I have been eying this whistle for a while, the Lon Dubh by Pat O’Dwyer, it is surely one of the most elegant whistles ive seen. I don’t know much about them, or have heard sound samples of them. Are these whistles truly worth near 400$? If you have played one, please tell me what you think of this little black bird. thank you.
I’ve got one on the way- should be with me by the end of the week?
so I will let you know, its not the new one with the brass top section,
it a 2005/6 model delrin and brass.
sponge 
I don’t think any whistle is worth that.
It’s all perspective. My Abells, for how much income they bring me each year, are easily worth twice what I paid for them.
Be careful with the Lon Dubhs. The early ones (thin-walled and fragile) were magic (I owned one). Since then, though, the tonal quality seems to have suffered from undergoing various “improvements” (I’ve sold/returned two).
I love my Lon Dubh, it is a very special whistle. It was the first high-end wooden whistle that I bought so it is special to me for that reason and it remains one of my favorites to play. It has a lovely contour to the dark rosewood body (only Rose does this kind of contouring in the body that I have seen) and feels very good in my hands and it plays easy with a crisp responsiveness. The holes on the body are sanded to a very smooth roundedness that is comfortable.
It has a clear sound that is unique. Not breathy or woody with a medium level of volume, it is mid-rangy in the low octave and very sweet and clean in the high octave. Absolutely spot on tuning, in the same league with my Abell and oxxooo is fine for C (I love it when that happens).
In terms of craftsmanship, it is up there with the best IMOHO. Happy hunting.
Hi Guys recieved my delrin brass lon dubh 2005 model this morning,
(as regard to are they worth nearly $400)
I have owned and played quite a few high enders, I have also sold a few
and sent some back, in the early days of my playing I was convinced expensive whistle = better playing, I soon found out that it didn’t when I purchased an O’riodan set c/d one head two bodies, that purchase was more too do with WHOA than any knowledge of the whistle itself apart from everyone raved about them, and it was a great set, I sold it and bought another high end set and so on, until I realised practice was the key, so I got rid of the high enders bought a freaman tweaked, and practiced more, and as I didn’t have the worry of swabbing out everytime, It could also go everywhere, I am definatly still in the learning /improving stages, then I tried a friends lon dubh old style, and it was great , volume, octave jumps, lovely sound, build quality, so I was hooked, I managed to track one down at OZWHISTLES, which was the very model I had played 2005 delrin and brass, now the moral of my story is, every high end whistle that I have bought had been really good whistles in one department or another, but for some reason did not tick all the boxes for me, the lon dubh is the only whistle that I have tried before buying, so its a keeper, and in the future I think that I will try before I buy, I now thats not alway possible but if I stick to that, it will certainly knock the WHOA on the head, ( so yes its worth the $400 odd price tag ) but Pat has now changed the design completly, and I think the new ones have mixed reviews. and with hand crafted whistle each will have some differences.
sponge 
Hey good on you for taking the plunge!
JessieK reviewd this a long time ago. I guess it might be of limited relevance if the design has changed. Her review made me want one back then, but $400 is steep.
I paid nearly $400 for my Thin Weasel A and I believe it’s worth every penny to me. While it doesn’t get much public playtime it is still one of my favorite whistles that I will never rid myself of.
I think the true value of something is in the eye of the beholder. Two different people could play the same whistle of the same value and one would believe it to be worth every penny while the other might consider it rubbish.
Hi. My old review has absolutely nothing to do with the current Lon Dubhs.
I’d be interested to hear how the newer models are. I have an all-wood purpleheart. It’s has a sweet, quiet voice when it is playable. I oil it but swelling iof the windway is a huge problem. Could be that a different wood would have been better but my husband ordered the whistle for me as a gift thinking I’d like the color. I do, but I’m not sure purpleheart was a good choice of material for a whistle of this design. The Delrin head might make a big difference. My recollection is that Jessie polished her blackwood one using mateials she uses for finishing jewelry. Jewelers finishing cloth is available to eveyone of course but should I have to do that? Not sure if polishing would keep the wood from swelling, though. Blackwood has different characteristics from purpleheart.
Hi springrobin,
I think you should ask the vendor or maker to fix this problem.