I am in Scotland right now on Black Isle. I have called Alba Whistle about a Low A tuneable whistle. They have one in the making. I am thinking about going over and getting it tomorrow. Any thoughts on Alba? I played a “C” at a music shio and loved the sound it produced and it seemed very easy to get the higher octave. My oppinion was it was a very nice whistle.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Bonnie
If you like it, you should buy it. How many times are you going to be in Scotland??!!
I like Alba A a lot, and the C and Bb, too.
I will be here till the 24th. I most likely will return again in the spring.
I have an Alba A ordered myself. According to their update, it should be in the mail to me by now. I like sandy, chiffy kind of whistles, and it seems like Alba might be my sound.
Waiting is hard.
Get the Alba. Great whistles. Seriously, I can’t say enough about them. I have several and love them all. An “A” … Now there’s a key I don’t have … yet. … 
LJ
Did you go and try It???
Thanks, Littlejohn, you encourage me!
I own a few Alba whistles and I love them.
Howie
LittleJohn, Howie,
What Alba low D do you have ? The Standard or the Vibe ?
Thanks.
Mine is the Low D Vibe.
Howie,
I also have a low D Vibe. I like mine but it is really very “breathy”, is yours the same ?
Exactly gerardo. I have been trying to get some answers on this. Are all low d whistles that way? I don’t have anything else to compare to but my low d and e notes definitely have that breathy quality to them. It could be normal though. It takes more air to play these things. I am glad you mentioned the fact. I was beginning to think it was just me, or my particular whistle.
Howie
Howie I have both the Vibe and the Standard Alba low D, that I received just one day ago (see my post: comparison between Alba Vibe and Standard).
The Standard is not so breathy, it is “creamy” and clean, instead. Therefore not all low D whistles are like this. But I am beginning to think that a breathy low D is liked by many, because not only the Alba Vibe is like this, but also a Chieftain V3 that I had in the past was the same!
Listening to the sound samples on the Alba site one can hear the breathiness quality. I thought perhaps it was just a poor recording. However, I had one of the fellows on Stacy’s board play a tune for me on his low Vibe D and I could not hear any of that breathy quality at all. In fact the sound was quite wonderful. So, I am wondering if a different technique can or should be used. I am not very good with the low d and so it is hard for me to judge for sure.
Howie
Howie…if ya’ve managed to find Stacy’s board…why don’t ya ask her?
I believe that a high degree of breathiness is part of the Alba Vibe sound design. My understanding (of course I have not played all low D whistles available on the market !) is that there are two "families’ of low whistles as far as sound is concerned.: the “breathy” ones and the “clean & reedy” ones.
Part of the first family are the Alba Vibe, the Chieftain V3, The Overton, and possibly some others that I don’t know. Part of the second family are the Burke Viper, The Syn, The Howard. The Alba Standard leans a bit towards this second group but it retains a bit of breathiness (which I like because I think it’s part of the traditional irish whistle sound - think Clarke).
I personally do not like low d whistles that have no “breathiness” at all, like a Syn low D that I recently owned.
I had for a few days a non-tunable Chieftain V3 that I returned because I believe it was a bit out of pitch, but the sound, although very “breathy” and “chiffy” was really beautiful. At the end, it is really a matter of taste.
I would think that playing out in the open with no amplification breathiness would not matter, and perhaps it may even help the sound in some way. However, under amplification it might be a different story. I would like to hear from some more really experienced whistlers on this. You have given me lots of input, and I thank you.
Howie
I just received my Alba low A yesterday–feels like Christmas at age ten!!
I was utterly surprised by the air pressure needed to play the higher notes in the upper range. It’s almost like playing a clarinet! Yet at the same time I love the sound–the breathy quality (“airy,” my wife calls it) is truly beautiful. There is not a single reedy, vibratey, “off” sound on any of the notes, and the lowest note is “there” when you need it, not touchy at all. I can play a jig quite fast on it.
Because I’m not used to playing with this kind of force in the upper range, I was honking notes all over the place yesterday. This is not a whistle you would take to the basement with others and switch back and forth! Still, when I hear the beauty of this sound, gettting used to the backpressure will be worth the effort! The toneholes are very easy to reach on this whistle; even easier than my Burke Bb. And I love hitting those lower notes. The Hobbit’s theme is pure joy on this whistle!
Just a few beginning toughts on this new whistle.
I was at Stacys place today and tried out a few whistles. She was superbly encouraging and helpful to a beginner! I must say that I found it a challenge to get a decent sound out of a couple of low whistles that I tried. She played them well of course. I am learning on a dixon polymer low D and a Burke pro viper - as mentioned earler in the thread these seem to require a different style of playing. I liked the sound a lot and will be back for one in the future when I get more time under my belt. I probably still prefer the sound of the pro viper right now but things will change like the seasons I am sure 
cheers
Stephen