Here are the attributes I’d like to see in a high D whistle. I’d appreciate any recommendations for whistles that tick the boxes.
A sweet upper octave that doesn’t require much push on the A and B.
A somewhat ‘husky’ sound (particularly in the low octave) and some chiff.
A bit of backpressure, so there’s a little room for leaning in.
Medium volume (not significantly louder than, say, a Generation).
Any suggestions?
For me at least the Killarney ticks all of those boxes. It may be a bit ‘sweet’ for your taste if you like your whistles husky.
Take one Generation d and soften the beak by exposing to a source of heat (hotter than hot water: you can hold it a few inches above a glowing electric hotplate for example). Gently squeeze the windway to narrow it a bit. Result: one alluringly husky whistle with a bit of backpressure for next to no money.
A Copeland seems to check every one of the boxes. I wouldn’t say it has much backpressure, but it does take a good bit more leaning in than a generation or similar whistle. Unfortunately they are priced absurdly at the moment.
While the Killarney is a great whistle, it really doesn’t take much push at all to play it, and isn’t what I’d call “husky” in the lower octave (Edit: Just noticed that has been addressed).
I have an old dixon trad that is superb and checks most of those boxes as well… though I think they have changed their recent ones.
I would suggest Tony Dixon whistles. I think that they are as husky as you can get for an exceptionally sweet upper octave. The trad and the polymer is a good choice, but if you want something louder, the solid body brass or aluminum would work well.
I would also suggest feadog whistles. They are cheapie whistles, but I find that they play very well. They fit into the criteria given. Wonderfully husky (huskier than the Dixon), the top end is also sweet but not as sweet as the Dixon. Although, it is a little more free blowing with less back-pressure.
I’ve had no experience with them, but I hear that Reyburn whistles are sweet despite being chiffy. Goldfinch whistles are now also offering an “airy tale” model of their high D. They sound airy and gravely, with a very nice solid core note. Deliciously husky.
I have the following Reyburns: a C/D set, a Bb and a low D. I really like the whistles, and they suit my playing. However, I ruled them out when answering this question, for four reasons: the upper octave is what I would describe as powerful, and definitely not what I would describe as sweet; the upper octave A and B require a lot of push as well as precision with fingering (they shriek if you even leave the bottom finger on the hole, let alone any others, which means I have to play them differently from my other whistles); they’re not particularly husky in the bottom octave - more flute-like, in fact; and they’re definitely not medium volume - they’re LOUD. They do have a certain amount of backpressure, but that’s the only criterion that fits.
Having said all of which, I do like my Reyburns a lot. I just don’t think they fit these criteria.
Thanks for the input benhall.1! 
Does this include the narrow-bore Reyburns? I had thought that their small diameter bore would grant the upper notes some sweetness.
I haven’t got one of the narrow bore high Ds, although the Bb I have is relatively narrow bored and, although I really like the sound, again, it’s not what I would describe as “sweet”; “robust” would be the word I’d use. These characteristics seem to be shared by all my Reyburn whistles and also the couple of other Reyburns I’ve met in sessions over the years.
Great tips–thanks (and keep 'em coming)! Dixon and Feadog are two I had been considering.
I tried and owned a pretty wide variety of whistles over the years, but those years were some years ago now (if you follow), so I’ve forgotten rather a lot (blame the flute). I had a Reyburn D/C set when he first started making Delrin heads. The C, in particular, was fabulous, but the D, while lovely sounding, was too loud for me. (I think whistle should be icing at a session, not the cake.) Actually, I recall that I had a ‘squished’ Generation back then, too–I might need to revisit that. Re: husky–that’s sort of pie in the sky, if the other attributes can be met. Flutey is nice, too. (Think of those qualities in contrast to pure.)
I went to a great music shop in Cork, where they let me try out a load of low D whistles: Kerry, Copeland and others. I’ve also tried out an MK Pro. The only whistle that could play up to and beyond high B without the sound cracking was a Dixon. That applies to both the plastic and the metal versions. Not only that, but the holes are well placed so I don’t have to switch grip to the piper’s when I switch whistles. Dixons sound good, too. I would choose one every time.
Oh? I have three low D whistles and have tried a few more. The three I have are a Copeland, a Reyburn and an Impempe. All three of those play easily way up into the third octave, let alone the A and B in the second octave. I also really like the Shaw low D, which also plays up into the third octave with no hassle whatsoever. I should have bought the one I tried - it was great!
But isn’t the OP talking about high D whistles? Maybe I have that wrong. Low Ds are a completely different beast, and my answers (as previously posted) may have been different if we were talking about low Ds.
The high D Lon Dubh (delrin) that I own,made in 2005, seems to match all these attributes ! 
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that these two things are in opposition.
The more freeblowing a whistle is the easier/lighter/sweeter the 2nd octave is. The more resistance/backpressure a whistle has the more push it takes to get the 2nd octave.
Sindts and Killarneys and my old trusty Generations and Feadogs have amazing sweet easy 2nd octaves, and also are very nimble going between the octaves, what I call a good “action”. They are extremely freeblowing overall and have virtually zero backpressure. The Sindts I had were a hair less easy in the 2nd octave as my Killarney and vintage Feadogs and Generations.
My Burke (high D session bore) takes a bit more pressure overall and you have to support the 2nd octave notes, but I wouldn’t call its 2nd octave touchy or difficult.
I have two Mellow Dog Ds and both fit the bill – the volume might be slightly more than a Gen, but to my mind the Mellow Dog is the standard for a warm chiffy tone in a whistle, which I equate with your “husky” request. There’s not a lot of back pressure (and the whistle takes a bit more air than a Gen) but you can lean in and it allows expression, and the second octave retains the tonal quality of the first (e.g., is slightly chiffy but clear) and is stable and balanced – I have no problems into the third register. I would respectfully disagree with some aspects of the Killarney suggestion. Mine is the purest whistle I’ve ever played, and I don’t think anyone would ever call it a “husky” player – mine doesn’t have a whiff of chiff. I also don’t think the Killarney is very expressive – this is a very responsive whistle that to me appears built for speed, not expression. I would also opine that the Killarney has significantly more volume than a Gen – this is a loud whistle (and occasionally shrill to my ear given the purity of the tone). I know I’m in the minority on this one, but I don’t particularly care for the Killarney for most situations. As always, YMMV, and good luck on the hunt.
I’m going to ask a stupid question. What is ‘back pressure’?
The degree of resistance you feel when blowing.
While it’s a widely-accepted term, some (including myself) don’t really like it because there’s nothing really coming back at you when the air’s still going away from you!
That’s and interesting and sweeping observation. I would not want to argue with you observations since they are your personal observations. No aeguments here. Just thinking out loud.
Not all free blowing whistles are sweet in the upper end. The sweetness of the upper end really depends on a variety of design choices including bore size, window dimensions and voicing. You can have a free blowing whistle that is a bear to play at the top end, requiring lots of air at high velocity to sound the notes, and the notes will be loud when they do sound. I won’r pick on a particular whistle here. We’ve all played one or two of those, I am sure.
“Backpressure” and “push” get interchanged quite a lot when we talk about whistles. I do think they refer to altogether different characteristics of whistles. But of course we are “dancing about architecture” here. A whistle with a restricted windway is frequently said to have good backpressure. Having a restricted or narrow windway will of course require the player to push harder to get a note than they might on a well made whistle with an open or free-blowing windway. So is the correct term for a Overton “hard blower” style whistle “backpressure”, “push” or perhaps “resistance”? It is not “backpressure” in the manner that that term is used in flute design where it refers to the air pressure inside the flute “pushing back” or supporting the tone as we blow. Conical bore whistles might exhibit more of that type of phenomena. It is not “push” in the sense that you may have to push real hard to get enough velocity for a high B on a free-blowing whistle design with a bore that is somewhat too large. It seems to be more of a “resistance” or “restriction” at the windway thing. That seems to be how Peter has described it. That’s how I think about it.
We sometimes seem to have different meanings when we use these terms.
Feadoggie
I would suggest an Oz whistle. There are some video reviews on the website.
http://www.ozwhistles.com/shop/Sozwhistles.php
You can have a free blowing whistle that is a bear to play at the top end, requiring lots of air at high velocity to sound the notes, and the notes will be loud when they do sound. I won’r pick on a particular whistle here. We’ve all played one or two of those, I am sure.
Indeed. I had a soft blowing Goldie low Eb that fit that description. I was also under the false impression that the much taller windway would have easier high notes. I think the medium blowing one that I owned prior the aforementioned Eb was actually more friendly up top for me.
I think it would be useful to use separate terms, such as “resistance” and “push”, instead of blanketing them both under “backpressure”.
Yes this is what I would expect, because that’s what “freeblowing” is, less resistance and more air flowing through the thing.
I’ve heard the term “acoustic impedance” which seems to say it pretty well.
As I’ve said I had never heard of “backpressure” regarding whistles until I joined this site. Being a Highland piper, all whistles have virtually zero impedance for me.
On a scale of 1-100 (100 being a very strong Highland pipe chanter reed) all whistles are below 2, in fact negligible.
What I do find differing noticeably with various makes of whistles is how easily the 2nd octave speaks. This seems to not necessarily correlate to how much impedance there is in the low octave.
So, my MK and Goldie Low Ds are rather similar in blowing the low octave, but the MK has a very light easy 2nd octave and the Goldie requires a strong push to get up there. I can compare two whistles easily by putting the two in my mouth and blowing them together, and see at what point each breaks to the 2nd octave.