Reviol low D

medit8b1 · Post by **medit8b1** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:30 pm

Does anyone here play a Reviol low D? Can anyone give an opinion on one? I am trying to decide between a Reviol or an Overton.
Thanks

jmiller · Post by **jmiller** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:28 pm

I tried a Reviol Low F and wound up returning it. The workmanship was poor and the finish had a flimsy and cheap feel. Hard to control, too. The Overton, on the other hand, is a work of art both in it's construction and in it's handling and sound.

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 2:47 pm

Interesting. The low Eb Reviol I tried last fall was quite fine. I'm not very comfortable with the hole spacing on the lower hand of Reviol/O'Briain whistles, but tone, workmanship and overall feeling was good.

sponge · Post by **sponge** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:50 pm

I had an O'briain low d a while back easy player, octave jump was effortless and a real nice sound, I think Maurice makes the reviol to the same dimensions and dresses them up with a black anodised coat, I sold mine because the finger stretch was very difficult on the E to D, great for slow tunes but I could'nt manage anything fast, I have fairly small hands,
I would certainly say it was a great sounding whistle.

sponge.

dyersituations · Post by **dyersituations** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:43 pm

I have only heard good things about the Reviol whistles. They are designed the same as O'Briain low whistles, so they are a different animal from the Overton. Choose which style you prefer, because they are both suppose to be great whistles.

-Casey

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:21 am

I've always found the Reviols to be very up-to-the-mark.
I have not seen any of his earlier work and cannot comment on that.

Regarding the D-to-E hole spacing - it is very similar to many other top make low Ds - including Bernard Overton, Susato, Syn, MK ...
on a thin-wall low-D whistle there's not a lot can be done about that without compromising the tuning. One thing I have seen successfully done is to enlarge the B2 hole so that it is more evenly spaced (E.G Chieftain), This makes the bottom hand position much more comfortable for some, but the total spread is still the same.

Paddy Keenan seems to like his Reviol.

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:39 am

Haven't tried the Reviol version, but did own low F and D O'Briains, the D being tuneable. I thought both to be fine instruments. The F was easy to play in every respect and had a particularly lovely upper register. The D had a beautiful full tone. The problem for me on the D was not reach per se, but tone hole size. I eventually sold both (I have a Copeland F), but the workmanship and tone and playability (other than D toneholes for me) were stellar.

Philo

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:46 am

dyersituations wrote:I have only heard good things about the Reviol whistles. They are designed the same as O'Briain low whistles, so they are a different animal from the Overton. Choose which style you prefer, because they are both suppose to be great whistles.

-Casey

Maurice was the fellow making O'Briain whistles while he was Pipe making with Cillian. When he moved to New Zealand, Cillian had him just take the whistle business with him because Cillian wanted to try and get caught up on his pipe orders.

I find Reviols to be easier blowers than most Overtons but not air hogs by any means. I also find the tone to be a bit more open. Both are great whistles by great makers. Purely a matter of subjective personal preference. You'll just have to try both and see which one makes yer heart go fast. Can't go wrong with either.

Doc