So you know who the whistle is for: I’ve played the flute for about 7 years now, goofed around with penny whistles for a few years, and really played penny whistles for about half a year. I am a fast learner and consider myself talented.
Now I’m looking for my very first Low D Whistle! My price range is around 180$ or below. At the moment I’m looking at the Howard Low D whistle, but without any knowledge of the differences between makes and styles, picking one and hoping for the best is my only real option at the moment.
Do any of you have a recommendation for a whistle of this type for this price range? Any information will help.
Also on a side note: what’s the difference between nickel/aluminum/brass?
As luck would have it, I have a Howard I am willing to sell. (Still keeping one – I like these whistles.) Send me a PM (private message) if you are interested.
Since I have a vested interest, I will stand back and let others comment on the quality of Howard whistles. Keep in mind that Howard mouthpieces seem to change every few months, so it can be difficult to make direct comparisons.
Oh, and as you probably know, Howards are brass with various coatings. (You can also get a silver one, but that’s way above your price range.)
Don’t bother with any all-metal whistle - they’re horrid in the mouth anyway - and mostly have rather strangled voices/wont take any air OR take far too much air… I’ve never met one I thought was worth the price in terms of playing qualities, though I do appreciate the skills of the makers (well, some of 'em). If you really want to throw money at whistles, go wooden - Bleazey or Swayne or the new Hamilton - twice the price of the dearer metal ones, but four times the instrument. Otherwise, get one of Guido Gonzato’s Low Whistles - make a better sound than any of the metal ones and far cheaper - splash out on several keys instead…
Avoid Howards, I’d say. In my experience they are horribly out of tune towards the top of the 2nd 8ve, especially on high B, regardless of which mouthpiece version you get hold of - also not particularly strong toned, though nice enough with the newer heads..
Why do people use aluminum to put beer in it, if you can make whistles out of it?
If this is your first whistle you wont be able to justify buying a wooden whislte, as you won’t be good enough to do it justice. No offense, but its like a 15 year old getting a classic car for his birthday. Just not right.
You will be happier with a cheaper metal whistle.
Overton is a good choice, but expensive.
I love my burke low d viper, and I have heard nothig but good things about the brass ones. I have an aluminum one.
Howards are also ok. go to whistlethis.com and read the reviews.
I have a Susato low D which I just like it… BUT… I had the possibility of trying an aluminium Chieftain tunable and I fell in love with it. Now I like my Susato less than before, lol.
That Chieftain was freakin’ awesome. The air requirements were HIGH, yes, but the breathy tone was very pleasant.
Now I want a Chieftain so bad
Just to clarify, I wasn’t seriously suggesting going for wood at this stage…Go Gonzato, forget metal. For not very much more than a tweaked low price high whistle, you’ll get a low one that’s better than any metal one on the market at any price and nearly as good as the top of the range wooden ones.
I find it amusing that almost every time someone asks for a whistle recommendation and gives a price cap or range, people seem to always start recommending whistles outside of said range. I think if people could afford the better whistles they would just buy them, and probably not have to ask for a recommendation in the first place!
Anyway, my recommendation for a low D under the $180 range would be either a Chieftain V3, NR, or an Alba (regular, not the Vibe). Other low D’s in your price range that you might want to look into, but that I have not yet tried include O’Brien and Humphrey. Howards are OK, but I find that they do not have what I feel is the typical low whistle tone, they are more nasaly or reedish sounding. They can also be a bit more tempermental playing wise than the Chieftains or Alba.
To make a large generalization, Aluminum tends to be brighter while Brass tends to be mellower. I usually personally prefer the sound of Brass, (I love my Brass Copeland and Chieftain Gold) but was recently proved wrong by the Brass Burke (Not that the Brass Viper is bad, just that I prefer the aluminum viper in this one case) Howard is one of the only makers I’ve seen that offers a low D in Nickel plate, and I have not played one before so I would not be able to comment on the tone. Most low D’s are aluminum, brass, or plastic. There are a few wood ones, and the occasional rare bird in sterling silver (copeland) or even titanium (Macneil).
Buy an Overton. It’s the father of the low whistle and still the most beautiful and most haunting sound I know from all the low whistles I heard and played (and I’ve had the privilege to try some). And what’s more: it’s got volume, which many low whistles don’t have. And for the metal, I love it, it’s solid, needs no attention like wood and sounds great!
I don’t know what the deal is with assuming wooden whistles are better just because they cost more. I’ll pit my Clarke original against any wooden whistle on the market. I find that with whistles, it’s not about being a “good enough” player to do the whistle justice, it’s about being a good enough player that it doesn’t matter how much the whistle cost. It takes an expensive instrument to make a crappy player sound good; a good player can make a $10 instrument sound as good as a $500 one.
I have a non-tuneable Susato for my low D. I think they changed their model after I bought mine, because my E hole is big enough to literally lose a finger in, which makes it very difficult to play anything fast because it’s very easy to not seal that entire E hole and lose my sound. Newer Susato low Ds I’ve played with at the store seem to have less of a reach and smaller holes. Still, it’s my favorite of the low Ds I’ve tried, with strong backpressure (which you can use for interesting effects), and a beautiful airy sound. I don’t like Susato’s high whistles, but I would have a hard time replacing my low whistle.
A lot of people seem to like Howard for their low Ds, but I can’t stand the sound of them. To my ear, they have a very non-traditional recorder-like sound. They’re cheap, but in my opinion, not worth the money.
I had a Shaw low D for a while, and I believe they’re in your price range. They have beautiful sound, but a very difficult reach and very high air requirements. Also, it’s a delicate whistle and will get bent extremely easily. My Shaw was destroyed when a friend sat on it and it got bent in half.
thank you to everyone who has given me a better idea of what kind of whistle I want. I haven’t officially decided, but all the information has been incredibly helpful, and as of right now im looking at the chieftain v3
I started with a nice used PVC hoover at around $50. It’s good to learn on and it lets you know if you want to stick with a low D. What I’ve also noticed is that you can generaly find someone to sell or trade whistles with, as long as what you start with is halfway decent. I’m currently playing with a used Overton, and while it’s well made, it’s got some difficult quirks. If I can’t sort them out, I’ve no fear that I’ll find someone to take it off my hands without my taking a loss in the transaction. That’s something that’s great about the whistle community.
I agree with medit8b1 that immediately recommending Overtons, Burkes, etc. just because they are great instruments isn’t helpful for people looking in a lower price range. That said, I also think that if you want to try one of these instruments, there seems to be little risk in picking up a used one (especially if you trust the seller) and passing it on if it isn’t to your liking or if you’d like to make the money back.
Has anyone in this thread done so? I didn’t/don’t. That would be daft. FWIW, and as I have posted on this forum before, I stuck with Generation high whistles and did without a low whistle for many years because the “high end” whistles that were appearing over the years were not, IMO, worth paying for and were mostle inferior to Gens! If and when I meet a mid-high range metal whistle I think is worth the cost/plays decently according to my personal preferences, I’ll happily say so. (I haven’t yet, though there are quite a few of the main names I haven’t had any opportunity to try.) I certainly prefer wooden whistles and think the good ones are the best instruments available, but I never suggested the OPer should move into that price range, as his OP made clear his financial position and objectives. I do not think all wood whistles are worth what may be charged for them in playability terms, nor are all equally good, nor are some of them better than some of the best metal whistles…
In any case, I clearly advised looking at Guido Gonzato’s plastic whistles - cheap, sound close to wooden, almost as durable as metal, far nicer to hold and have in the mouth than most metal ones, and better in tune than many, with good volume and response and not excessive air requirements nor strangulating back-pressure - ideal for the parameters of the OP, in fact, and for anyone wanting to experiment with low whistles without huge financial outlay. Moreover, they are more than good enough to serve well at a pro playing level until one can afford to upgrade to the very best wooden or metal whistles - to the extent that I see no point whatever in buying a mid-range wood or metal whistle (like Chieftain) that will cost at least 2-3 times the GG but play less well.
Aside - BTW, an acquaintance of mine has just ordered one of the new Hammy low D wooden whistles - I’m waiting with keen anticipation to get a toot on it! I daresay it will be a while before it arrives, but I’ll report in due course…
