Anyone played the Low D Aluminum Whistle by Cillian O'Briain

fpoulenc · Post by **fpoulenc** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 12:04 pm

Have you played this whistle? What do you think?

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 12:13 pm

i'm sorry but the last i've heard is that he stopped making low D's, and he sold his last low D this summer.
he only works on uilleann pipes.
run a search on "cillian o'briain" for a review. and if you like it, somebody might be willing to sell...

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 12:54 pm

I had a low C/D set earlier this year. They are VERY free blowing and take a bit of air to keep filled. Nice sound and made well. The finger stretch was harder than my Overton Low D. I opted to stick with my Overton for a metal low D.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:00 pm

I agree that the Low D was a bit too free-blowing, but I have an F# that is terrific.

KDMARTINKY · Post by **KDMARTINKY** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 4:25 pm

I had a Low D by Cillian for a short time. It is a little breathy, but thought that it was a very fine Low D all around. I also heard that he had halted making whistles to focus all his time on pipes.

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:09 pm

I have a tuneable Low D and a non-tuneable Low F. I like them both; someone else on the Board, who loves Overtons, did not like them. The D has relatively large tone holes which could be a problem for some.

Philo

Fergmaun · Post by **Fergmaun** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:30 pm

Uilleann piper Paddy Keenan plays Cillian O'Briain low whistle D and E on the cd he made with Tommy O' Sullivan "THE LONG GRAZING ACRE"

http://www.paddykeenan.com/grazing/index.htm

Sam_T · Post by **Sam_T** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:50 am

Also, piper Martin Nolan plays one on his "Bright Silver Dark Wood" album. I bought one on the strength of his rendition of "Over the moor to Maggie" and have never looked back. Sure, the finger spacing takes some getting used to but they make a really beautiful, distinctive sound - really quite different to any other low D I've played/heard.

Sam

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:15 am

I have his low F that I never play.

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:46 am

if anyone's still interested, shanna quai sells maybe the last of the o'briains
http://www.shannaquay.bigstep.com/item. ... RID=872458

moxy · Post by **moxy** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:57 am

lixnaw wrote:i'm sorry but the last i've heard is that he stopped making low D's, and he sold his last low D this summer.
he only works on uilleann pipes.
run a search on "cillian o'briain" for a review. and if you like it, somebody might be willing to sell...

He still has a low E and low Eflat I think. I met him a few weeks ago, in his shop, and he showed them to me. I couldn't play them at all, but that's because I couldn't get the right grip (not used to it yet). They're nice - 150 euros each.

(but like someone said, perhaps some shops still carry some of his previous stock)

greenspiderweb · Post by **greenspiderweb** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 9:40 am

I'm with Sam on this one (well put Sam), only I went looking for one after I heard Paddy Keenan play his on 'Mary Bravender' from the Long Grazing Acre cd.

In my opinion, well worth the efforts of getting to know it! Of course, the tone may or may not be your cup of tea. Listen to the clips to get a rough idea of what they sound like-it will be different in person. It does require a bit more lung capacity, and a good finger stretch.