I’m considering buying another whistle, and am somewhere I can’t try them out first. Could I have some expert advice?
Specifically, I’m looking at something in the range of an F, G, A, or Bb. The low D is too much of a reach. I have played a (Bernard) Overton low G, a Howard low D, and a Copeland low D. That’s the whole range of my experience.
I found the Copeland really easy to play, even in the upper register. In comparison, the Overton seemed to have no backpressure at all and to need huge quantities of air to get into the upper octave. Could these differences be due to individual variations in instruments? I liked the Copeland and the Howard, both in sound and responsiveness, but found the Overton to take a whole lot of effort.
I’d really appreciate some words of wisdom. Thank you!
Jennie
I would have said the opposite – the handful of Overtons I’ve played have all required tremendous amounts of pressure, with very little airflow (like having to exhale through my nose while playing a low-D). Others with more Overton experience will undoubtedly ring in.
If you thought the Copeland low-D was an easy blower, I suspect you’ll like the low-G, too.
I agree with Chas that there may be some terminology issues here. In my experience (limited, alas) Copelands are easy to blow, offer no backpressure, and take quite a bit of air.
Overtons on the other hand tend to require you to blow harder, to press your breath through the whistle (that’s backpressure), and take very much less air than the Copelands (your breath lasts longer).
To get a sense what backpressure is take a long straw and blow through it, trying to get as much air through the straw as quickly as possible. Then clip and inch off the straw and try again. The long straw has more backpressure than the short piece.
Colin Coldie offers “easy blow” Overton whistles that have only very little backpressure.
I assume money is not an issue? If so, I have heard enough from both the camps that would suggest they are both great whistles . . . the question will be “which is right for you”.
I can tell you that I have a Howard and Dixon low D sittin’ right here, and I like the Dixon better. The sound has a more mellow tone and is easy to play through the octaves, and the fingering is better. I have another low D that is more of a stretch on the fingering. And with the pvc on the Dixon, there is less warm up time versus the metal, and it’s easier on maintenance. Plus, for the same amount of money, you could also get a Low F and G . . .
I have heard good things about the Chieftain low D. I have a Chieftain Gold Mezzo A, I just got, and it’s a great whistle. Just the right amount of chiff, blows through the octaves nicely (for me), has a nice low mid/low tone, and looks good to boot! There is a Chieftain low D tuneable in aluminum, on ebay right now, so that could be an option for you as well.
The worst thing that can happen if you buy an Overton or Copeland is that you trade or sell it with someone else. And, maybe you can find someone who is trying to sell both, and is willing to let you try both, buy one and return one?
Thanks for the clarification, Bloomfield. Sounds like the Overton I tried might be the exception. Felt like I was blowing into… nothing. There was no sense of resistance at all, and I used up air much more quickly than I’m used to. And, for a tuba player, running out of air is a strange feeling.
I own a high D Overton and it has a totally different feel.
Maybe I should just wait until I can find some more whistles to try, before I make the investment. I’m feeling isolated.
Asking here helps some.
Another whistle that I have tried recently is the Burke composite. I was quite impressed with their sound for being basically plastic type material. It sounded much like a Copeland (very flutey and robust) to me at well under half the price. Breath requirements were quite similar as well.
I did not keep it because I prefer the higher back pressure, your experience aside. I have not tried one of Bernards whistles so I can’t say anything about that but I was always under the impression that Colin’s and his efforts were at least quite similar.
I think that there is still a terminological issue here. As owner of several Copelands and an army of Overtons, I can confirm that Bloomfield go it right. The standard Overton takes a bit of work to blow, especially at the top of the second octave, but doesn’t require you to breathe frequently. That is high backpressure. Copelands don’t take much wind, but you find yourself running out of breath surprisingly quickly and have to plan for that.
The easy blower that Bloomfield referred to could be your answer. Colin Goldie makes them—ring him to discuss specifications—on a made to order basis I think. Now, I’ve never played an easy blower. But these issues tend to involve trade-offs, so I would imagine you get less back pressure with an easy blower and therefore have to breath more frequently. Perhaps Colin gets a compromise between a standard Overton and a Copeland with regard to breath requirements. I’d love a whistle that somehow combined everything I like in a Copeland with everything I like in an Overton but I don’t think it would be possible to make one. If you lean towards an Overton, just discuss your needs with Colin.
Not only that but Colin told me that you get a whistle that has less note bending/expressiveness capabilities. He did not indicate to what degree this is reduced, just that it was.
