I recently purchased a used Overton low F from another board member, which is the first Overton in my collection made by Bernard himself… the other three are Goldies.
As I had hoped, the low F finger stretch is perfect for piper’s grip with no discomfort with my small hands.
The low D stretch is a bit excessive for me, and the low G stretch is at an awkward point where I compromise and use the fingertips of my left hand and piper’s grip with my right.
On the low F I can really cut loose and play fast tunes with ease, and this has become my low whistle of choice.
As for the differences between Bernard’s and Colin’s whistles, there really are very few… which is really what you’d expect since Colin was taught by Bernard.
Here’s what I have noticed by comparing my four Overtons:
(1) Colin signs and dates his whistles, and Bernard doesn’t.
(2) Colin smooths the edges of the finger holes, and Bernard doesn’t.
(3) Colin sandblasts the inside of the tube, and Bernard doesn’t.
The bell note on this whistle is very stable, and the 2nd octave is quite managable… although you do have to lean into the high end of the 2nd octave, which is characteristic of all Overtons.
The breath requirement is quite modest, and the volume difference between octaves isn’t very great.
Oh, and of course the tone is very rich and full of character like you’d expect from an Overton.
If you don’t already have a low F in your whistle collection, I highly recommend adding one to it as soon as possible… and make it an Overton if you can! 
I’m a die-hard Burke fan when it comes to soprano whistles, but Overtons are my favored brand of low whistles… sorry Mike! 
Hey Raindog,
A year or so ago I stopped by the Hobgoblin Shop in Red Wing Minnesota. They let you try their whistles and flutes to your hearts content. I kept returning to the Low F Overton (Bernard) but since I was traveling to Wisconsin and then to Tennessee and back to Wisconsin I just couldn’t part with the cash while traveling. OTOH, I couldn’t get the low F out of my thoughts. So I arranged my trip to once again go by the Hobgoblin Shop and sure enough, the whistle was just as lovely as I remembered so I bit the bullet and took it home with me. And I’ve never regretted it. It’s one of my whistles that’s pretty much not for sale, until and unless I find something that I like better and that will be hard to do. Your description is spot on. It’s a good compliment to my low D (Colin) that I think I got from you a while back. I picked up a tunable Colin Low D along the way with the idea that I would keep the one one I liked best. I don’t know if someone before me had messed with the tunable or not but it is significantly harder to blow than the one i got from you. I’ll probably contact Colin one day, when I’m ready to order another Overton and see if he can revoice the tunable.
The only thing i would change about the low F has nothing to do with it’s sound. I just wish it were that beautiful anodized blue that I’ve seen pictues of.
If you haven’t played an Overton Low F, you’re missing a treat.
jim
Nice thread. I own 9 Bernard-made Overtons and, as yet, none made by Colin so your comparisons were very interesting.
I agree that the Overton low F is a very fine whistle. I also have a Grinter which I like very much but the Overton still gets plenty of use.
I actually like Overtons from high to low. In all the keys I play in regularly I have an Overton and usually one or two others, more for low and high D. My favourite ‘other’ varies from key to key but Overtons are wonderfully consistent.
I too like Burke sopranos, well the C I have is a great whistle. I also have a low G which at first I didn’t much like but which I’ve grown to love. Complements my Overton low G nicely. For low D, Overton and Copeland have me well covered I think.
I have a Bernard Overton ‘G’ and a Colin Goldie built low’F’,and Gary is correct in what he says about the differences about the two whistlemakers work.
The Bernard built ‘G’ is very easy blowing,the ‘F’ slightly harder.They both exhibit that Overton ‘attack’ at the beginning of a note- Mind you,when I ordered the ‘F’,I did tell Colin that I liked a bit of Chiff in my whistles! The sound could almost be described as a ‘chugging’ sound,for want of a better word- maybe it’s just my lousy breath control.
Overton’s certainly are whistles of character.
It wasn’t from me… I have two of them (easy reach & big hole), and wouldn’t part with either of them!
Now that I think about it, I remember that I didn’t get the Low D from you but we corresponded some about that the time I got it. And still appreciate the Hector the Hero and play it regularly. Good correspondence and I think I downloaded some good music from you. The Pogues? Does that sound right?
jim