Hello all. Nice to meet you all. I’m Doug.
I just bought a Chieftain tunable Low D, my first low instrument. When I play, I get a pronounced breathy sound, like air going through a hose. I’m using the Piper’s fingering, so holes are all covered. Am I doing something wrong? Is this just how these beasts sound?
Anything you could suggest would be really valuable.
Doug - which model Chieftain ?
Hey! Thanks for replying.
The whistle is inscribed: “150115 Chieftain V4”. Does that give you the info you need?
Low D’s vary in tone, and some are breathy or dirty or however one might word it.
My Reyburns have a tone I can best describe as a Native American flute in a fog. Breathy/foggy/unfocused one could yet, yet with a strong fat presence, unique and very nice.
My MK has more “core”, more focus, and is gravelly or dirty rather than breathy or foggy.
My Goldie is a bit more pure than the Reyburn, with less of a focused core than the MK.
The Burke is more pure yet, clean and focused.
These differences are striking when I play these whistles, yet when I make a video for YouTube much is lost and they all sound more or less the same.
Anyhow whether a tone is “too breathy” or “too pure” or “just right” is a matter of individual opinion. Some people like a complex breathy/foggy/dirty sound, some people like a pure clean sound. Many players have multiple whistles so they can get a variety of sounds.
Keep trying as many different Low D’s as you can get your hands on, and you will see what appeals to you.
The V4 was one of the tour whistles awhile back - do a search for it (v4 review) and you’ll see how others felt about it.
It all depends on your experiences with Low D’s and pleasing your ears along the way. I have liked some purer tone whistles, but for the most part I really prefer those that have a lot of character to the tone. All are a bit different, so it’s all a matter of trying and finding what pleases you most.
My most recent Low D buy was the Chieftain V4 non-tunable, and I really love it! It is pretty unique in tone, and has a really nice playability (very responsive), so for me, it’s a great addition to my small collection of Low D’s. Phil Hardy’s whistles (Kerry, Chieftain) has turned out to be a great source for my preferences overall, and I appreciate the wide variety of his models very much for my ears.
Enjoy the ride, and have a blast!