I recently did a swap with Reynaldo Reyburn for a whistle I had which he wanted. In exchange he sent me a Low-D and one of his Hi-Ds.
These are really excellent whistles.
As many may remember, I have recently been auditioning a lot of high-end Hi-Ds in search of my ultimate whistle (a birdseye maple Thin Weasel by the way). In that search I tried a number of the really excellent whistles (do a search on my name for a list and my comments on each I’m not going to type them all again).
Anyhoo, I think the workmanship and performance of this Hi-D earns it a place among the best. I love the wooden & delrin fipple with a brass body.
StevieJ wrote an excellent review of this whistle lately in the newsletter and I’m not going to attempt to re-invent the wheel with a lengthy review here but I do add my hearty “Amen” to his comments.
This hi-D has the charm and traditional sound and chiff of many of the inexpensive brass whistles with several significant differences.
It is tunable
It has wonderful session-quality volume and a fullness I find lacking in cheap whistles.
It also has the great maple and delrin fipple that makes it wonderfully comfortable to play.
If your looking for traditional sound with good chiff and volume this would be a great choice.
Now to the Low-D. I got the funky off-set finger holes. They made my brain hurt for about ten minutes but now are second nature. They offer significant advantages. I have large hands and long fingers and have no trouble with the pipers grip but using these off-set holes allows one to play with the pads of the finger tips. This makes finding holes and covering them at speed much easier.
The sound of the Low-D is remarkable. Really rich with very unique Overtones. I like the maple fipple. This whistle takes a little more air than my Copeland…about the same air requirement my Burke Low-D had but I really like the richness of it and find myself playing it almost exclusively.
Ronaldo also makes a narrow bore low D for fast tunes. I haven’t tried one.
Ronaldo spent a lot of time with me on the phone figuring out what I wanted and was a wonderful fellow to visit with. The transaction was smooth and very quick. All in all I’m very pleased. Thanks Ronaldo and keep up the good work.
Doc, thanks for your kind words. I would appreciate it if you could comment on the finger spacing, say, compared to a Burke Low D. There is another thread going here that suggests that the spacing is excessive or unmanageable.
Thanks Ronaldo
Why don’t we clarify this scientifically: Doc, have you got a set of measuring calipers? If so, please measure the tone hole sizes (in mm) and then the total distance for the left and right hand reaches separately, here’s how: Start with the top three holes closest to the fipple end. Measure (again in mm) from the top edge of the first hole to the bottom edge of the third hole - this will give you the total reach required to cover a set of holes. Then measure the right hand stretch by measuring from the top edge of the 4th hole to the bottom edge of the sixth hole.
Whistle makers often quote a reach distance basted on measuring the distance from the center of the first hole to the center of the third, and then from the center of the 4th to the center of the 6th. This is fine for marking tone hole positions for drilling, but doesn’t take into account the size of the holes: Obviously drilling larger holes from the same starting points will lead to larger reaches required to cover the larger holes.
Doc has already said that he has large hands and long fingers, so merely giving his opinion based on how the whistle feels in his big paws doesn’t really help us get any closer to an objective determination that would be useful to the majority of folks who have smaller hands and shorter fingers. Make sense?
My Burke has recently gone to live with Blackhawk so I can’t do the caliper trick. However I will say this. To my mind (and more importantly to my fingers) the hole spacing issue is largely irrelevant due to the fact that the off-set pattern allows you to play the third hole of each hand with the pinky instead of the ring finger.
Also when I play the pipers’ grip, although I have no trouble reaching the holes, it makes my hands sore after playing for any length of time.
Using the off-set holes allows me to use the finger-tip pads instead of the second pad. I think this makes ornaments much cleaner and faster. It’s working for me.
For the record, my pinky-to-thumb distance is about 8 1/2 inches which, coincidently, is also the length of my hand from middle tip to base of palm.
I think the fact is some people love some whistles and some people don’t. That’s why there is more than one sucessful high-end whistle maker in the world.
I tried the Reyburn Low-D because several people told me off-board that they loved them. Also, the Reyburn Low-D got a glowing endorsement from L.E. McCullough (see Ronaldo’s website for a quote) I figured Mr. McCullough was a fairly reliable source of whistle wisdom and took a chance. I’m glad I did.
Some of the best whistles in the world have passed through my hands of late. Most of them have moved on to other owners. This low-D Reyburn isn’t going anywhere. In fact I’m finding myself wondering if I ought to get a lo-G from him and maybe one of his narrow-bore low-Ds for fast stuff.
Some of the best whistles in the world have passed through my hands of late. Most of them have moved on to other owners. This low-D Reyburn isn’t going anywhere.
Doc
Never say never, Doc. I’ve got a Meg that’s just burning a hole in my pocket, begging to be involved in another trade! Come on, guy, how about it? How about two Copelands, three Overtons, and an O’Riordan for the Reyburn low D? And of course, the Meg?
One other thing I forgot to mention about the Reyburn whistles.
I found the packaging to be MUCH too hi-tech. When the mailing tube arrived my engineer brother-in-law and I spent about twenty minutes trying to get the end off.
Eventually my wife had mercy on us and asked “why don’t you guys just cut the tape on that joint in the middle?”
People with lots of college degrees should not buy these whistles unless they can pick them up in person.
If anyone out there has recently purchased a Reyburn and still hasn’t gotten the mailing tube open feel free to email me.
I’ll have my wife call you and talk you through it.
Doc
I Whistle, Therefore I Am.
[ This Message was edited by: Doc Jones on 2002-08-26 16:34 ]
On 2002-08-26 16:33, Doc Jones wrote:
I found the packaging to be MUCH too hi-tech. When the mailing tube arrived my engineer brother-in-law and I spent about twenty minutes trying to get the end off.
No Kidding! I almost lost 2-3 fingernails pulling on that tube. I gave up and started reaching for the pocket knife (reverting to the “If you can’t figure it out, brute force it” method) when I noticed the slight seam hidden under the address label…
