I am thinking about purchasing a Harper Alloy D. Anyone out there
have any experience with this whistle? I would appreciate your feed-
back and thoughts on this whistle.
Thank you!
James
I like my Harper D, but LOVE the C. It’s the only C that remotely compares to the Thin Weasel.
Harpers are Overton-style whistles, with a broad, flat windway. They take a lot of pressure to play, and I find them difficult when having to make rapid octave jumps. The sound is reedy and rich, and the volume is moderate (for a high-end whistle, somewhere between a Burke and Weasel), and pretty even across the octaves. They really need to be warmed up – not a whistle to pick up for one tune, more a whistle to pick up for half an hour.
I have a Harper D which I got second hand and happen to have an Overton D on trial loan right now. Although very similar generally in type, there are a few notable differences. In appearance, the Harper is adorned with a neat shell casing logo (the maker is reportedly a gun maker, I believe) and a flared bottom. I think the tone is very similar but the Harper seems (still getting used to the Overton) a bit easier to play with less air volume. The tone holes on the Harper are not as well finished and are a bit sharp.
Philo
They’re sharp, but I wouldn’t characterize them as not well finished. They’re actually extremely abrupt, nothing ragged about them at all. If we wanted smooth, rounded tone holes, we’d all be buying Silkstones. It’s just a matter of taste.
Actually Charlie, a few of the tone holes on this one, albeit neither raggedy nor inconsistent within ithemselves, are nevertheless sharp to the point of occasional distraction, in “sharp” contrast to the Overton for example. 
Philo
It sounds like the Harper holes are a lot like the holes on my Bernard Overton whistles. What I did was take a piece of VERY fine sandpaper (I happened to have some 9 micon paper from a previous job) and VERY lightly broke the edges of the holes. I would use the absolutely finest paper you could find and do lots of testing. Stop just as soon as you can feel any difference and play for a while to see if the comfort is OK. You don’t want to change the height of the tone hole, just break the edge.
Wow, what a difference that made in playing comfort.