I had the chance to try a few of Howard’s whistles last week and had a quick chat with the maker. He was at the Willie week festival. I thought I’d let people know that his high whistles have improved a lot. They play quite well, they have enough volume for loud sessions and they don’t seem to be clogging. It’s good stuff!
I also think that a Howard Low D is one of the best low whistle you can buy for the price. I’m very picky about low whistles and whistles in general, and the Howard plays so well. It’s very easy to play, and the second octave is a charm.
Anyway, if I were to buy my first Low D, and didnt want to spend a fortune, I’d go for a Howard for sure.
I concur. The holes are smaller on the new models too, and if you like wacky colours the Howard comes in a bunch of them, or standard nickel or brass if you prefer. I’d have bought one if I hadn’t been saving my remaining pennies for Cds and fiddle related purchases.
The website has been updated recently I understand.
Hmm. I’ve a friend who bought a Howard low D a few months ago and the first octave is very nice, but the second is very difficult, the high B being practically impossible to play. How recent are these improvements you mentioned?
I now have a Howard low D (in metallic green, very handsome whistle!).
I have really been enjoying it, although it is a far different creature from my other low D, the Susato.
The Howard has a very focused sound, and gets an almost (dare I say it?) recorder-like edge in the 2nd octave. The second octave is clean and pretty easy to hit if you hit it with a solid stream of fast-moving air.
The Susato has a less focused sound, rounder, more flute-like, and has an easier 2nd octave, but not quite as much volume, and has more resistance.
Physically, the Howard is both beautiful and imposing. It’s bore is almost an inch (!!!) wide, and the tone holes are enormous. It took me a while to find a way to play it that wouldn’t be painful (a “normal” piper’s grip won’t work for me on this whistle because the fingers of my right hand are bent the wrong way to seal), but persistance paid off and I did figure out a workable grip that isn’t painful.
Other noteworthy characteristics of the Howard: it doesn’t have much of a clogging problem, which after the Susato is a welcome relief, and it is very easy to half-hole for chromatics.
I have a Howard low C which I like well enough but not nearly as much as my favourite low Ds, Overton and Copeland. I don’t have another low C to compare it with but recorder-like it definitely is not. The sound is rather furry, plenty of interesting overtones although not as complex or robust a sound as Copeland or Overton. Yes, the holes are big but if you can manage the stretch on an Overton low D, you should be able to play the Howard C without too much trouble. For the price, the Howard lows are good value and definitely worth investigating.
I have been playing a Howard Low D for a couple of months and am very impressed with the sound although clogging has been a problem for me, (any suggestions?). With my limited experance I have found learning to play this whistle has been fairly easy…
I also have a Susato Low D and find the sound quality to be much lower. This whistle also takes much more wind…
I am considering an Overton or Copeland for my next whistle but in this part of the world there are none to examine & hear. Which takes more wind? Is one easer to play that the other? I like a strong focused first octive sound (like the Howard) as well as nice clear focused sound on the second… Any suggestions?
Small quibbles aside, you can’t go wrong with either. Check back through the archives (ie, do a search) and you’ll find dozens of descriptions of the characterisitics of both Overtons and Copelands. Both are awesome low Ds. If you order your Overton direct from Colin Goldie, he’ll even customize it to your requirements. So although people complain (as they sometimes do) about Overtons taking a lot of breath, it appears that you can now order an easy blower that still has the Overton sound.
Funny how threads on low Ds all seem to end up with Copelands and Overtons isn’t it?
I have long felt that the Howard Low D is underrated. No, it’s not as good as an Overton. But, I think it is a very nice sound and, at the risk of Colin Goldie flying to America exclusively to kick my *ss, I’d say the Howard has a bit of that legendary Cosmic Drainpipe thing going.
Many players who got interested early in the low whistle don’t like Howards. I think the history is probably that Brian Howard, to his credit, was a pioneer in developing the instrument and, in particular, trying to design one that could be made in larger numbers. The first few generations of Howards, so to speak, were very difficult to play. Very. I had occasion to come across an OLD Howard a few years ago, and it was more difficult to play than one of those Overton sub-woofer models. Anyway, I think that soured people on Howards.
Long way of saying–if you are into collecting a few Low Ds, I’d suggest getting a Howard, if you haven’t already. I have average-sized hands, by the way, and have no trouble with the reach or the holes. Not a good choice for the small-handed.
Yeah, from my point of view they are underrated. It’s very subjective again, but I tend to prefer to play a Howard Low D, or at least the one I tried, over an Overton. But I think that’s because I’m used to my Copeland and the low pressure requirement, so the Howard would be closer to a Copeland.
I bought about two years ago a high D whistle from Howard. I really didnt like it, it was clogging after 10 seconds of playing. I returned it and got reimbursed right away. Well, his new ones are newly engineered, and I think they’re worth a try.
Also, Howard is a very pleasant man, and he’s got all my respect.
Yup, I agree with Dale - The newer Howard Low D’s offer good bang for the buck, however small handed players need not apply.
Re: Copeland and Overton (Low D) wind requirements - Let’s get this strait for a change:
Overton = High breath pressure and Low wind volume (amount of air required)
Copeland = Low breath presssue and High wind volume.
So, the Copeland Low D is easy to blow, but you’re going to have to take breaths fairly often. The Overton will require you to blow harder, but you’ll get a long way on each breath of air. This is a generalization, especially because Copelands can vary a little depending on when they were made, and because Colin makes a fairly wide range of…“Blowability”??? these days - that is to say that he makes whistles that range from taking a high pressure, to those that take a fairly low presssue.
Both the Overton and Copeland Low D’s are great whistles, everyone should have one of each as they are about as different (and wonderful in their own ways) as two (fantastic) whistles can get.
P.S., the Soprano D Howard whistle I tried was a serious dissapointment. However, that whistle had been plated, so perhaps that affected the whistle in some (negative).
Hopefully you’ll get a hold of one for review Dale.
I absolutely love my howard low D, it took a while to get used to it but it sounds great in the second octave if you push it, I had a lot of problems with the high B at first but once I figured out how the whistle wanted to be played I don’t have any problem getting up to the third octave D.
the new soprano D on the other hand was a bit of a disappointment, the fit and finish wasn’t very good and the sound was a lot more airy than I like.
I like the Howard low d–as Dale says, it’s
underrated. I played one Howard soprano and
thought it not bad, very well made, but less good sounding
than a
Sindt, which is much cheaper. Maybe these
have been improved.
Shark (Lark) in the Morning (a place that will never get my business) advertised a high Howard in their last flyer. I own both the low C in black and the low D in brass with the new style mouthpiece. They are now my go-to low whistles in those keys.
I couldn’t believe they’re charging almost $200 for them on their website, I’ve got one of their wholesale catalogs and if I remember right they were around $80, even then I like my water weasel better.
I just got home from a trip to downtown Seattle, including a visit to Lark in the Morning at the Market. Their price gouging notwithstanding, the people there were very nice, obliging me to try out any whistle I liked. There was a Howard soprano D brass there…I only tootled on it for a few minutes, but thought it was responsive and in tune, with a strong bell note. I liked it, a very attractive whistle. Price tag: $150. On an unrelated side note, they also let me try out their full range of Menaglio ocarinas; I was allowed to slobber into 'em with nary a complaint from the staff.
