I have a Chieftain A which is one of my favourite whistles and I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with the high C or D and can tell me what they are like.
Thanks
I had a Chieftain high E once that was just terrible. But that’s neither here not there, I suppose.
VERY LOUD!! Requires lots of breath pressure as the bore is very wide.
Have you considered a ‘modal C’ whistle from makers such as overton (Colin Goldie) or Silkstone? Very versatile whistle… I have an Overton one which I play a lot. Handy for moving into a C tune or for F naturals etc.
I have a Chieftain Bb that’s one of the best whistles I’ve ever played, if that means anything to you, since I don’t have any experience with their D or C.
My Chieftain D was not good for me. It sounded fantastic, but it was far too loud, the bore was too wide and it had too much backpressure.
Thanks. Do you mean it needs a lot of air? Is is much louder than a Susato?
Adrian - just a suggestion here. I had Chieftains a long time ago, including a C, but won’t comment on them because it’s no longer relevant. Phil Hardy has taken the Chieftain line through various incarnations in recent years and it might be helpful to note the model or at least the age of the instrument you’re referencing as well as whether tuneable. I think perhaps you might get more and more relevant replies that way (not that those so far are not).
Philo
I don’t know the Susato myself. The Chieftain was from dec.'05. In the second octave the higher notes hurt my ears
I had the tuneable chieftain high D, great sound, it is a loud whistle, I did struggle with the upper octave A and B notes, the high B seemed to be almost unplayable, this was a while ago and I did send it back as at the time I thought it was a duff whistle, since then I have aquired a kerry pro alto G which is a really well made whistle again its a bit of a canon like the high D and the holes are huge, the high A and B notes need good breath control to get them sounding right, but its worth the time and effort to master the whistle as the sound of the pro G is fantastic, VERY LOUD,
but fantastic, and as far as I know the Pro Low G is not made anymore.
sponge 
I have a Chieftain mezzo D which is what they call their soprano D whistle because the bore is so large. A feadog whistle will fit inside it and a Susato Dublin D will almost go inside it. The D and E holes are the largest I’ve seen on any other D whistle. On the other hand I have a Susato A whistle that has a low A hole large enough for most people to put their finger inside. The Susato is hard to play with any speed at all and definately requires the “Piper’s Grip” to play. The Chieftain is by far the loudest whistle I have, even louder than any of my Susatos. It has high breath requirements and is a little unwieldy in the upper 2nd register. It tends to clog right away even if you warm it up as much as possible. It will clog multiple times although after it is good and warm it doesn’t completely clog up but will “gurgle” a bit untill cleared. I haven’t tried Dupanol or any other agent to keep it clear so I don’t know if that would work or not but it definately needs something. You might ask Tin Whistler about that as he has a lot of experience with that. Even with all that said I consider the Chieftain to be one of my best whistles. I don’t play it often at home because it tends to get unhealthy feedback from my wife and daughter since it is so loud. I played it for our Chistmas Eve service at church and I had to stand part way down the choir loft stairwell so as not to blast the congregation. I do like this whistle very much but I most often play my Greenwood D and my Susato Dublin D for around the house.
I have a brass one and love it, and all of the above is true of mine. This is a whistle that must be played full tilt. And yes, the pressure required for the high a and b could cause a stroke.
I just played my Chieftain for the first time in several days and I fell in love with it all over again. Yes, it must be played full out to be appreciated but when you do it really delivers. Although I haven’t played it outside as yet I’ll bet it would be a great outdoor whistle. I have a feeling it would have to be fairly windy to cause this whistle to cut out. I said earlier that it is a bit unwieldy in the upper 2nd register but that’s not really so once you get used to it. You must learn to play it according to it’s own requrements which is true of any whistle. I failed to mention that it is made of very heavy aluminum or as our Aussie friends say “Al-u-min-ium”.
Super! This is very helpful info. Sounds like just the whistle I need.
Thanks all
Just be prepared to spend the time on your “support” in the higher register. I have seen the NR Chieftain Ds and Cs played well by highland pipers and very experienced players to good effect - I would not inflict one on a beginner, they seem to be well at home in high-energy stage environments where close-miking is difficult for quieter instruments.
To be honest I was considering these Chieftains as whistles for just letting rip with out of doors. A month ago I was hiking in the Bulgarian mountains close to me here and the whistles I took with me were too feeble for the environment (Susatos and WW). I could have taken my sax - but on a week hike! I’m hoping these Chieftains will be LOUD, in tune, slightly raw and able to take a lot of breath when I just want to let rip. Benbrad’s reply has given me hope that they are what I am looking for. I have enough quieter and responsive whistles like my Burkes for regular playing. Thanks for the advice.
I have a chieftain high D tuneable and non-tunable. The non-tuneable is the best whistle I own. It has a beautiful sound and is very responsive. I was playing an Overtone (Goldie) before getting this whistle, which I hardly ever play now as I find the chieftain more responsive. I also prefare the sound, but that is an individual thing.
As was said in another review, the whistle does take a lot of air. However, I have found my breath control has improved since playing this whistle. I also find the high A on the tuneable model needs far more air than expected. The non-tuneable is in tune well, so unless the people you play with are well out, I would stick with the non-tuneable.
My experience is quite the opposite with teh tunable being less difficult to blow into tune. What model do you have karl?
Both the high D’s I have are the new range chieftains. I bought them both from Phil’s website, the tuneable last month and the non-tuneable last December. I also made a mistake in my last post! it is the high B (not A) that is difficult to blow on the tuneable. It can be done with a good blow, but it just seems to need a lot more than expected. With the non-tunable whistle it is about what you expect, but it still needs some puff.
Karl
I agree with the excessive airflow required to produce higher notes. It’s almost too loud for my sessions. But the lower register is super sweet. So basically if the tune doesn’t spend much time at high A or above, I use my non-tunable Chieftain.
Otherwise, I switch to my Silkstone Alloy D because it requires much less air up high… but you have to be careful not to squeak to death when switching from the Cheiftain to the Silkstone.
I’m still searching for a more moderate whistle. Thoughts?
~chris