First Low D whistle

Whistle
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Hi folks I wanted to share the first low-D whistle I’ve made, based on my best understanding of the instrument. I’d love to receive any feedback that wants to be shared. I have very little experience in playing flutes and whistles, but they really interest me and I keep learning a lot from the discussions in this forum.

The head is walnut with a cedar block, the bore is cylindrical copper pipe. I really enjoy its timbre, tone and volume. I think it’s unbalanced towards the second register, since it’s hard to avoid jumping the octave. The third octave is really forced too. Generally it’s very jumpy between registers, and I find it slightly more comfortable to play with the block slightly popped out. My guess is there’s some tweaking I could do with the block chamfer and window length that would balance the registers a bit more? There’s a lot I have to learn

After making this, I ended up purchasing a Chieftan v05 low D whistle in order to have a reference point. I found that whistle requires a lot more air pressure in the second octave and generally has a more airy timbre. I’m curious if that’s a typical reference point for this instrument. Any feedback would be helpful and much appreciated!

Sound Samples:
https://soundcloud.com/deja-pong/copper-low-d-scale-2
https://soundcloud.com/deja-pong/copper-whistle-low-d-scale

Recorded tune:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GwV3_wo3fkk

Images:
Full Album: https://imgur.com/a/YHUvuEG

2 Likes
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It appears to me the window walls taper out and it is wider at the top of the ramp? If it is then I think the air stream leaving the windway Is spreading out and losing some focus to the blade!

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It does have a very pleasant tone on your YouTube recording. I could not open those on iCloud which I don’t have!

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Nice tone. I love the deeper haunting sounds of the lower whistles. Keep it up, you could be a famous whistle maker soon.

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A beautiful tone, indeed! I’m a out to start my journey and have a pvc pipe, but have also got some copper and aluminum tubing.

Any chance you would share some thoughts on how you made the fipple?

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Yes it sounds really nice!

About Low D’s in general, different makers have different approaches and there’s really not a “typical Low D” either in sound or performance, unless we’re talking broadly.

The thing you’re describing as being “jumpy” I think is the thing I’d call “having an easy 2nd octave” or a “nimble 2nd octave” which to me is a very good thing, as long as the Low Octave is stable enough.

Some makers sacrifice ease of production of the 2nd octave in order to make the Low Octave as loud as possible.

I call this having a “stiff 2nd Octave” and it’s something I avoid.

Oddly, many of the Low D’s that have a loud full Low Octave also have a relatively “easy 2nd Octave” so it’s not necessarily an either/or case.

Also interesting is how some of the loudest Low D’s are also the most air-efficient. Less in, more out, but how?

There’s a thing that no Low D maker can overcome, at least I’ve not seen it: the volume differential between the lower notes in the Low Octave and the higher notes in the 2nd Octave.

Nearly always this is most on display if you compare the volume and strength of Low E and High B.

Low D’s with strong Low E’s often have a loud, shouty, and recalcitrant High B.

And Low D’s with a sweet easy High B often have a wimpy Low E.

That pair of notes seems to be the trickiest to balance the voicings of. It’s a compromise.

About the 3rd octave, it generally isn’t used in Irish Trad music. Not all that many Trad tunes have a 2nd Octave C and you can sit in a session for hours and not hear any uilleann pipers, flute players, whistle players, or fiddlers play any higher. (B is the highest note available to a fiddler who doesn’t shift into higher positions, and to a piper who is playing a keyless chanter.)

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Oh about “airy timbre” if you mean wind-noise I think that’s a result of unfocused air.

There’s a variety of timbres you’ll encounter on various makes of Low D.

The most extreme in one direction I’ve played, with a dirty gravelly tone, is the MK (unless Misha has changed his design). I love that MK sound but many find it offputting.

The other extreme is probably the Burke, with a very clean tone which many consider bland.

Another outlier tone-wise is the Reyburn, especially his wooden-head ones, which I call “Native American flute in the fog”.

If you can, get your hands on those Low D’s to get a handle on the spectrum of timbres.

1 Like
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The lower octave really jumps out as clearer in tone and more powerfula peak resonance is happening. Some minor adjustments to the windway-to-blade distance and/or the exact positioning of the block insert might help even things out. Am I right that from the photos, the block insert seems to be sitting just a little beyond the exit of the windway, more into the window, into the tube? If so, air activity in that area might be adjustable too. Keep at it, tone that good must not be neglected!

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Another factor that came to mind which varies from maker to maker with Low D whistles is the tuning of the octaves.

There’s a middle ground most makers have that, coming from flute, feels most natural to me.

But there are outliers with flatter 2nd octaves like the vintage Overtons and a new Dixon I owned, and with sharper 2nd octaves like the MKs I’ve owned and the Kerry Optima I tried.

The tuning of the octaves does impact what you can do as a player.