Tony Dixon solid Brass High D?

[Rusco]

Has anyone had experience of the Tony Dixon solid Brass High D? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dixon-Solid-Bra ... B001KL59RC

I have a few D whistles: Clarke original/Dixon trad nickel/ Freeman Blackbird/Susato Kildare SB/Feadog My favourites for tone are the Clarke and the Dixon trad but the dixon trad is weak on the low D and E, the Clarke isn't great in terms of consistency across the two octaves. I like the Susato but it's loud to play at home and the sound is not as sweet as the dixon or clarke. The Freeman plays well but again lacks a bit of character. I just wondered if this slightly posher Dixon is better on the bottom end than than the TD trad model. Grateful for any input. Anyway, back to practice.

[saintninian]

I have the TD solid Brass High D and C whistles. I'll tell you they are loud, and also heavy whistles. The barrel is very thick brass, and could probably serve as a weapon in a bar fight. They also take longer to warm up than the Trad. All that being said, my personal opinion is that they have a nice sound, but I prefer my TD Trad nickel and brass D's. Just easier to play, and quieter than the Brass High whistles. The Brass High would probably serve you better if you do a lot of session playing.

[Rusco]

That's useful information thanks. I have session volume covered with my Susato. I'm looking for the sweetness of the Trad with a stronger Bottom D and E note. In that case I'll probably give it a miss.

[Peter Duggan]

I have the TD solid Brass High D and C whistles. I'll tell you they are loud

And I have two of each and tell you that they're not (loud)...

Mine are very much what I'd describe as standard, medium volume, though they're also the older type with longer heads and shorter, steeper ramps (see current discussions on this forum) and saintninian's could be of different volume if they're the newer type with Trad heads (except that I thought the C was discontinued). They're very nice whistles indeed (much nicer than my newer-style Trads), but the D as sold probably wouldn't give you (Rusco) what you're looking for because the bell note tends to slight flatness and breaking when pushed to pitch. (The bell notes of the Cs are truer.) So I've often considered slightly shortening one or both of my Ds at the bell end, but resisted the temptation so far [edit: thankfully, see below!] because I'm guessing the new end would be unattractively close to or on top of the twin engraved rings.

[Rusco]

Thanks Peter, that's helpful.

[O'Briant]

My experience with a TD solid brass D is similar to that of SaintNinian -- I found this to be a loud whistle (maybe +75-100% of a gen D?) and one of the heaviest whistles I've played. I also had some tuning issues in both octaves and that were particularly pronounced in the second octave, which was quite a bit louder than the first octave. But I also agree that this whistle is built like a tank, I generally liked the tone, and this is the whistle I threw in my bag for camping/hiking trips without worry. My whistle was new two years ago and had the longer head/short ramp and engraved rings Peter describes. I'll put in my standard plug for a Freeman Mellow Dog here -- great balance across octaves with a lovely chiffy tone, and at a reasonable price point (and probably a bit less for the C/D set than for the TD solid brass). Good luck on the hunt.

[Peter Duggan]

I also had some tuning issues in both octaves and that were particularly pronounced in the second octave, which was quite a bit louder than the first octave.

Have to say I'm genuinely surprised by all this. Mine are amongst the silkiest, most even, well-mannered, best-tuned and predictable whistles I've tried to the extent that I'd rate them absolutely top examples of their type (i.e. whistles with that particular feature set) but for those slightly troublesome bell notes. And, while I do admit to preferring my more vibrant Brackers for most things these days, there are still tunes for which I pull out the Dixon heavy brass.

Here's a 2012(?) uncompressed recording of one which probably exaggerates the perceived live dynamic range:
http://www.petestack.com/music/audio/cluinn.mp3

And my sole surviving YouTube video of the same whistle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eml2p1JFnjc

[Peter Duggan]

They're very nice whistles indeed (much nicer than my newer-style Trads), but the D as sold probably wouldn't give you (Rusco) what you're looking for because the bell note tends to slight flatness and breaking when pushed to pitch. (The bell notes of the Cs are truer.) So I've often considered slightly shortening one or both of my Ds at the bell end, but resisted the temptation so far because I'm guessing the new end would be unattractively close to or on top of the twin engraved rings.

While I've been aware of the flattish bell notes since I got my first DX203 D, I have to admit I might have got the cause wrong and now think it's probably just the voicing of the head rather than length of the tube...

Tony Dixon told me back then that the Cs have modified heads where the windway and/or voicing (?) is somewhat opened up for the lower pitch, and some experimentation (which I have tried once before years ago) this morning with mixing and matching parts seems to bear this out. Put C heads on D tubes and you get a more open sound without the flat bell note, but put D heads on C bodies and you get a very sweet, smaller sound with flat bell notes. Still not a complete 'eureka' moment for me because the magic of my favourite D is undoubtedly in the original head/body combination, but a pretty compelling reason not to touch the tubes!

Might also be worth observing that sometimes the D bell notes will blow solidly up to pitch with the D heads and sometimes they won't... something I can only assume to be dependent on variables like moisture, condensation, temperature etc. I still love these whistles regardless.

[Rusco]

Thanks for your opinions guys. I have decided to stick with what I have for now and pick up some Whistles next time I'm in Ireland. I live in Sicily so I have to buy online without trying them first.