I am hoping to survey the board on low F whistles. I’d like recommendations for a low F whistle in the following cases:
The absolute favorite (the gold standard)
The best value (where money is an issue)
The best for someone with smaller hands (makers known for a shorter “reach”)
I am new to low whistles and ideally am looking for a whistle with a smaller reach and a great tone. Tuneability would be a plus but I can deal. I see some reference to air requirements on these whistles and am assuming it is the difference between playing a flute and an alto or bass flute – bigger and broader column of air.
I’ve only played a couple low F whistles, but for not a lot of money ($10 or so) the one cane low F I got from www.mid-east.com was not bad. The lower notes were a bit soft, but a lot of low Fs (and lower) are like that.
I would not reccomend a Susato low F because the reach between the last two holes is kinda wide. I’m sure others who have more experience will be more helpful than me, though.
Lots of people express a preference for this key, but I’ve been unable to obtain a really good low F whistle, having had much better luck with G for example. My experience is as follows:
Grinter red lancewood - I bought one second hand along with its little brother soprano D. The D was wonderful, but the F was just ok - it had a spectacular high end and a somewhat “dull” lower end. Eventually the F developed a crack and I gave it away to someone with the expertise to fix it. I can’t be certain that there wasn’t always a hairline crack that may have affected the sound.
Goldie Overton (blue anodized not tuneable) - After obtaining and then selling off all my Overton’s I realized that I am just not an Overton player. The F however was the best of the lot for me; yet, again I was not floored by it, ranking it a skosh below the Grinter. Nicer in the upper octave.
Copeland - the F is my least favorite of all my Copelands (Eflat, D, C, Bflat, A, G, F, D). This particular one is just not impressive; again, it reminds me a bit of the Grinter with a blah low end that doesn’t seem to handle much pushing (dull or flat in tone) and a soaring high end.
O’Briain - (non tuneable) - Very easy player, again not wonderful, but perhaps the best of those I’ve experienced to date. Doesn’t seem to have the richness of tone in the lower end that it’s big brother tuneable D has for example.
I’m not sure whether I’ve just had bad luck with this key across several makers, whether there’s an inherent imbalance between the octaves tonally that’s difficult for makers to deal with, or whether I’m F-challenged or just plain weird in that key.
I have a Cheiftian which, compared to a Dixon and a Burke which I have tried in that key, is great. It is pretty much the Low F I want and don’t forget Lunasa a band known for playing F whsitles at times uses Cheiftians but they do get them for free from Phil Hardy that should be known. The Cheiftian has a breathy sound and a fair amount of back pressure I love mine it does need to be warmed up though. The holes are actually kind of far apart infact they line up almost perfectly with my Rudall 5088 copy Flute.
