I’ve been playing a Goldie low D for awhile now, but am considering branching out to a low F. Although I’d love a Goldie F, I’m trying to keep my cost at around $160±. So, I’m looking at either the Alba low F or the MK Kelpie F in that price range. Any thoughts about these two F whistles?
I had a kelpie low F a couple of years back. I remember it as a very nice whistle. I sold it to finance another whistle and bought a Goldie low F later. That was as expected a fantastic whistle and I sold that one a couple of weeks ago. Seems I don’t really need a low F 
I haven’t owned an Alba mezzo F, but I have an Alba Low E, Low C, and Bass A.
I notice that the voicing can vary quite a bit from Alba to Alba, as opposed to (for example) Burkes which are amazingly consistent across the various sizes.
Likewise I’ve not owned an MK F but I’ve owned a half-dozen different MK Low D’s and there were subtle differences between each. The MKs showed a much narrower range of variation than the Albas but I keep in mind that the Albas are all different sizes.
Which is to say that if you had several Alba F’s and several MK F’s in front of you there would be numerous different two-way comparisons.
Thanks, Ketil & Richard for your feedback, much appreciated. I think I’m going to go with the Alba, perhaps have a chat with Stacey O’Gorman beforehand. One thing I’ll be interested in is whether or not the curved windway reduces clogging much/at all. As much as I adore Colin’s whistles, it’s always been something I’ve had to struggle with, even with warming up the whistle sufficiently and the good ol’ toothpaste treatment (which I ought to do more often, I suppose). And although I don’t foresee playing the low F in a group environment (sessions or otherwise), the tunable feature on the Alba vs. the untunable MK is worth considering.
cheers,
Stiofan
In my experience the curved windway helps prevent clogging. I had lots of problems with this with the Goldie I once had. But it hasn’t been a problem with Albas and MKs.
I have neither tried Alba F nor MK F whistles, but I have owned A whistles by both makers. I felt the MK had a tendency to sound harsher on the second octave (upper) notes than the Alba. But that might not be the case with the MK F whistle.
While I am not as much a fan of the MK Low D, I am fond of the F, and have played it in my band, for years. I have always liked its sound, and its playability. I can depend on it…
Below is a link to the MUSIC page of my band’s website. The MK low F - tunable, not Kelpie - is used in the first selection at the top of the first column. It is heard at the beginning of the song as an effect - and has a bigger part at the end of the song.
Please note that the recording was simply a direct feed from our sound board, at a concert in August of 2017. The mix was for the live sound, and is certainly not studio quality.
Thanks for your thoughts on my F whistle query, Byll and JoFo. I’m now somewhat undecided, but have sent a note to Stacey O. and Misha about their respective F whistles. If only I could take a trip over to Scotland tomorrow to try them all out, and pick out the one that suits me best.
cheers,
stiofan
I know you can return the MK for a full refund and I’m pretty sure you can with Alba too. Why don’t you buy both and send one back? All you can lose is postage for one of them. I have one of each (not Fs) and find them similar sounding whistles and both are good.
That’s certainly a good suggestion, but alas not in my budget right now. I’m leaning toward the Alba, but waiting to hear back from Stacey O. for some info. Thanks for the positive comments about both whistle makers.
May I ask you, as an aside, what whistle is played in your recording of Queen of Argyll? It is particularly beautiful. Thanks!
MK every single day of the week.
[quote=May I ask you, as an aside, what whistle is played in your recording of Queen of Argyll? It is particularly beautiful. Thanks![/quote]
Tyler: For high whistles - E, D, C, and Bb - I play Sindt whistles. The whistle in QUEEN OF ARGYLL is John’s C. Thank you for your kind comment.