Friends,
I purchased a Dixon Low D Whistle earlier this year. It was highly recommended both for price and quality. The low register sounds nice but when I play the upper registers it sounds so breathy and “plastic”
sounding. Since I have heard nothing but good comments about this whistle so I think that I must be the problem instead of the whistle. Can anyone give me advice on how to get a better sound on the upper registers?
I want to give it one more good try before I put it up for sale. Thanks for your help.
You may want to try checking inside the mouthpiece area for any roughness or extra bits of plastic and gently sand them. I did this to my Dixon Low G and it improved the tone considerably. The upper register, while still breathy, is the most whistle like. I still have some of the “plasticy/recorder” like tone in the lower register but I don’t think you can do that much more considering that the whistle IS plastic.
You may also want to email Tony Dixon directly at tonydixonmusic@netscapeonline.co.uk . He gave me some helpful pointers and I’m sure he’ll work something out with you if it is a problem with the whistle itself.
The only low whistle I have is a Dixon tuneable Duo, and I’m very happy with its price and sound. I don’t think there’s a better value low D on the market.
The breathy sound in characteristic of Dixons, high or low; as for plastic, well it is make of a polymer so I guess that’s how they all sound.
I second Stonewall’s advice that you contact Tony Dixon for help - he’s rightly proud of his designs and products, and wouldn’t like to have an unhappy customer.