspier(?) than either the Burke narrow-bore aluminum or the Whitecap-Feadog, which can be interesting.

It seems more suceptible to the accumulation of condensation, which can make it suddenly sound very funky. I think I should get a potted plant for my office, so that I have a place to shake out all the moisture.

The notes seem less stable, overall, than the other two, so if I don't play it for a day or so, it takes a while to get used to it again. It seems easy to play it with some expression, though, which I really like. I play mostly slow stuff, and sometimes I like to "bend" a note, which is much easier on the Dixon than on the other two. The only downside is that I have to maintain a bit more control when I don't want notes to shift around or jump octaves. I tend to get more carried away playing the Dixon.

It's not nearly as quiet as the W-F, but it is quieter than the Burke. The two lowest notes do tend to jump to the second octave a bit more easily than the other first-octave notes, so I have to adjust for that when I'm playing a bit loud.

I do think that whistles improve with age. The longer I play mine, the better they sound.

E = Fb · Post by **E = Fb** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 5:32 pm

I had one once. I didn't like it. I contacted Tony. He sent me another. Of the 2 I preferred the first one. I ended up giving both away. Not a bad whistle overall, just boring to my ear...even when "good". But that's probably just me.

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 6:24 pm

I like mine ok. I bring it along to work when I'm on a quiet whistle kick. Mine has a nice woody tone. Pure, but still woody. I also got the picc head to go with it. Some people have expressed the opinion that they don't like the picc head, but I can play the picc head a lot easier than the old fife I have here. Anyway I like it. I'm pretty new myself.

Jetboy · Post by **Jetboy** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 6:33 pm

I've got a non tuneableSop D. When I am not playing one of my own, I tend to use the Dixon. Like other posts, a reasonable mid-range whistle. I do find that the second D is much harsher than all the rest of the notes and kinda grates on the ear for some reason.

In any event you can't go wrong for a tenner can you.!

Jetboy
AKA Simon
Weston Whistles

LeeMarsh · Post by **LeeMarsh** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 7:04 pm

I've had several tunable and now have a brass tuning slided tunable. Regular-d and C. All have been in tune and nice whistles. Not as good as my Burke but still whole lot better than any of the other whistles I tried that are in dixon's price range. For me it's a good whistle value. It's 1/4th to 1/3rd the price of a burke and only 2-3 times the price of a generation or other 'inexpensive whistle'. The tone is a little breathy, all the one's I've had have been. I find them less likely to clog that any of the inexpensive whistles I ever owned. I've had a half dozen of the tunable (non-brass) that I've sold to folks at cost. They'd try them and ask where they could get one, since I had an extra, I'd sell them one for what I paid and then order another from the whistleshop or pick one up at House of Music Traditions (which is in my area).

Tony has been very good about support and replacing whistles that are "defective". A number of these were not his fault as much as the vendors who took the whistles apart and didn't keep track of which tube went with which fipple. All this for a whistle under under 30 dollars is makes it a good value. Is it as good as a copeland, busman, overton, or burke? Nope. But if you don't have $100-250 to spend and want a tunable whistle. It's nice to have an option. Several other makers have started to target this price range (20-60) for tunables, but 2-3 years ago Tony was the only maker other than Susato.

I like my Dixon. My tunable C is the only C I own.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 7:21 pm

LeeMarsh wrote:went with which fipple. All this for a whistle under under 30 dollars is makes it a good value. Is it as good as a copeland, busman, overton, or burke? Nope. But if you don't have $100-250 to spend and want a tunable whistle. It's nice to have an option. Several other makers have started to target this price range (20-60) for tunables, but 2-3 years ago Tony was the only maker other than Susato.

A very good point. And probably still the easiest for beginners to deal with. Though I love my Serpent Polly ($25) and Syn ($35) (and think they are better whistles for the way I like to play), they are both quite a bit louder, and require more in the way of breath support in the upper octave. Not hard, but it does take more focus to play them properly.

But if you can sound good on a cheapie you can pick up a Dixon and sound better without much change to your playing style.

jen f · Post by **jen f** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 7:56 pm

I was actually planning to post soon asking about the Dixon!

What I was wondering about is the volume. From what people have said, it sounds like a middle-volume whistle; is this right? I was wondering if it is a good session whistle. I love my Oak, but it is too quiet for the sessions I go to (12-15 musicians). But I'm not very good yet, so I don't want to be TOO loud.

msheldon · Post by **msheldon** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:05 pm

jen f wrote:What I was wondering about is the volume. From what people have said, it sounds like a middle-volume whistle; is this right? I was wondering if it is a good session whistle. I love my Oak, but it is too quiet for the sessions I go to (12-15 musicians). But I'm not very good yet, so I don't want to be TOO loud.

Well, if you're looking to stand equal with the fiddlers, forget it, it's not near loud enough. If you don't want to stand out, well, that's mostly a matter of perception, and a matter of how loud your sessions are. I'd say it's loud enough that *you* can hear it, and the folks nearby as well. It's not going to carry for any distance in a loud session though.

My Dixon low-D OTOH, cannot be heard even by the person playing it in a session.

It's got a lovely tone, but it's *very* quiet.

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:10 pm

It's louder, in general, than an Oak, but maybe not as penatrating a sound. You might be supprised how well you can be heard with the Oak, especially in the 2nd octave.

Be sure to check the tuning before you go to play with others. I love mine but it has a couple of notes so out of tune that I stopped playing it at session. At home it's the whistle I play most.

-Brett

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:20 pm

If you want a session whistle, either the Serpent Polly or the Syn would be a better choice in this price range, depending on the sound you want (the Serpent is kind of husky/woody sounding, the Syn fairly pure). The Serpent (Brassy) Polly is the louder of the two, but both are noticably louder than the Dixon.

Or a Susato, maybe - though these seem to generate strong feelings both pro and con, I don't think anyone would say they are hard to hear.

Stu H · Post by **Stu H** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 3:55 am

By coincidence I bought a new Dixon Bb tunable yesterday & I've spent most of the time since playing it on and off. I can only agree with what most people seem to be saying & that is for the price it looks very hard to beat. I like mine!!

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 6:06 am

well I asked this question because I do NOT like it.........
I thought it was the whistle but of course it is ME instead hehe.
guess I do not like the sound of it, due to the material don't know.
considering selling it again or trade it for something else....

berti