hi folks ive just joined the site, it looks great. i stopped playing the whistle a few years ago and am looking to get back into playing again. i have a chieftan which i dont like and a low kerry, nice but a bit big and a hohner g which i cant find. anyway what im lookin for is a new whistle. i live in ireland and would like to view and play before buying, so far only waltons of dublin seem to carry decent stock. can anyone reccomend anywhere else to view whistles. thanks mark
I’d recommend going with one of Jerry Freeman’s “tweaked” whistles. They’re relatively inexpensive (compared to the $100.00 whistles), sound great and are in tune. They also come recommended by a number of professional whistle and flute players. Check out his ebay page: http://stores.ebay.com/freemanwhistles.
Phillip
Sounds like Ducky may be looking more for a low whistle than high. Freemans are, of course, a nice option for the latter.
Ducky, if you’re in Dublin, you might also try McNeill’s on Capel Street.
thanks lads, will definetly look into the freeman, i have an oak d which i really like and it might be a nice alternative and its cheap. was hoping to get my hands on something just t get a feel for it. gonna be in dublin next week so will take a look at o neill’s. thanks again. mark
On the inexpensive low D end, you might look at Phill Hardy’s Optima (kerrywhistles dot com). I’ve been meaning to write a review, comparing it with a bunch of low D’s. Bottom line: relatively easy to play, especially reaching the high end without screeching, slightly softer than many highly-respected low Ds. Very playable, nice back pressure, so it takes relatively little wind.
The other suggestions were good ones too. The Jerry Freeman tweaked are really nice, at great prices for what you get. (But he doesn’t do lower than A as far as I know–his Bb’s are really nice though, and his A isn’t bad).
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/fs-overton-high-whistles-done/79766/1
If the Overton in the above link is a Goldie buy that and never look back 
i rang mcneil’s today and they were very nice, im going up to visit them on monday, will check out waltons as well, will see whats on offer, i have t say the overtons do look nice, whats the story with the goldie models.
Colin Goldie learned whistle making from Bernard Overton. His whistles were branded Overton for many years. His skills are considerable. Bernard has passed on. Colin continues to make whistles but now under his own name. http://www.colingoldie.de/ Really good whistles.
Feadoggie
Understatement. 
What’s the hole spacing like? I’ve got a Kerry whistle which I find hard to play / reach…
Huge understatement. Colin Goldie is the king of whistles.
Do a youtube search for Brian Finnegan - be amazed - crave a Goldie whistle.
I’ve had an Optima for about a month ( got it out of curiosity) and right from the start I was
really impressed, and agree with JayDoc.
There is a review here http://pipersgrip.50webs.com/Optima.html
The hole spacing is very similar to my Goldie (4th and 5th holes close together)
whereas the old Kerrys of all types had the large centralised 5th hole.
Edit… just noticed there’s a ‘Kerry’ hole comparison picture in the pipersgrip review.
went to mc’neils today and i have to say they really make you feel welcome. they didnt have a whistle to tempt me but i will definitely go back. I ended up buying a tony dixon in G from waltons. I liked the size and it sounds ok. since joining ive had a look at reviews for lots of whistles and what jumps out for me is an oz whistle. let ye know when i get one, again thanks to all for the advice. mark
You can’t go wrong there. I have a D and it’s absolutely fantastic. I have a C on order and expect the work on it to start pretty soon.
… gotta admit… i have a Vambrace (Oz) from Mitch. it is, without a doubt, my favorite whistle…
granted, a lot of one’s love for a whistle is a very subjective thing. when i got my Vambrace, i ended up playing it to the exclusion of almost all my other whistles… most of them were sold off down the road, a Burke, an O’Brien Rover, and some others…
that said, i love my Oz enough that the next whistle I buy will be a matching Vambrace in C to go with my D.
be well,
jim
well put my order in for the oz gidgee and its gonna take some time may at the earliest if im lucky, ive played the tony dixon id say twice since buying, maybe sometime in the future i will appreciate it but its not doin it for me. decided to ring colin goldie on monday, I chatted to him for about an hour and i ended up buying a low D which i received this morning. I have only played a couple of tunes on it but its absolutely brilliant. magical is what comes to mind, thanks for the advice lads. as for colin and brigette two really helpful people who will go that extra little bit with a customer who didnt know what he was after, abolutely chuffed cant speak more highly of the whistle or the service.
So far I’ve tried the following low D’s: Susato, Kerry, Chieftan V3 and Howard…then I got my MK Pro and have definitely found THE Low whistle. I read all the other positive reviews about it and agree wholeheartedly that this is an awesome product, well worth the money. It is like going through a door into another whistle domain. My 2 cents worth. J.