OVERTON REVIEW by Dale Wisely

I am now the proud owner of a Bb Overton and a Low D Overton. Colin Goldie made both. Colin, as you may remember, also donated a beautiful Overton High D as the grand prize (or at least the grandest one donated yet) for the T-shirt contest. I've played this one a bit, too. (I promise to disinfect it before I send it out to the winner!). Colin is the only licensed maker of the classic Overton whistles, apart from Mr. Bernard Overton himself. For more information about this go to this page.These whistles are nontunable models (I rarely play with other musicians, so tuning slides are not particularly important to me, particularly when whistles are tuned to this precision. Tunable models are available). As you may already know, Overtons are handmade of cylindrical shafts of high quality aluminum alloy. They are remarkably strong but fairly lightweight. They are entirely metal...no wood or plastic anywhere. The curve in the mouthpiece is the same material. (The plug is fully encased in the shaft.) The mouthpiece design is extremely clean and sharp with no physical trace of being handworked (although they are, of course). One distinct feature of the Overton whistle is that the mouthpiece is narrower than the shaft. As the shaft approaches the mouthpiece, the roundness of the shaft is squared off (very neatly) and the whole thing is narrowed.

Overton whistles. Photo courtesy of Colin Goldie

The holes are well tooled with smooth inner edges. They are largebut not overwhelmingly so. In my opinion, virtually all Low Ds need to be played with the piper fingering and this is no exception. It's relatively easy to play with that fingering.... In other words, it's easy to find the fingering. The Bb can be played with either technique. I use the regular tinwhistle pads-of-the-1st-joint method.The tone of these whistles is very solid, the volume is excellent, and the tone has a touch of breath. One of the features of whistles that is particularly important to me is this complex relationship of volume and "ease of octave-shift." Without question, this low D has the ideal relationship. I can get a strong volume and I can readily control the octave shift. On the high end, you DO have to lean in to in pretty hard to get those high notes...but I found it very easy to get the hang of this.The Bb is a superior whistle. Colin hit is just right, as far as I'm concerned. Regarding the Low D: I resist talking about the "best" Low D, because there is an element of apples and oranges--they all have different characters. I, for example, would not part with my Ralph Cook because it has a sound that's different from all the others. Contrary to many people, I also like the sound of my *late model* Howard Low D (black shaft). The Copeland has a beautiful tone to it and unparalleled attention to

fine details and solidness of construction. But, having said this, there is something special about this Overton: a blend of great sound, great workmanship, and playability that really suits my style. I am really proud to have it and would recommend it without reservation.