Hi, guys and girls.
I am new here. I used the search engine a lot before posting this thread. I am looking for a whistle that sounds like the one Davy Spillane was using when he was playing with Bryan Adams at MTV unplugged. Perhaps it was a low D whistle.
I read he is making his own. Others say he uses overtone. I do not want exactly the same (if not possible), but are the overtones sounding like the ones he had then?
Thanks in advance, any info is appreciated.
Mr Spillane claims to make his own whistles, which is certainly entirely possible. The Overton low-D is probably the closest thing to Davy’s whistle, though the Chieftain low-D is also very similar.
Having said all this, Are you intending to buy this to play? If so, I’d recommend not learning on either one. The reach on any low-D is pretty wide, and Overtons and Chieftains are wider than others. Not to mention that they’re not particularly cheap.
If you’re going to learn, I’d suggest a Dixon low-D. The cost is far lower, and the finger-spacing is far friendlier to beginners. Once you’ve spent some time on that, then by all means look into an Overton.
Wolfgang,
Did you read this thread?
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=996&forum=1
On 2003-01-03 15:50, msheldon wrote:
Mr Spillane claims to make his own whistles, which is certainly entirely possible. The Overton low-D is probably the closest thing to Davy’s whistle, though the Chieftain low-D is also very similar.Having said all this, Are you intending to buy this to play? If so, I’d recommend not learning on either one. The reach on any low-D is pretty wide, and Overtons and Chieftains are wider than others. Not to mention that they’re not particularly cheap.
If you’re going to learn, I’d suggest a Dixon low-D. The cost is far lower, and the finger-spacing is far friendlier to beginners. Once you’ve spent some time on that, then by all means look into an Overton.
It’s true that overtons are not cheap, but, I was under the impression that the stretch on an overton lowD was quite managable, if not to say easy!
Agreed about reach. Just normal reach for a Low D. Aches for a couple days is all.
Building one’s way from a cheaper one to the one the person asks–the sound of it–is only likely to make it 150% the price of what buying direct the wanted whistle, it being Overton, or-why not?-Chieftain.
huh?
Puhhh, quite a long thread to read, Tony (thanks for the link).
I didn´t assume it could be easy to play those Low D´s anyway from what I read. I just bought a very cheap pennywhistle to start with, but when I am done with that, I definitely want to get that tone I hear in that CD. Since I was a boy, I allways wanted to play bag or uillean pipe, but I never started to learn. Now I am fascinated by this “new” (for me it is) instrument, that somehow covers the feelings I get, when I listen to those two other instruments.
I am a guitar player up to now, so I am quite used to straddle my fingers. Many of you guys seem to play guitar as well, does it help, when learning the whistle? As far as the price is concerned: At the whistleshop I saw it for 170US$. I was pretty happy to get my gibson les paul for about 650US$ (used). This said, I don´t want to be the guy to show off, just giving you some info on what I am after.
If it was possible to learn with an overtone Low D, then I would really like to try it, unless you guys tell me I cannot do it for sure. What would be your choice then?
I saw some Low D whistle starter sets on the above mentioned website (http://www.thewhistleshop.com/catalog/sets/lowset/lowdset.html), which of those would you assume to sound closest to the overton?
Amar, you are from my neighbouring country. Is there any online vendor in Europe that you would recommend for getting a low D?
Thank you all so much for your replies, it seems that this is not only an informative board, but also a board with very nice people, which is not too common in the web!
[ This Message was edited by: Wolfgang on 2003-01-03 17:20 ]
Hi there, welcome to the board. Here’s just a very slight correction, the name of the whistle is Overton, not overtone, has got nothing to do with “obertöne” (the german translation of “over-tones”), Overton just happens to be the name of the fellow that makes those whistles. At the moment there are two people who make those whistles: Bernard Overton himself (lives in England) and Colin Goldie (lives in Germany: http://www.overton.de)
I would recommend, like many here, for you to get a Dixon low D (at first), I’ve got one too, I guess I’m biased, but it’s an excellent lowD to start with, I’m sure you won’t go wrong. Here is Tony’s site: http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk
Enjoy! 
Wolfgang -
Get in touch with Colin Goldie via http://www.overton.co.uk . He is the maker of Overton whistles, which, though Davy may deny it, are almost certainly the whistles Davy plays.
Colin lives in Germany and would be more than happy to make you a whistle with the same sort of tone as the ones played by Davy.
Best,
Chris
Wolfgang, call at Overton’s site : http://www.overton.de . Feel free to write or speak German if it’s more comfortable to you: Brigitte Goldie speaks native German.
The whistle you’re looking for is the Tenor D. It costs 175 € + mail.
I have small hands and learned to play on an Overton Low D, it’s certainly doable, and then you won’t need to upgrade later.
Loren
On 2003-01-03 16:12, amar wrote:
It’s true that overtons are not cheap, but, I was under the impression that the stretch on an overton lowD was quite managable, if not to say easy!
It’s a relative thing. I have no trouble playing with fingertips on even the widest-spaced low-D. However, I have no illusions that I am in the majority. I have large, relatively long hands, with a wide fingerspan. Friends of mine have a very difficult time with my low-Ds.
Even under my big hands, the narrower set of the holes on my Dixon compared to the Chieftain is quite noticeable. The overall spread is about the same, but the difference in distance between the 4th and 6th holes is quite significant, especially for someone with hands on the smaller side of average.
The lighter weight of the Dixon is also a big advantage when learning, since it cuts down on the hand-fatigue.
And last, the Dixon is a very forgiving whistle to learn on. The smaller holes are easier to cover, and the extremely low breath requirements and significantly lower sound volume make it an excellent practice whistle.
No one has championed the Dixon Low D more than I have, but I think your comments regarding the Overton vs Dixon are a bit off the mark, some Overtons have a longer reach than others, but in general, they are quite manageable.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommed folks try fingertip playing on Low D whistles anyway, although it can work fine for some folks…
Loren
Loren… I AGREE
i am a beginner with small hands and love my goldie overton low d. i use the piper’s grip. i’m not saying it is easy or immediately gratifying, but after you get used to it, it’s great.
i can also highly recommend colin and brigitte goldie, who are the loveliest people to deal with.
cheers!
Colin Goldie… is the maker of Overton whistles, which, though Davy may deny it, are almost certainly the whistles Davy plays.
Chris
He. He. Heheheh. Heeeheeehee. HA! I love this post. Chris is my hero.
Of course, Chris HAS to be wrong. If Davy says he builds his own whistles, it must be
true. It must be some weird coincidence that I am the founder of the most ridiculously huge worldwide network of whistle players in the world and I’ve never heard from a soul who has ever owned a Spillane-made whistle. COINCIDENCE I TELL YOU!
Dale
You can do it, Wolfgang. Overton it is.
The knowledgement and friendlyness of you guys and girls is overwhelming. When I posted this new thread I thought: “well, let´s give it a try, maybe in three or four days there will be an answer”. But now, a little more than half a day later, I have received 15 replies, whow!!!
thank you
One more question though: Tony Dixon offers a whistle with changeable heads (flute and whistle). Does this affect the soundquality of the whistle? Otherwise I would have another instrument (of which I don´t know the sound) for just 10 Pounds.
Upgrading is not a problem, since my girlfriend wants to learn playing the whistle too (perhaps she is even much faster than I am, since she has been learning flute when she was younger). So I might get both, the Dixon and the Overton. Wow, these are going to be some great evenings.
[ This Message was edited by: Wolfgang on 2003-01-04 02:19 ]
Overton Low D’s are beautiful whistles once mastered. The sound is unlike any other, and certainly matches the Davy Spillane sounds (I play along with him on the riverdance video). With the goal of a beautiful sound in mind, practice should be enjoyed to achieve the sound - but once achieved - the pleasure is WHOW!! - KEEP PRACTISING, WHETHER BEGINNER OR OLD TIMER.
P.S. I have a low reach version Overton Low D made by Bernard himself.
Hi Wolfgang,
If you intend to get a Dixon Low D and an Overton you should get the Dixon Whistle/flute combination. I don’t know if the interchangable head will affect the sound but I would be pretty certain that it would’nt. The practice flute head is worth having as it’s fun to play, is cheap and needs no maintainence. I don’t have the interchangable head version but I have both the Low D and the practice flute 1 piece versions.
Cheers, Mac