Looking for opinions on the Dixon high d at The Whistle Shop.
I’ve got a high D Dixon tunable. It’s a good buy for the money. It’s not real loud (about the volume of a Generation…maybe even a bit less). It has a very nice pure sound and isn’t to loud or piercing on the high notes. It takes VERY LITTLE air to play. I haven’t checked mine with a tuner, but it sounds more/less in tune to me. To be honest, I found the gold tape decorations to be a little tacky and took them off…looks better black. -Brett
I’ve got the tunable and nontunable and love them both. They sound much better than susato (my other whistles at the moment) and don’t require as much air. The Dixons are slightly quieter but I use them at sessions. I prefer the nontunable but they are both worth the money.
I got them from the Whistle Shop and the second octave D sounded off so I told Thom, and Tony Dixon sent me a new one.
I agree with the above reviews. I have not played any other whistle at the weekly session since I bought my Dixon D (tuneable). Highly recommended - you won’t beat it for the price.
Cheers 
Gerry
Dixons are fine whistles. My D whistle is very well in tune, has a lovely, slightly chiffy tone, is rather quiet and doesn’t take a lot of air. Certainly too quiet for noisy sessions or such, IMHO.
Jens
I have a non-tuneable soprano D. It has a tendency to squeak on the 2nd octave E, but otherwise it’s a fine whistle.
Has anyone compared the tuneable and non-tuneable to see if they have the same problem with the high E?
[ This Message was edited by: ThorntonRose on 2001-11-19 10:43 ]
I have had several tunable Dixons, soprano D’s and C’s. They are great!
They have a breathy sound, moderate volume and wind requirement. The windway, with it’s curved roof and flat floor, is less prone to clog.
They are generally in tune with themselves, when tuned close to standard pitch. The tuning mechanism works well and the composite/PVC composition is not subject to the environmental pressures (heat, cold, etc). Because the tunables are made from PVC and they don’t change with the temperature they play more consistently. I make small scratches on the tuning sleave to mark when where on the slide the whistle is in standard pitch. Wheather I’ve been playing for while or just brought the whistle in from outside. The setting is still good for standard. This is great when your sitting in a noisy pub where there’s so much noice it’s hard to tune.
Dixon’s are sturdy and hard to break, this I know, because I’ve accidentally sat on them a couple of times.
My only problem with them is, at around 25 dollars each, its too easy to give them away to promising beginning whistlers.
I reccommend them as the first whistle for all beginning whistlers who already play another instrument. If you don’t play another instrument, but are reasonable sure your going to stick with it, (at least long enough to get 25 dollars worth of enjoyment), make the dixon tunable your first whistle.
They are not the best whistle, I am impressed with several of the more expensive makes (Burkes, Overtains, Thin Weasels, etc), but I’ve yet to find a whistle thats twice as good as the Dixon, and the ones that are better all cost 4-10 times the price of the Dixon.
Finally, the reason I bought my first Dixon was that its easiest to play. I went to a store and test played about 20 different makes, and the Dixon was easiest for me as a beginning whistler.
Ease of play, consistent, tunable, indestructible, inexpensive, doesn’t clog, in tune, and enough breathyness in the sound to give it the feel of the whislte. All of these characteristics make Dixons an instrument with which you can …
"They have a breathy sound, moderate volume and wind requirement."
For anyone wondering about the sound and air requirements of the Dixon whistle…
The older Dixons had wooden fipples and were breathy and took more air to play. The newer ones are very pure sounding and take very little air. This may account for some of the differences in reviews.
P.S. They do also have a nice bit of chiff on the attack.
-brett
[ This Message was edited by: Bretton on 2001-11-19 16:27 ]
Its worth the price…Although, I haven’t picked it up since I got my silkstone. Hey! I got my silkstone 3 weeks ago tomorrow!
Brent
I have the tunable plastic fipple high D and I don’t what every means about them being similar to a generation as far as air requirements and sound. Especially the last few notes of the second octave. I practically go blue trying to keep a good sound out of those notes. With a generation or oak whistles, it doesn’t take much more breath to get the 3rd octave d than the second octave d. Perhaps mine is an exception. What I like about the dixon is no matter how hard I blow(within reason) it doesn’t crack. Which brings me to the point about sound levels. My dixon is way louder than any of the standard $8 whistles, and in both octaves too. hmmmmm…
PP