Hi Folks
I’m new here. I’ve been lurking on and off since January, but this is my first post in this forum.
Well, I just got a Kerry Low D from Phil Hardy the other day, and I wanted to say how I like it, and ask how everyone else likes it too. IMO, it’s a great whistle, and I can’t put it down for a few minutes without wanting to pick it up and play it again! I’ve been playing it hours every day since I got it! The bore is much thicker than my old whistle. I don’t know if this is uncommon or not, I’ve only had one other low whistle. The tuning is perfect (unlike my old one). The tone is wonderful too. It is a bit breathy, but I like that. The stretch isn’t as bad as I thought it would be after reading Dale’s review in the review section. True, I can’t play it with the tips of my fingers, but I couldn’t do that on my old one either. The fipple is not fixed, which is nice because it allows me to tune it, at least flatter. So overall, I love this whistle! How do you folks like it?
Thanks, and I’m looking forward to posting more here in the future!
Welcome to the Board Max!
I’ve just read your posting on the Flute board,about getting the Casey Burns Folk Flute,which seems a great start for the would be Fluter,from what I’ve read.
What other whistles have you previously played?
My first whistle was a Walton D. Then I got a Generatin Bb (which I don’t like at all) and a Generation G (didn’t like this one either!) Then I got a Feadog D, and that is the whistle I play most. I also have three more Waltons, another brass D, and alluminum D and a brass C. I’m not crazy about the brass D, but I like the other two. I gave my brother a Generation D for Christmas last year, so I get to play that too. It’s not bad, but I don’t like it as much as the Feadog. What I really want is an Oak. A freind of mine has one, and they are very nice.
My other low whistle is made a by a company called Pipola. It’s badly out of tune with itself, and It’s kinda hard to play. Anybody else ever heard of these?
I’m surprised that you don’t like the Generation Bb,which is usually a good whistle,but quite probably needs a bit of tweaking(use the search button!)
I’ve very recently seen the ‘Pipola’ whistles on E-Bay.I reckon that these are cheap Indian made and are probably way out of tune.
Pleased you like the Feadog-I guess I hit lucky.,cos I have two of the mark ones,and a mark three-missing out on the supposedly crappy mark two.
Anyway,it looks like your WHOA is well established,so you need a support group like us loonies!
I’ll buy your G Gen, if you still have it and want to sell.
If you like the 'Dog, you may want to try Cilian O’Briain’s “improved” version. That is my favourite whistle now, both in D and in Eb. I think the Eb is slightly better, but the D is wonderful.
The Bb that I have is brass. My freind has a nickle one (a Generation) that I like a lot better. I don’t know what went wrong with mine. I’ve misplaced the G (it’s tiny), but when I find it, I think I’d like to hang on to it until I can get a low G. The G I have is brass too. I think the nickel Generation whistles are a little better than the brass ones. I’m thinking of getting a set of all six nickel Generations.
Glauber, what does Cillian do to the Feadogs? What’s the difference?
Welcome Max. I see you will not need too much prodding to keep the WhOA going.
Ah, I would guess that that would be a secret!!! I know some smiths share SOME of their tuning ideas (Jerry Freeman), but I think you would understand that they might want to keep the really good ones close to their chest.
I hear Jerry whips out a really nice Tweaked Gen D.
Well yeah, but I wasn’t really asking for a detailed description of how he tweaks them, I was just wondering what the difference is, once he’s tweaked it. I looked at them on the whistle and drum site, and they are about $35. I’d have to scrape a bit of $$$ together to get one, 'cause I just spent every penny I own ordering a flute.
I see you will not need too much prodding to keep the WhOA going.
No, no, I’m sure you won’t have to worry about that!
Hello Max,
I just wanted to say I think you made a great choice for a low whistle. I just bought one used from a chiff member, and although I discovered it had a crack in the fipple just today(and the glue that was used by a previous owner didn’t work) I think it will be great once I get hold of a replacement fipple.
If you go to Clips and Snips on this website, and look for clips from Mr Ashley Jones, you will hear how well it sounds recorded(although the recording has background noise, you will see how good the whistle sounds), and how well Ashley plays. I wish someday to be close to that skill level! Practice! I know! His playing made me hear how good this whistle really is in sound quality. He has clips on most of the pages-I like the slow airs best myself.
Hey, I spent all morning and part of yesterday working on tweaking my whistles, and I’ve got the Gen Bb to the point where I’m enjoying playing it! I just read all the tips that Dale had in the tweaking page. I also worked on my other whistles, and one of them I think I made worse, but most them are now improved! Cool! If only I could find that G and get to work on that.
Just a note to let you all know what a great guy Phil Hardy is who makes the Kerry…I wrote to him about my discovery of the crack in my Kerry low D fipple, and he’s sending a replacement to me asap at no charge.
And, he answered me the same day-on a Sunday!
I can tell you without taking a survey, there are few companies or whistle makers who will give you anything near that kind of customer service!
In my book, that means I will be a loyal customer of his from now on! How could you go wrong-he makes great Kerry and Chieftain whistles, at reasonable prices, and stands behind his products like more people should.
He’s got a great website-movie/sound clips of his whistles, and an informative, and friendly forum too.
It’s nice to find good people, and when you do, they should be rewarded with your support. Thanks Phil, for who you are and how you do it!
Why do you want to buy a Gen G Glauber? Aren’t thay available in you’re area or something. Generations are probably (at least around here) the most common whistles to find in music shops and most shops store all keys.
Glauber! First an anti-Susite, now you’ve gone all anti-weaselite!
But seriously… it’s interesting to note you now prefer the C O’B “improved” to the Water Weasel… I’ve just acquired a Hoover Whitecap and prefer it to the C O’B, and my WW rarely gets an outing these days. Funny how these things change.
Yes, Barry, Phil is a great guy. Something I didn’t say earlier is that he gave me that low whistle as a gift. Can you believe it?! I will definitely do business with Phil in the future, he makes terrific whistles, and is such a great guy on top of it. Now that I’ve bought my flute, I can focus my funds toward a low F!
Hey Max,
That’s great, you are a lucky guy indeed!
The more I hear about Phil, the more I like him. He must live by the philosophy “One good deed touches many”. Bravo, Phil!
I just came back from Ireland with a Kerry low D that I got in a music shop in Kenmare, County Kerry for apparently a bit too much (100 Euros) but I am beginning to make friends with it. Certainly holding it in a way that gets the holes covered and doesn’t lead to a cramp in my right hand has taken some experimenting.
My main instruments are recorders, but since my wife has taken up the Celtic harp I have some more incentive to play whistles (after dabbling a little bit over a long time) than I used to.
The Kerry joins two Susato Ds (one tunable, one not), a Peri C and a Generation C (don’t like that one much)…so WhOA has begun to set in. I guess that’s only natural - I’ve had the recorder equivalent disease for many years .
I bought a lovely book called The Low Whistle Book, by Hannigan and Ledsam, at the same time. Among other things it cites this site as a good source of information. Fun stuff.
What Kerry is everyone talking about? I noticed there are two different models at the Whistle Shop…one less than $100 and the other $200. The lower one has a plastic mouthpiece.
Nancy,
The one we’re talking about is the plasitc fipple aluminum body low d, the less expensive one. Even Phil Hardy(Kerrywhistles.com)remarked how much he like the sound recently when he heard someone who used it on a recording they were making:
[quote]I have just finished a track with Tim Dowd(Mise),he played his Kerry Low D on it and it sounds as good as any Overton or Chieftain,I was amazed at the fullness of the tone,it just goes to show that even a cheap whistle in the hands of a master can sound great.The new CD"Highs and Lows" will be out soon and you’ll be able to hear the track then.
Phil.
Check out the Clips and Snips of Ashley Jones on Chiff. Start with the Slow Airs, and then see the other pages for more great whistling from Ashley.
Glauber! First an anti-Susite, now you’ve gone all anti-weaselite! 