Hi
Am considering buying a low D whistle…Just wondering what is the best one on the market regardless of price?
Also just curious as to which one did Finbar Furey use while playing The Lonesome Boatman?
By all means as of right now the “best in my opinion” is the new Kerry Songbird by Phil Hardy. There have been some reviews that you may want to reference which have been performed by C & Fer’s.
It’s design is beautiful, its capability to perform smoothly between octaves, and the back pressure to me make it a hands-down favorite.
You can hear it being played at: kerrywhistles.com
I have no idea what whistle is being played by Finbar on the tune, but it sounds nice.
Good luck.
Why don’t you throw an apple marked “For the Fairest” into the mix?
There are many fine whistles out there. But you’ll get total agreement on which is “the best” at about the same time you’ll get an honest 95% to 5% presidential election return.
What kind of sound are you looking for? Pure, complex, airy/chiffy, “flutey”? Loud or quiet? Can you handle a long reach and big holes? Lots of backpressue or almost none?
Give some idea of what you’re looking for, and you’ll probably get good advice. But the way you’ve asked it is like asking what’s the “best car” - and we don’t know your budget, prefered driving style, and tastes.
I could imagine that Finbar played one of the very first low whistles made by Bernard Overton. And as to which lowD is the best lowD:
there is no answer that will suit everyone.
some will say: Colin Goldie Overton, others will say: Copeland, then again others might say: Bleazey, and yet others will swear by: Grinter.
there is no common consensus, depends also on what it is you are looking for, or what your personal definition of the best is.
by the way, welcome.
Depends on who is playing it. I like Kerry Whistles line of Low Ds
good one.
I think my Burke D Aluminum Pro Viper is the best.
Best at what? Well, best at sounding like the galvanized steel posts in a chain link fence when it’s rapped on the glass coffee table on accident.
Table and whistle both survived - but the “gong” instantly swept me away to schoolyard days in nostalgic reverie.
It’s pretty dang cool to play too. You can hear the voice of the Burke in a sound sample I made. It’s](http://www.tofutaco.com/whistles.asp%22%3EIt%27s) here. Please excuse the lethargic playing, I’m a rank beginner and did the recording a couple months ago, the first day I played a Low D. Fingering a Low D is like being a parent - you can’t really know what it’s like until you do it.
Do listen to the more seasoned brethren and ladies here. There are too many low Ds with different qualities to pick any one “best.” I’d say make your choice like picking a lady; do your research well then take a leap of faith.
AFAIK Sweetheart…as soon as that reamer comes in. . .
Compared to:
Kerry, Burke, Cook all in my possession
Based on reach, breath requirements, stability of tone, looks and maintenance.
Whats the Low Susato whistles like???
I have the Kerry songbird low D,it’s my first one,and it is very easy to play…as for the best low D,well it’s like saying,whats the best car in the world,everyone has their own tastes and opinions,it really is just finding what you like yourself,never mind what anyone else says.
What exactly are you looking for? Something that is easy to learn with, something that has volume for sessions? Something that plays itself and lets you take the credit? A chick magnet?
Throw us a friggin bone here…
A bit of everything i guess, ease of playing, sound quality, appearance…
Doesnt matter about price…
Oh, that makes it easier.
Buy one each (of each model!) of Alba, Burke, Chieftain, Copeland, Howard, Jubilee, Overton, and Serpent Low D’s. Play them all. Keep the one that works and sell the rest (or give them out to folks on this board).
Hey, you did say that price didn’t matter. 
If you’re serious, sorry for the flip answer. But I’m beginning to suspect that you’re one of the board regulars indulging in a bit of leg-pulling.
What is ease of playing? Fingering or breath?
no i’m genuine, i’m not wasting anyones time..
just looking for some advice…gonna treat myself to one decent whistle in the next week or so…
this site was is actually very helpful for product range…
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/Expens.html
Other than the part about “confusion about the intersection of these three whistle lines: Overton, Chieftain, and Kerry” (which was actually clarified in July of 1998 [see http://web.archive.org/web/19990921225747/http://www.chiffandfipple.com/whatamess.html) it is a very informative page indeed!
I think it will help you decide for sure.
Good luck
I used to spend a lot of time drooling over the main C & F site, too.
Really, a lot of “best whistle” will be personal taste. And sometimes having different whistles for different moods is a good thing.
If you’ve never played a Low D, you may not know what you like and don’t like in a whistle. I haven’t had a chance to play all the whistles out there, either, but of the ones that I have tried I’d probably be looking most closely at Copeland, Overton, or NR Chieftain.
But that’s just my taste - I like the sound of all of them, and prefer a whistle with solid backpressure.
I’d strongly urge you to get a decent, not too expensive Low D first and spend some time with it - that’ll give you a solid baseline for comparison.
And for that “decent, not too expensive” whistle I’d recommend a Howard or Kerry Low D. Possibly a Dixon (a bit quiet for my taste, but easy to play). Possibly one of the new Serpent Brass/Poly low whistles (I haven’t tried one, but I like my older brass Serpent Low F quite a bit.).
I would not recommend a Susato Low D, but - again - that’s personal taste; for all I know, you might love them, and they’re fairly inexpensive (hard for a beginner to play, though - very challenging reach and fingerhole size).
Helped any?
The best whistle I have played is the tunable Kerry Pro. To my wife ( my best critic) it sounds as pure as an Overton without the upper octave breath requirements (for me). Mine doesnt clog (people say I have lucky spit), it responds rapidly for playing reels or ornaments, and certainly has “appearance”.
But as I have said before, and will say again, everyone needs to find the whistle that fits for them.
The best low D is a flute.
if i could buy any low D it would be a copeland…wait, i just bought one. 
you will not be let down with a copeland…ive owned a kerrypro and an alba and played several others. i love my copeland whistle