I’m an “intermediate” beginner on the whistle and can’t afford a real high end one. Does anyone have any advice as between the Howard low D and the Kerry plastic mouthpiece low D whistles? The low whistle page on Chiff and Fipple seems a bit out of date. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I don’t have a great deal of experience with it, but I’ve found that the Howard requires only very gentle blowing and isn’t quite as much finger stretch. As I own and play an (Goldie) Overton, the Howard, that belongs to a mate, feels very odd to me indeed. This is not to say it would be a bad choice, it’s just not what I am used to. I don’t know much about the Kerry, so no help there. Of probably no use to you whatsoever, the same mate that owns the Howard, a professional musician, would love to own an Overton. His description of the sound in his words,“…It’s just so creamy…Magic!”
See if you can try the Howard and a Kerry to decide which would suit you better.
Mick
Also worth exploring:
I had both the kerry plastic head and the Howard and I prefer the Howard.
Domnahl na Gruen whistles are cheap, relatively speaking, if that’s your primary metric. I recently entered the low D owners club because one of these was too cheap for me to pass up. Previously, price had been a big part of my staying away from low Ds. I don’t know how well it plays compared to other low Ds, given that I have zero experience with other low Ds, but I’ve been enjoying it, anyway. Finger spacing is pretty comfortable on it, too.
The Alba whistles Deasan recommended are wonderful instruments, but from my experience, they’re not easy players, neither in terms of breath control nor when it comes to finger stretch. OTOH, they sound great - I’d give them a big thumbs up for that. I’ve also had good experience with Dixon low D (I prefer the aluminium lows over the polymer, but the polymer ones are by no means bad whistles - and very reasonably priced!). There’s also been a lot of praise lately for the new tapered flute/whistle Dixon has made available, but I don’t own one, so I can’t comment, and it’s not really cheap (though if you compare prices, it is not expensive at all). Check out Dixon here:
http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/
And of course, I fully subscribe to “try before you buy”! Chiff and Fipple has been tremendously helpful in avoiding bad choices, but in the end, the whistle should suit you personally (that’s been said before - it’s true!), and you’ll only know that after you’ve played it.
M.
Damn you! Now I checked the site, saw a great priced-looking-sounding one and I NEED to buy it! And I started with the whistle a couple of weeks ago!
WhOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
There are lots of threads on cheap low D whistles…
Cheapest - make your own or buy from Guido. Or how about a Dixon polymer low D?
Guido Gonzato. A far better instrument in playability and sound quality than either Howard or Kerry, IMO, at a fraction of the cost. “No brainer”!
You could make one for practically nothing using the Guido Gonzato plans (do a search for them). Not hard, and you’ll get great satisfaction from it.
http://guido.gonzato.googlepages.com/whistle.html - make your own
http://www.ggwhistles.com/index.html - buy ready made
With Guido’s money back satisfaction offer, you can’t go wrong!
Thanks Jem! 
Thanks for sharing those links, Jem! Wanton for my first low D as well, making one for myself might go over better with my wifey, as far as cost goes, and it would surely keep me out of her way for weeks as I am sure it’ll take 10 or more tries given my handywork skills. 
Cheers!
Russ
I’ll build one eventually, but I don’t have the workspace to do it at home unfortunatly 
What do you guys say about Domnahl na Gruen?
Workspace? what space d’you need? The kitchen table/worktop is adequate, or the floor, plus a few hand tools. When I very first tried any of this stuff (bamboo flutes, actually) 30+ years ago with some carpet-bamboo and a hacksaw, hand drill, a few bits and some needle files, dowel and sandpaper, I did it on the floor of my student digs bedroom…
For anyone going DIY in Britain, BTW, the black electrical conduit tube is the best bet, though you may struggle to get the smallest 16mm OD size for high whistles off the shelf. The 20mm and 25mm OD sizes are easily found in most DIY stores. You want the 25mm for low whistles. The white stuff in GB will do the job, but is softer and it’s harder to get rid of any work-marks on its surface.
The Dixon polymer seems to be very easy to get a good sound.
I made my own, but its not for everyone as it involves quite a bit of metal bashing.
Belive when I say I don’t have the workspace 
nor the tools btw, but yes, I’ll try and do some, when I have my own space.
Thanks to all of you for your replies. Actually, I’m not looking for the cheapest as my main metric. I’m happy to pay a little more for good sound and playability (and I have smallish hands). There seems to be a range in the relatively low cost low Ds from about $50 to about $200, then they go way up. And of course you’re right that trying is the way to go, but my local stores here, believe it or not (it’s a big city, L.A.) seem to have very limited selections. In fact, does anyone know of a store in the L.A. area with a good selection of good and also mid price models? McCabes is a great music store, but their flute/whistle selection is pretty small.
Thank you again, chip and fipplers, for your help, and I still welcome anymore advice or direction to resources comparing all the mentioned lower/mid end low Ds: Kerry, Howard, Alba, Domnahi na Gruen, and Gonzata seem to the list at this point.
I just went through the same process, except I have zero whistle experience. I was all set to start off learning on the high D when I read a couple of articles by people who disagree with the “don’t start with a low D” theory. I decided to get a low D and play around and decide for myself which whistle to “get serious” with.
My criteria were: small hands, metal body, $150 max, tunable, can be delivered in a few weeks. So I combed through a lot of posts on and off this site and made a little spreadsheet.
With the info I had then, there was only one solid match: Dixon tunable Aluminum for $150 from Whistle and Drum (whistleanddrum.com).
I can just barely finger this thing with piper’s grip. I like the sound a lot, but that means little coming from a noob. The problem is, after just a few minutes, I get a lot of thumb strain. I’m sure I’ll get better at this over time.
I get an unexpected bonus in that when I switch to the high D after the low D my fingers are much more nimble!
Then I read a couple of bits about people using a low F as a stepping stone to a low D. You can finger it as a low D and learn the music while developing the stretch you need for the low D.
So, I sent Nick Metcalf of Ethnic Wind an email to find out how much closer the holes are on a low F. He told me that he has jigs set up that allow him to customize low Ds for small hands at no extra cost! I decided to order a low F anyway, which should be here in a couple of weeks ($80 tunable, painted, and shipped from ethnicwind.com).
If I had known then how flexible the smaller makers are, I think I would have sent emails to Mack Hoover and David O’Brien to ask them what they can do for small-handed seekers of low Ds before buying the Dixon.
Regulars, feel free to stomp on any mistakes.
TunelessJoe,
I haven’t had a chance to play the Dixon aluminum Low D, but their polymer low D has a pretty easy reach. Have you had a chance to try any other Low D whistles for comparison?
Also, if your thumbs are aching, it means that you are gripping it far too tightly. This will also slow down your playing - try to relax and hold it as lightly as you can. If you’re afraid of dropping it (I was, when I started) try standing on carpet, or a soft lawn. You’d be amazed at how little pressure it really needs to keep the whistle from escaping and to seal the holes. The lighter your grip, the longer you should be able to play without strain.
FWIW, when I started out I found any low D hard to manage, but thought my Dixon was easier than my Howard - smaller holes and less air needed. These days, the Howard gets more use - I like the tone more, and regular flute playing has made whistle “reach” and “breath requirements” pretty much a non-issue.
You may also find that you prefer playing mid-range low whistles to the low D. I have several A whistles that I really like, and I’m really tempted to get either an F flute or an Overton F whistle. I’ve had the chance to try a couple of different Overton F whistles at C & F gatherings and hated having to hand them back to their owners.