Cheap, (yet loud and good) low D or low F recommendations?

Whistle
1

Hey, people!

I haven’t posted here in like YEARS :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m looking for recommendations of a good and loud low D or low F whistle to play in the street (for busking). It doesn’t have to be terribly loud, but it definitely can’t be very quiet, because where I play it’s fairly noisy.

My budget is very limited, so I may even have to resort to buying a used one, but could you please guide me in which brand and model could I get? I had the Susato Low D in the past but didn’t like it very much.

Thanks a lot in advance,
Martin

2

I would suggest a Dixon One piece polymer. Excellent tone, very responsive, low price and a great value.

3
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Hi Martin
It’s good to see you here again.
I would say that unless you go down the Reyburn or MK route which are out of your price range then you’re going to struggle to find a low D with good volume.
I was going to suggest a Susato F, a good work tool for the streets.

Nick

5

Hey Nick! How are you doing!?

I still have the low F that you made for me, and I love it to practice at home, but it’s too quiet to play in the street. I need something louder.

I thought about a Susato low F, but I’m not sure if I’m gonna like it. I’m a Susato fan when it comes to high whistles (I own Susatos in C, E, Eb and high F. I used to have an awesome Susato VSB in D too, but my niece lost it :frowning: ). Since I had a Susato low D and didn’t like it much, I don’t know if I’ll like the low F. If it was as good as the high whistles then it would be a favorite.

I saw in the classifieds a Chieftain low D for u$s 120. That’s within my budget. Do you know if that’s a good whistle for what I’m looking for?


Cheers :slight_smile:
Martin

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What about its volume? Is is too quite or do you think it could perform well in the street?

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The Kerry optima that was recently on tour was actually pretty nice (unlike the other whistles I’ve tried from kerrywhistles/chieftain). It was cheap, and pretty goldie-esque in sound, with good volume. Requires a bit of backing off in the low notes, but that wasn’t really bothersome for me. If I were in your situation I’d try that out.


I would really suggest just waiting until you have enough money for a Reviol, though :tomato:

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If the OP means “loud” in reference to how various makes of Low D compare to each other, the Dixon and Optima were two of the three quietest whistles of several I recently reviewed

https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/mcgoldrick-mcsherry-new-album/91/1

In relation to other instruments one encounters at typical Irish sessions, even the loudest Low Ds tend to get lost in the low register, in a medium-sized or larger session.

Following the OP’s specifications (cheap, loud, good) is difficult, because in general one gets what one pays for.

In that review the volume was (loudest > quietest)

Maplehead Reyburn > MK > Burke/Susato > Optima/Polyhead Reyburn > Dixon

Setting “good” aside for a moment, if we go “loud and cheap” it would have to be Susato, one of the cheapest Low Ds available yet middle-of-the-pack in terms of volume.

Susato aside, generally you pay more to get more volume (MK, Burke, Goldie are among the loudest whistles).

The “good” part is complicated, potentially encompassing tuning, timbre, evenness of volume/voicing across the gamut, strength of Bottom D, quickness of response, nimbleness of octaves, ease/sweetness of high notes, air usage, and ergonomics.

Just one of these, ergonomics, is complicated, encompassing fingerhole spacing and size, tube diameter, and weight to name just three.

No Low D, perhaps, is the best at all of these various things. Low Ds which are the best at most of them are not cheap.

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Mk Kelpies occasionally pop up used for about $150 -plenty loud and and it’s a good whistle.

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Bothrops, since you are looking for volume and want to keep the costs down, have you considered PVC flutes in those keys? That’s what I would suggest.

Make your own if you want to keep things as inexpensive as possible (provided you have some simple tools already).

I’d agree that the Dixon is one of the quieter low D’s. Their low F is better but still rather demur. You’d get better volume out of their flute analogs.

The louder whistles I am familiar with are all fairly expensive, as has been said.

Feadoggie

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Like Retired above I’d like to put a word in for the MK Kelpie, I have both the Low D & Low F and they are excellent (especially for the modest price) PLENTY of volume, in tune, superb tone and build quality.

I play my Low F 90% of the time these days, I would consider selling the Low D, if interested please send me a PM.

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Thanks a lot to everyone for the great answers.

I didn’t know the “MK Kelpie” line. I just checked the prices and the low D costs ~176 u$s new, which is not overly expensive. That’s a little more than what I could pay right now, though, but I think I’ll just wait a little bit and go with one of those.

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There’s a Kelpie here https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/fs-mk-kelpie-low-d-whistle/90522/1
Might be worth a sending a PM.

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I’m a big believer in picking up whistles used.

You pay less, get it right away, and it you don’t like it you can sell it for the same price you bought it for.

I’ve picked up a couple tunable MKs (low D) for around $200 each. Likewise vintage Overtons.

MKs and vintage Overtons and new Goldies are more or less equally “loud and good” but MKs play very differently from whistles of the Overton/Goldie design. You owe it to yourself to get one of each and see what you like.

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I mention Shaw because I had a chance to repair a low D once and it was loud by my experience. It wasn’t anything I did to make it so. Probably not a good recommendation from the “quiet guy”.
They are fairly inexpensive and definitely are a tin whistle in looks and feel.
Mack

16

Shaws are interesting things for sure. I had a Low D once.

The great thing about Clarks and Shaws is that it’s easy to bend the metal portion of the windway to alter the wind consumption and shape of the airstream, and to bend the blade to alter its shape and position.

Even with tinkering, which greatly improved the whistle’s voicing and air consumption, the Shaw I had didn’t have a satisfactory ratio between how much air had to be put into it versus how much tone came out of it. That’s what’s so amazing about MKs, Goldies, and Overtons: small air consumption and huge sound.