So, yesterday I got the Chieftan bass Bb whistle I’d ordered from Phil. What a monster (the whistle, not Phil)! I really don’t know how to describe the size of that thing. Suffice to say, if I wanted to use it to assault someone (it’s very well suited I can tell you), I’d have to wield it with both hands.
The bore diameter is quite a bit larger than on my Chieftan low D. The finger reach on the right hand is fine; actually the distance from 5th to 6th hole is smaller on the Bb than on my (old style) low D! The left hand reach is a killer though: I am still struggling with how to cover the holes properly. Also, it’s really long! When my fingers do cover all holes, I have to extend my arms somewhat uncomfortably and lean back to be able to get the fipple unto my lips. In short, bass Bb is definitely approaching the limit for how big low whistles can be and still be playable!
Those (expected) difficulties aside, I tried to play a couple of tunes, and the sound is just cool. Soooo low, “booming” even. Somewhat surprising, it doesn’t take a lot of air, and popping into second octave is easy.
Having played a bit on the Bb, I gave my low Ds and my flute a workout afterwards, and that was a funny feeling! Suddenly those instruments felt small, light, and fragile, and playing them was a breeze. Kinda like going from low D to high D.
Cheers,
Jens
[ This Message was edited by: Jens_Hoppe on 2001-11-15 08:40 ]
I’ve been building Bass A, B and Bb whistles for some time.
I’ve found that the best way to deal with the lowest tonehole is to make it on a separate piece of plastic that allows it to rotate.
This will then best suit the players hands.
I also make the hole a little bit smaller to make it easier to reach. This compromise causes the hole to be weaker than the other holes but at least I can reach it.
Jenns, what diameter is the bottom hole on your whistle?
Just out of curiosity Jens (and other super-low whistlers or should that be super low-whistlers?) do you play these whistles just for your own enjoyment or do you use them when playing with other musicians? What kind of tunes do you play - do those super-low whistles play jigs & reels up to speed or are they mostly for slower tunes?
Sue
Speaking of Low-Low Whistles, I have a group on yahoogroups.com called basswhistle. Currently, the Low-Low-C is being developed.
Note, it is a prototype and looks prototypish.
Two of the keys are finished so far, the information, measurement, etc is open to all.
Check out “Corcomroe” on Spillane’s “Pipedreams” CD - played on a super-low whistle (C or Bb I think). Absolutely stunning (it’s an Overton by the way).
That Davy track was done with a low C BTW. I have a Bass Bb made by Colin, and it’s quite a doozy! He actually sent me 2 and let me chose which I preferred; what a guy! I have found the biggest problem to be the wind requirements, not so much the holes. I have relatively small hands for a guy, but I have no problems playing any low whistles (except his Bass A and Bass G, yikes!!!) I might make it easier if some of the holes were offset or maybe designed to allow the pinky finger instead of the ring finger to be used.
