I’ve been playing a Dixon low D whistle for a while now and would like a high D one now. I’m going looking at the “DXTRAD - Traditional Whistle” which is a brass tuneable whistle. I believe you just adjust the plastic mouth piece to tune it. It costs 15.65 pounds.
The other one I’m looking at is the “DX203 - Tuneable Soprano D Whistle” which is also a brass tuneable whistle but the mouth piece “incorporates an internal fixed brass tuning slide, which tunes in the brass body.” This one costs 57.40 pounds
What I’m looking to find out is if the price difference is only because of the difference in tuning mechanism, or if it also has a lot to do with the quality of the whistle. I don’t mind paying more for a better product, but I just want to see how worth the price difference is. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
The DX203 is a different whistle entirely from the Trad. The brass body is thick walled and so is heavier. The whistle head is of a different design. I did once own a Trad, and IIRC the trad is quieter, or the DX203 is much louder. I think the DX203 is a purer sound (again caveat of possible mis-remembering) - which is likely why I chose to keep it rather than the Trad.
Is the DX203 worth the extra? It depends upon what you want and what you can afford. The DX203 will compete better at sessions, but I find it a little loud for playing at home, and it gets little use these days (though strategically placed blue-tack helps). It feels really solid, and there is little likelihood of the body being damaged; you could probably drive a car over it without squashing it.
I bought both the Trad and the DX 203 just last week as I was in the same position as you and also, coming from a low d.
I love them both.
The Trad is probably a better all rounder and is a lovely whistle. It has a little more chaos in its sound with slightly more chiff. It plays smoothly across the octaves and its very nice to hold and play.
The DX 203 is heavy and has a real sense of quality to it. Its clearly a more expensive whistle.
The tuning slide is very nice and easy to use.
The tone is purer as Dr Phill points out with a "cleaner"sound and less chiff. It takes a bit more blow to hit the higher octaves and it seems that the higher octave plays somewhat louder than the lower. This is probably down to the fact that I am a newbie and learning how to control the the whistle.
Whats odd is it seems that the trad is “better” but I tend to play the 203 most. It seems that its more rewarding and responsive
to the player.
The Trad is uncomplicated and straight forward. The 203 has its own mind and thats great fun
If you can, get both. if you can’t, get both. If you really can’t, well, you won’t go far wrong with either
Oh, I’ll get both then. I’m thinking of getting the brass version of the more expensive one, and getting the nickel version of the trad one and in a different key. Should I get the trad nickel one is E or Eb?
Edit: Or would it really be best just to get them made out of the same material, and in the same key?
Having also just got one (on Thursday), been a little unsure at first (because it wasn’t quite what I expected) and now coming to some conclusions after giving it another go this afternoon, I’m going to chip in here…
Firstly, the DX203 is now apparently the DX204 (with some unspecified tweaks accounting for the number change) and they’ve also stopped making it in C (a pity when I wanted both) because half the Cs were getting returned as ‘too heavy’!
Next, while I rather like the weight, it’s by no means a loud whistle (I’d expected it to be louder from reports here and elsewhere), but it is quite the most stable-pitched, even and well-tuned high D (and possibly whistle of any size) I’ve yet tried. It’s just silky smooth and also both sweet and accurate enough to let you wander well into the third octave if that’s your cup of tea!
The 203 has its own mind and thats great fun
Surprised you say that because mine (as described above) is absolutely predictable. You can’t push it, but just blow it and it does what it does very, very well!
Two slight concerns I’m still hoping to discuss with the maker are a surprisingly stiff tuning slide and a low D that’s slightly prone to ‘bubbling’ (think we’re possibly just talking ‘susceptible to condensation’ here because it’s blowing stable much of the time), but have to say I doubt I could let it go now and think I really need a DX204 whether it’s the one I’ve got here or replacement depending on our discussion.
Note that it’s not ‘the brass version of the more expensive one’ when the DX203/4 is a distinct model with its own head and the other more expensive line (the alloy-bodied DX006) shares a mouthpiece and some tonal characteristics with the trad.
As for the key, the E and Eb are a nice, cost-effective way to get some decent whistles in these keys if you need/want them (I’ve got all three trads), but D is such a core key (many would say you can never have too many Ds!) and the DX203/4 and trad are certainly different enough to justify having both.
Have just been talking to Tony Dixon on the phone and discovered it’s actually a 203 they’ve sent me because the main ‘tweak’ was changing the longer head and shorter body to a short head (same as the trad and 006 lines) and longer body because the 203 head is apparently vulnerable to careless handling (eg being sat on)!
Two slight concerns I’m still hoping to discuss with the maker are a surprisingly stiff tuning slide and a low D that’s slightly prone to ‘bubbling’ (think we’re possibly just talking ‘susceptible to condensation’ here because it’s blowing stable much of the time), but have to say I doubt I could let it go now and think I really > need > a DX204 whether it’s the one I’ve got here or replacement depending on our discussion.
Note that it’s not ‘the brass version of the more expensive one’ when the DX203/4 is a distinct model with its own head and the other more expensive line (the alloy-bodied DX006) shares a mouthpiece and some tonal characteristics with the trad.
So I’m getting a 204 to try alongside the 203 (since it’s apparently the body material as much as the head that’s producing the sound) and will be sending one of them back when I’ve had the chance to compare.
[Edited some 5 hrs 30 mins after first posting to say I’ve noticed tonight (with thoughts of the 204 head being shared with the trad and 006) that the 203 head differs subtly from the trad with slightly thicker windway walls, smaller voicing chamfer, longer ‘block’ to labium distance and steeper ‘ramp’. So, while still curious to compare the 204, not going to be totally surprised if I find I prefer the one I’ve already got and am quickly growing to love!]
