What are some of the best Low F whistles excluding Copelands (I already own a couple Copelands and am looking for some variety)
On 2001-11-16 11:07, AlexDylan wrote:
(I already own a couple Copelands and am looking for some variety)
sigh…
Low F O’Riordan is great…good luck.
Jessie
I haven’t played an O’Riordan Low F…yet
However, of the Low F’s I’ve played - including Copeland, Grinter, Chieftain, Burke and Overton - The Overton is my favorite overall. And, if you already have Copelands, I think the Overton is about as far opposite as you’ll get in a top whistle - tone wise that is.
My 2 cents.
Loren
[ This Message was edited by: Loren on 2001-11-16 13:31 ]
I have had a Glenn Schultz Waterweasel Low F for about a year or so. Its solid, good, and I like it. But I have hardly played it simply because I don’t often see use for a Low F. WHOA hit me when I was at the Schultz whistle factory that day. My recollection was it was not very expensive as Low whistles go, but comes with the usual dead on tuning that I’ve found in my other weasels. I wouldn’t let mine go even though I don’t often pull it out of the bag.
Just wanted to second Loren’s comment. I have an Overton Low-F and it is one of my favorites. I got it to play a number of waltzes that folks play around here at contra-dances (not that I’m ready to play these yet, but now that I have the whistle, I can start to fool around with the tunes). I love the tone, feel, and play of the whistle.
I can’t really compare it to other F’s, like Loren, but I can vouch for its easy and fun play characteristics.
I vote for the Overton as well. I can’t put mine down, unless I’m playing my Overton A Colin rules, he’ll make it to your personal prefrence. My first three a supD, A, and Alto F I just had him voice em to his own prefrence. All three are amazing. He is great to talk to, and can help you out if your not sure what your looking for in a whistle. He just sent out a big hole tenor D, and a tenor E a couple days ago for me. This time, I requested them to lean more to the pressure side than an easy blower. So it’s going to be intresting to see what I get. I think my F is some where down the middle, the A takes more pressure and took some time to get used to, but once I got it right, I wouldn’t want it anyother way.
I need to try some more Overtons in the same key, so I can compare better. Maybe Loren can go into further detail about the pressure diffrences in the Overtons. If I remember correctly he has a couple duplicate keys?
Jack “I ain’t whistlin dixie” Orion
I really like my tunable Kerry low pro F and except for the sharp edges on the mouthpeice of my older version when bought ,it has a lovely sound and is very easy to play.The edge issue is really a non-issue as it took me less than a minute to smooth it off and I would not hessitate getting another Low Pro because of this. Peace,Mike:)
I don’t have an F, but my low G Water Weasel is fantastic, and I see no reason why Glenn’s F would not be great also
I too have a Water Weasel Low G but not the F. It is a very nice Low G for the money, and I dig the fact that it’s two piece and durable - good for hiking, camping, what not. Beware though, the bottom holes are a bit large - maybe too much so for some folks. I imagine the F would be about the same. Still, if large holes don’t scare ya, the low Water Weasels are a good deal.
Loren
Loren - I too love my anodized Low F Overton by Colin. Since I’ve forgotten how my former and now your Chieftain Low F sounds, could you compare for us? Thanks. PhilO From the posts you are definitely out-acquiring me these days (I’ve turned my diseased self to acquisition of various wakisashi of late).
I have both low G and low F Water Weasels. The difference between the two is very much like the difference between the WW D and C – the F is significantly harder to play than the G, and a bit more muffled. Plus the reach is brutal if you don’t have big hands.
I do have big hands, and I’m quite comfortable playing the G. Frequently I’ll practice tunes on it just because I like the tone. The F is enough harder to play that I usually won’t use it unless I have some specific reason to be playing in F. (Playing along with a Lunasa CD, for instance.)
I don’t think of either of them as particularly durable. They certainly are not as rugged as the WW Bb and A. Perhaps I baby mine too much, though.
Hey Phil,
Good to hear from you! I’m short on time so I’ll be brief:
Yeah, I still have that Low F. It’s certainly the best Chieftain I’ve tried, but compared with my anodised Overton, it sounds tinny and bland - the contrast is quite startling actually.
The Chieftain is the only other Low F I own right now, having sold the more valuable Grinter and Copeland. I keep the Chieftain as a knock around whistle, for the car or whatever, when I don’t want to endanger the Overton. Low F is one of my very favorite whistle keys - not to high or too low and, as mentioned elsewhere, you can use it to play along with Lunasa CD’s plus some really great Low whistle parts on last two Old Blind Dogs recordings as well.
Loren
What tracks on the OBD albums? I don’t know if I’ve ever sat down and tried to play through the whole thing, but I have played along a good bit with Fit?, and I was under the impression it was low D throughout.
Certainly the Pearl Wedding Reel (which I was just practising – love the tune) is on low D.
Colomon,
Forfar Soldier and Roslin Castle are both played on an F whistle. Roslin is one of my very favorite tunes to play in fact.
As for Fit?, you’ve got me there, I may have made a mistake on that one: I was working on playing along with some of the tunes when the CD first came out, and seem to remember one or two working with the F whistle, but it’s been awhile, and I may be remembering wrong. My apologies, I should have sorted my thoughts better before posting!
Cheers,
Loren
Just adding another vote for the Goldie Overton Low F. Its one of my favorite whistles in any key which includes Sindts & Copelands. Its awesome. Just my 2cents. Cliff
Just for the record . . .
Mack Hoover makes an EXCELLANT low F cpvc. I like it better than my green Overton (which is also a good whistle).
Vinny
I’d cast a vote also for a Hoover PVC Low F. It’s a softer whistle, but has that sweet Hoover sound and a nice range. Easy to play in 1st and 2nd octaves, with a pleasant tone. Mack sent my low F a couple of weeks ago, and it’s awesome!
Cal
Overton low F - a dream, I love mine. Gave it to Fred Rose the other day to play a tune and he made it sound incredible. If only…one day…
Just wanted to put in another vote for Water Weasels. I have them in Low F and low G, and absolutely love them. Yes, the low F holes are large, but no bigger than low D holes. And yes, the pitch is dead-on. The Water Weasel is a cost-effective choice.