Can anyone mention some good lo’ whistles worth looking into, in the price range of 200-250$? A mellow/raw sound is preferred… don’t want it sounding too clean or high whistlish.
It sounds like you may be looking for either a Chieftain (Kerry) or Overton-some of them have some nice chiff (raw, or raspy) tone, but it does vary between whistles. Alba might be another possibility. So either ask the seller how clean or raspy the voice is, and if they can’t tell you, it would be good to have a return policy, if it’s not what you want. Most lows don’t sound much like high whistles, though there are more that have a clean or clear tone, and most are mellow.
Colin Goldie, who makes Overtons (in Germany), will custom voice it to your preferences, which is great. Don’t know if he is in your price range-seems it will be close to your upper figure (depending on VAT or no VAT), though it might be worth stretching a bit to get a custom voiced whistle-and they are well regarded. But you can check with him to be sure the prices on the website are up to date here on the website:
http://www.overton.co.uk/texte/overtonuk.html
Oh, and welcome to Chiff!
Barry
Thank you! 
I don’t wanna put myself in a long waiting list really, so I’ll look for pre-made Chieftain/Kerry or Overton. I’ll check with the makers if they have any in stock, if not I’ll check out some stores.
You might also want to ask Doc Jones about the new Hammy Hamilton low D-just read the description on Doc’s site:
https://www.irishflutestore.com/newsite/products.php?wbk=LOW%20D
Doc describes it
This is a wonderful whistle with rich, complex, undertones.
So, it may be a good candidate too, for what you want-talk to Doc, definitely. And he has them in stock!
Barry
I’ve been lurking on this site for a few months, mostly because I’m just starting out with the whistle, and wanted to learn as much as I could. One observation is that it’s easy to be overwhelmed with the choices available. Another is that any opinions may have objective content, but individual preferences are totally subjective.
I would suggest looking through the list of low whistles here on C&F, decide which might fit your preferences and budget, then find sound clips on the web. Many whistle maker’s have sound clips on their sites. Youtube is a good source on which people play whistles and compare them.
After going through that process I ended up buying an Alba low D, which has plenty of chiff and is well within your price range; I’m very pleased with it, but that is my subjective opinion, and you might not like it. Check out some sound clips and decide for yourself. I agree with the poster above that Doc Jones is a good resource, as well.
Good luck.
Thanks, Alba whistle looks good. But can find no recording.
I read something about Chieftain V3 alto F being good. Since Im gonna play it solo, the key doesn’t matter much really.
Sound clips for Alba Low D
http://www.albawhistles.com/sounds/index.php
A Review with sound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USMN1smpBxw
Alba Vibe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbnf7mOuZkY
Clips for Chieftain Low D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnIF-Id6E_Y
Chieftain V3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qqgP5O9kUA
Dixon, Reviol, Reyburn clips
http://www.whistleanddrum.com/reyburn-irish-whistles
That should get you started.
I dunno how I could miss the official site.. After checking I know I’m going to buy a Tipple flute and low D V3 and also Dixon Low F!
But can anyone say: why does bigwhistle.com say that Dixon low F is tenor? Does it mean higher volume than alto?
Nothing at all to do with volume!
“Tenor” means that it’s lower than “Alto” - it’s actually a way to say that it’s a low F and not a high F whistle. Since whistles come in almost all keys, there’s no real way to say when a whistle is “Alto” or “Tenor”, though. I’d like to see a sort of definite list where one can consider “Alto” to start and end, as well as “Tenor”. Maybe some of the makers could come forth with one? For the sake of exercise, here’s a deductive approach:
For the sax, the list reads: low Bb: bass, low Eb: baritone, middle Bb: tenor, middle Eb: alto, high Bb: soprano, high Eb: sopranino (there are also lower and higher instruments of this instrument family… Tubax, Soprillo…).
For the recorder, it’s equally simple (one octave above the sax, though): low C: sub-bass; low F: bass, middle C: tenor, middle F: alto, high C: soprano, high F: sopranino (and yes, there are lower and higher instruments, too).
Now, if the most common high whistle (high D) is taken as a point of reference, something like this would maybe make some kind of sense:
- lower G to low C#: bass (there are lower whistles than that - Daniel Bingamon makes them!)
- low D to low F#: tenor
- low G to high C#: alto
- high D to high F#: soprano
- high G: sopranino? I’m not aware of any whistle higher than a high G - probably better make that soprano, too.
I don’t know what and how this will help - but it was fun to think about…
M.
Yes, I think that’s the heart of the problem. For recorders (for example), the designations are individual reference points, corresponding roughly to human voices. It might make sense to adopt the same historical convention for whistles: F&G = sopranino/alto/bass, C&D = soprano/tenor. But everything in between would be arbitrary.
For whistles, we have an easy reference set in the classic Generation whistle range, Bb up through G. These are “high”, or simply whistles without qualification. Eveything below, from A down, are “low” whistles. It’s clear and completely unambiguous.
Not until you get down to A below a low D would you have to designate a “bass” whistle. And if you can play that, you can call it whatever you want to.